There has recently become available at the Help Desk a partial index of those men who served in the Wiltshire Militia during the Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815. A brief description of the creation and function of the Militia will explain how and why this could be of use to researchers, together with the five unique features that set them apart from other military forces of the period.

The Infantry drilling, 1807

The first of these features was that the Militia Act of 1758 introduced the idea of conscription. The Regular Army before this date and up to the First World War was officially a volunteer army, but it was felt that volunteering would not raise enough men to serve the purpose of the new force, which was to defend the country in the face of an invasion threat and replace the Regular Army at home during a time of war. Each county was ordered to raise a certain number of infantry men (800 for Wiltshire); each parish was allotted its quota of this total, which was to be selected by ballot from a list drawn up by the parish constables containing the names of all males between the ages of 18-50 (later reduced to 45) with a number of exceptions, including peers, parish officials, clergymen, teachers, preachers, articled clerks, apprentices and members of the regular army. The term of service was for 3 years (later 5) after which time the whole process began again, although men could re-enlist and were encouraged to do so by means of a bounty.

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I have visited several churches recently and photographed some really interesting features in their interiors. When a church is unlocked you will often find some good architectural and artistic work that has survived many centuries and Victorian restorations. The font can often be the oldest surviving feature of the church and may be Saxon or Norman. There can also be wall paintings, remains of medieval stained glass, 17^th century woodwork, royal coats of arms, carved medieval stone heads and much, much more. I’d like share a few of my pictures with you.
 

A very fine early 15^th century rood screen in the Church of St. Swithin at Compton Bassett. Not at all what would expect to find in a small village church but it is believed to have been brought from Salisbury Cathedral, or possibly Winchester Cathedral, in the 18^th century.

 
The Rood Screen, St. Swithun's Church, Compton Bassett

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Mummers’ plays were an important part of Christmas for many agricultural labourers in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. These seem to be first recorded in the mid 18^th century and although there are medieval precedents the connections between the two are uncertain. The later ones provided an opportunity for poorly paid labourers to make some extra income by taking their play around the houses of local farmers and gentry where they would normally receive food, drink and some money.

The characters included a hero, often St. George or King George, his adversary, often a Turkish Knight, a doctor, a fool and a narrator, often Father Christmas in later versions, and a character who collects the money at the conclusion. Normally the Turkish Knight is killed by St. George and revived or resurrected by the doctor. There are many elements in the plays, both pagan and Christian and the plays and the names of characters may have changed from generation to generation.

The Salisbury Mummers, c. 1932
Ref: P7940

The plays, normally each village would have its own version, were kept alive by ordinary people who had an interest in being able to supplement their wages once a year. Many did not survive the First World War although in Wiltshire mumming plays were still being performed at Alton Barnes in 1930 and at Shrewton in 1936.

This year an adapted version of the Limpley Stoke Mummers’ play is being performed as the Peaceful Gudgeon Mummers Play on Saturday 18 December at 7.00 p.m. at St. Michael’s Without, Broad Street, Bath. Please 'read more' to find out more'...

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Bribery, corruption, intrigue, rotten boroughs and riots …oh dear, that will be Wiltshire’s parliamentary elections in eighteenth and nineteenth century! Present events always give us an opportunity to take the long-view and here at the History Centre we have a range of resources on the political history of the county and borough, from excellent accounts published in the Victoria County History for Wiltshire to election squibs, poll books and original documents.

'The Antiquities of Malmesbury', described as 'A parliamentary election, as lampooned in 1792' in VCH Wiltshire Vol. 14, opposite p.221 (our Ref: P41146).

Wiltshire’s early claim to political fame was the impressive size of its parliamentary representation. Until 1832 it elected two Knights of the Shire (representing the whole county), two MPs for Salisbury, and two burgesses for each of its 15 boroughs, a grand total of 34 seats. Only Cornwall had higher. This was especially impressive given that many of the boroughs were the size of a village, and few of their residents could vote.  The most notable, of course, was Old Sarum, which retuned two MPs and in 1768, it is claimed, had an electorate of, er…one, though usually could count on seven. Other small boroughs included Great Bedwyn, Cricklade, Downton, Heytesbury, Hindon, Ludgershall and Wootton Bassett. Yet other towns like Bradford on Avon, Corsham, Trowbridge, and Warminster could not send representatives to parliament. To find out about the great political contest of 1818 and Marlborough making the national news in 1832, please 'read more'...

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For a school trip to the First World War battle fields in Northern France and Belgium, we had to research a Swindon soldier from the war. We visited the History Centre with the school on a Monday; they kindly opened it for us so we could have the place to ourselves with the full attention of their expert staff who were extremely helpful (we would have found it very difficult if not for them!). Our soldier, Albert Cook, was a worker in the GWR works. His parents were from a small village called Clyffe Pypard and his mother died when he was six. Although he is no relation to us, neither famous nor very important, from all the hours of hard work and visiting his grave we now feel like we’ve known him all our lives.


Using original archival material at the History Centre

Since we didn’t get enough information on the first visit to the centre and we were too tight to pay for an account on ancestry.co.uk, we decided to go back to the centre where it’s free and more fun. We took the train down and were surprised the staff could remember us and our problems with our research we had the first time we visited. They showed us round again and helped us with the computers. The other people visiting that day were also very helpful and friendly; they showed us some great websites and how to get around on them.

From this visit we solved most of our previous mysteries but aroused some others, we found he had a sister who had disappeared when he was in his toddler years and we still didn’t know how his mother died. We decided to go again the next day; it’s so fun and interesting. We cleared all but a few of our problems, these few were not solvable because no records existed that would have held the data we wanted.

The trip was amazing, it seemed the soldiers of the First World War are the most remembered in Europe and they are never going to be forgotten. Their graves are still tended to like they died yesterday and schools from many different countries visit the cemeteries. When we sat by Albert’s grave we both had tears in our eyes. This was the reason why we came, to sit by the grave side of a person we felt we knew so well. If not for the centre and its bursting information of the past we wouldn’t have felt anywhere near like we did. Thank you Swindon and Wiltshire History Centre!

Emily Kellett and Charlotte Manser
Commonweal School, Swindon

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The current concerns over swine flu call to mind the famous influenza pandemic of 1918. It has been estimated that the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the First World War, at somewhere between 20 and 30 million people world-wide. The flu, which was known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe”, was most deadly for people aged 20 to 40. This age range was unusual for influenza which is usually a killer of the elderly and young children.

Sutton Veny burial register 1918

Wiltshire was not hit as badly as more densely populated areas, but nevertheless the impact was still felt strongly.

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We need your help.

One of the services we provide here at the History Centre is access to the county Historic Photograph and Print collection. This is made up of around 60,000 photographs and prints that show the changing face of Wiltshire over the years. Most of the images that we have we are able to identify, but there are a few that have come to us without much information that we would like to know more about. Can you help with these two examples? 

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