Leeds and the amateur military tradition: the Leeds Rifles and their antecedents, c. 1859-1918

Abstract

This thesis examines, through the history of one infantry regiment, aspects of the Territorial Force, created in 1908, in its peacetime and wartime existence. It is a pioneering work of social history, since it concentrates on describing the social and organisational characteristics of a Regiment in both peace and war. Though the Leeds Rifles cannot be claimed to be a 'typical' Territorial Regiment, many of its characteristics were common to units of the Territorial Force and, through the history of this Regiment, a number of general themes, of morale, discipline, and attitudes, recruitment and organisational style can be explored. The opening section of the thesis describes the legacy of the Leeds Rifle Volunteers, 1859-1908, to the Territorial Regiment, and the local and social organisation continuities that can be perceived.. The remainder of the thesis is divided into the peacetime period, 1908-1914, where the "Citizen-soldier" of the Territorial Force was largely a citizen, and the wartime period, 1914-1918, where the soldierly elements were more necessary and notable. Similar themes and continuities pervade these two sections also, though increasingly from late 1916 the 'local' character of the Leeds Rifles became less central to the social history of the Regiment. The thesis offers a contribution to the general social history of the period 1908-1918, and to Leeds history in particular. It also seeks to place the experience of this one Regiment in the context of other studies of the social dynamics of "Western" military organisations and to make a contribution to the development of such studies. In an appendix, the methodological problems of an exploration of this type are also considered