Active Service Companies

In previous posts I've made several references to the "Active Service Companies" of the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment). An explanation is overdue!

The Second South African War, or Boer War, fought against the Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, began badly for Britain. Several disastrous military reverses were suffered, highlighting gross deficiencies in the Army's structure and organisation. Hurriedly, the government rushed additional troops to South Africa from all corners of the Empire and gradually began to get the upper hand, but a lot of damage to national prestige had been done and Britain's standing in the eyes of other world powers was somewhat diminished. Public opinion at home was a mixture of outrage and dismay that a group of colonial settler-farmers should be inflicting such humiliation on what was then the world's greatest power. Consequently the political situation was rather grave.

On the outbreak of war groups of Volunteers had, perhaps somewhat optimistically, offered their services, but these were rejected, mainly through prejudice, the prevailing military opinion being that the men of the Volunteer Force were little more than "toy soldiers." However, the politicians belatedly realised that there was a large body of semi-trained men available for ready deployment to assist with the operations, and that utilisation of them would both help to assuage the public's discontent and, more importantly, tap into their patriotism. Consequently, the offers were reconsidered and in late 1899 the War Office issued a call to the Yeomanry companies and Volunteer Force battalions affiliated to the various county regiments to supply Active Service Companies to serve in South Africa. Subsequently it is estimated that as many as 20,000 Yeomanry and Volunteers served in South Africa, with contingents also being supplied from Canada and Australia.

Over the next two years the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) and, after it's formation in 1900, the 2nd Volunteer Battalion as well, provided four drafts of Volunteers, with men being drawn from the detachments at Lancaster, Morecambe, Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston, Dalton-in-Furness, Millom and Hawkshead. There were three separate Active Service Companies despatched to South Africa and one Relief Draft to strengthen the First Active Service Company.

The criteria for selection of the men were rather strict, and led to a lot of would-be volunteers being rejected on the grounds of health, age, and proficiency. One notable area of concern was the requirement to be adept with the standard Army rifle, an area in which most Volunteer detachments had only developed rudimentary skills due to the obvious civilian training restrictions placed on them. The number of men rejected was high and the unlucky ones would have felt this rejection quite keenly, especially when set against the great swell of public emotion which accompanied the formation and despatch of the Active Service Companies; the men were feted royally, both when they departed and when they returned.

However, many Volunteers were accepted and were formally enlisted into the parent regiment as regular soldiers, on regular pay, for a fixed term of one year with the Colours, being posted to the strength of the 2nd Battalion upon arrival in South Africa.

Although no Volunteers were killed in action, two men, both Lancastrians serving in the First Active Service Company, died of disease, and several others were invalided home through sickness. At the end of their period of engagement some chose to remain in South Africa, accepting regular appointments in the King's Own, or joining local civilian and military organisations. Most of the ones who returned home would have continued to serve as Volunteers and would later have transferred to the new Territorial Force when it was created in 1908. Some of them would go on to serve in the First World War; at least four of the Volunters are known to have been killed in that conflict.

The Furness contingent of the First Active Service Company, photographed at Bowerham Barracks, Lancaster on May 10th, 1900, wearing their Volunteers' uniforms. The only definitely identified Volunteer is Ulverstonian Private James Penny, who is ninth from the left on the third row up. However, Colour Sergeant P. Tyrell may be recognised from his rank badge, sitting sixth from the left on the second row up. He was invalided home in June, suffering from enteric fever (Barrow Archive Office).

Private Wilfred Ashcroft, the author of the diary published previously on this blog, is also on this photograph, although sadly I do not know which one he is.