At the suggestion of T. Pain, Esq., that the command of this corps, with the rank of a field officer, be offered to the present chairman, should the Lord Lieutenant of the county consent to such appointment, the proceedings were brought to a close. The following was given as an estimate of about the expenses incidental to any joining the rifle corps, and receiving no assistance from subscriptions, &c., &c.:—
| Rifle (Lancasters) | £4 6 0 |
| Suit of Uniform | £2 15 0 |
| Chaco and Ornament | £0 7 6 |
| Belt and Pouch | £1 2 6 |
| ———— | |
| Total | £8 11 0 |
In the issue of the Salisbury and Winchester Journal of May 28, 1859, under the heading of "The Salisbury Volunteer Rifle Corps," the names of the chairman and committee of the corps were given in full, and a "Notice" to the following effect was added:—
"The committee being prepared to enrol members of this corps under the regulations recently issued from the War Office, all persons wishing to join are requested to forward their names in writing to any member of the committee, and they will be duly enrolled.
"All members of the corps must undertake to pay for their own uniform (the cost thereof not to exceed £3 10s.), to be provided through the medium of the committee.
"The arms and accoutrements will be provided by the committee from the funds to be raised by subscription, and will thenceforth be the property of the corps."
The attention of all the citizens of Salisbury was called to this advertisement by the editor of the paper, and from this date very many enrolled themselves as members of the Salisbury corps; J.H. Jacob, Esq., being appointed captain-commandant, and he afterwards selecting and recommending the names of gentlemen willing to serve to fill the subordinate positions. That something more than playing at soldiers was intended may be inferred from the editorial of the paper in which the advertisement appeared. It is presumed that the editor not only appreciated the gravity of the situation, but repeated the sentiments of those attending the meeting, when he stated the result of inquiries to be, "the obligation of every member to obtain a fair proficiency in drill, and to obey the regulations published, and that this could be done easily by an hour-and-a-half's drill in the morning, say from 7 to 8.30 a.m., and an hour-and-a-half in the evening, from 6.30 to 8 p.m., on consecutive or separate days, as most convenient, so that interference with professional or other avocations need not be feared." Shades of the past! "to be done easily." Time was precious, and men were enthusiastic; and perhaps were circumstances to repeat themselves, elderly gentlemen and striplings would again be seen very early in the morning practising judging distances on a common or on some wild moor, and of an evening setting out in hail, rain, or snow for the shed, hall, or yard used for drill instruction. There certainly is not the necessity now for all this assiduous attention, but the Force would be better for more care being given to these preliminary drills. The foundation of drills was well laid there, and the result was greater steadiness in the ranks, and perhaps a greater individual knowledge of the meaning of certain manœuvres. It would take a good deal now-a-days to make young England turn out at daybreak to improve his knowledge of skirmishing and judging distance, or to give up the sweet saunter on the pavé, with a bad cigar in his mouth and the refreshment derivable from an occasional glass of bitter beer, for one to two hours' instruction in minutiæ, and an occasional lecture on war as a science. If skill in the use of the rifle and a thorough knowledge of the movements of a company in battalion or singly were necessary in 1857 to preclude the possibility of an invading army making progress in this our island, much more is required now. The use of steam, from the largest to the smallest vessel, and the enormous speed, sea-worthiness, and capabilities of these vessels, have thrown twenty bridges across the Channel, where formerly two barely existed. Our trade has increased enormously, and as we are dependent on it in many instances for mere existence, it demands greater attention from our fleets in every part of the world, and weapons of war are far more deadly. In other words, war has become a science. Doubtless bravery, or, as Lord Palmerston had it, "he who could stand a quarter of an hour more beating than another will win," if the old style of hammer and tongs be adopted; but we have no right to suppose this. We know that the Germans blundered very little, and in invading carried all before them. If, in our turn, we should be invaded or at war, it were well for us to have every joint in the harness carefully looked to beforehand, and not trust too much on such a reed as militia or volunteers would be after a "little more teaching," "some weeding out," and "embodiment." The next European war in which England is engaged, gives time for none of these processes; and not improbably the volunteer battalion, made up of scattered companies, full of half-drilled, ignorant bumpkins or mechanics, with no great-coats, paper-soled boots, and underclothing spare and worn, working as labourers in the wildest parts of Yorkshire, or the smelting works of Staffordshire, will be summoned by telegraph to join the head quarters at ——, and take part in the manœuvres deemed necessary to repel an invasion occurring or occurred on the coast. Will men then be weeded out? Will their poor papery boots, spoiled by the mud of the first ditch they are bid to hide in? Will their utter ignorance of sign or signal, of the value of keeping touch, and not acting independently, stand them instead, and they be sent to the reserve until better suitable? I trow not. They will be subjected, regular and irregular, taught and untaught, to the same murderous fire and rigorous treatment. There will be no time for selection, and the whole nation will rue the day when they were persuaded into the belief that they were not likely to be attacked, and that for offence or defence they were amply provided.
Among the first officers of the company were Captains Jacob, Beverley Robinson, and Ambrose Hussey, Esq., with Mr. Wyndham Payne, Edward Fisher, George Smith, C. Brown, W.J. Wilton, as subalterns; whilst the names of Mr. Walter Clapperton, Mr. Stokes, Mr. Read, Mr. Farrant, Sir E. Poore, Mr. E. Kelsey, Mr. Sheppard, Mr. Harris, Mr. Aylward, Mr. Maunder, Mr. Rae, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Farr, Mr. Curtis, as non-commissioned officers at the same time may be mentioned. Captain Jacob commanded the company, with its headquarters at Salisbury, and the half company with its headquarters near Downton, under the command of Lieutenant Wyndham Payne, and no time was lost after organization in commencing drills and practices. The records kept are small in amount, giving no details, and as a rule are merely orders for drills and parades. "The Company will parade on Harnham Hill, or at the Reservoir at 7 a.m. to-morrow for judging distance drill," or "to-morrow evening for position and aiming drill at the Market House," appears monotonously frequently, after the 9th September, 1859, in the Company Order Book. The corps were present at the review held in their neighbourhood at Clarendon Park, mustering well, two companies with thirty file each, and were always well represented at other reviews and battalion drills. The corps attended as two companies at Durdham Downs, near Bristol, and doubtless joined in the obnoxious volley firing, at Bath, Southsea Common, Portsdown, the autumn manœuvres, Royal Review at Windsor, and Jubilee Review more recently at Aldershot. At the various regimental camps the numbers have been fairly good, though marching-in strength was not well continued day after day; but tradesmen, particularly of a busy city like Salisbury, can ill afford to be much away from their work, and of these the Salisbury Rifle Corps have been and yet are composed. The uniform selected was more useful than beautiful, its cut being after the style as shown in the figures of Noah & Sons in the ark. Certainly the corps attracted many young men into its ranks, but the uniform could not have been the source. It however was not lost upon the London street boy, inasmuch as, when Captain Jacob and Lieutenant Robinson in uniform proceeded down St. James Street on their way to the levée held in 1860 for the presentation of volunteer officers only, one urchin remarked, "Well! if them ain't the ugliest buffers we've seen yet." A sentiment which (speaking from absolute knowledge) the captain thoroughly appreciated.
The formation of the various corps of South Wilts into a battalion with its head quarters at Salisbury, and that city very often used as a meeting-place for all the corps on battalion occasions, was perhaps rather advantageous to the headquarter companies, enabling them to practise field movements, and to acquire more knowledge of battalion manœuvres than other corps, and at less cost; but it is doubtful after all. The dispersion of other companies in the midst of a battalion drill in order to get to railway stations affected them too, and perhaps a quiet battalion instruction parade on the cricket ground, with four companies in single ranks of twenty or twenty-four men each, was more effective and instructive. The Market Hall made an excellent covered-in place to teach aiming drill or squad, but was too cramped and supplied with articles of machinery, &c., &c., to make it thoroughly available for company drill. The streets of the market place then, as the short evenings of autumn or the dark nights of winter came on, had to serve the purpose, and drilling became a tremendous difficulty. Imagine one hundred men in uniform marching through a dense mass of the genus street boy at every twist or turn they took, and every order, as given by instructor, captain, or sergeant, echoed and re-echoed by these detestable small boys. To attempt any drills where firing (sham) would be shown, such as volley or independent firing, &c., &c., was the signal for more than usual activity and interest in the proceedings being shown by the tormentors. With "P'sent," down fell a wriggling mass in the mud, each shamming to have been shot, and only rising and running to the flanks as the good-natured riflemen moved forwards. What were the police about? The police at that day cared not to interfere in these matters, and a rifleman was too new a thing to be appreciated or protected.
Owing to the want of any lists of attendance, target practice records, or extensive cuttings from the local papers, it is a very hard task for any one to show what occurred in the early days of this corps. It appears to have shown a strength of 121, forming two companies at the Clarendon Park Review so far back as September, 1860; the officers present being Captain Commandant Jacob, Captain Beverley Robinson, Lieut. Pinckney, Lieut. Sir E. Poore, Bart., Ensign Hussey, Ensign Fisher, Assist.-Surgeon Cardell, and Quartermaster Smith. At the first inspection of the newly formed battalion, which took place on the downs above Warminster, under Major G. Hume, Inspector of the District, the corps mustered within one of the same strength, viz. 120, Captains Robinson and Hussey, Lieutenants Fisher, Smith and Wyndham Payne, with C. Brown, J. Brown, and Assist.-Surgeon Cardell, being the officers present. About this number the corps remained for some years, gradually increasing both in efficiency and discipline. The force had become established, regimental camps were formed, more system prevailed, and men undertaking the duties of volunteer privates better understood what would be demanded from them, and reflected accordingly. The enthusiasm had died out, but the spirit of determination that the country should not again be left to ignorant self-defence was as strong as ever, and as corps became more consolidated, so did the members, both officers and others, fluctuate less. With all this, there was after awhile throughout the battalion a slow but steady increase of members; and the Annual Returns of corps composing the 1st Wilts Rifle Battalion show that, in November, 1869, the Salisbury corps had a total enrolled of 156, of these 150 being efficients and only six non-efficient. In 1873, at an inspection parade held at Warminster, they mustered a total of 112. Again, in 1875, at another inspection, they had present 125; though of these 25 were belonging to the band, fairly drilled men perhaps, but of whose proficiency in anything beyond a musician's duty no test was made. However, the band was and is a necessity for a rifle battalion, and to some extent for a company detached. Both Salisbury and Trowbridge corps furnished the men required for the battalion band, hence at inspections an undue proportion of these corps appeared to be bandsmen. In the instance above, Trowbridge also contributed 21 men out of her muster of 143 to the band. At one time in the volunteer epoch, the bands were somewhat too numerous; "five-and-twenty fifers and five fighting men" was not altogether unknown at a muster; but time has changed all this.