Surrey Militia
The Surrey Militia was an auxiliary military force in Surrey, England. From their formal organisation as trained bands in 1558 until their final service as the Special Reserve, the Militia regiments of the county served in home defence in all of Britain's major wars. They also saw active service during the Second Boer War, and trained thousands of reinforcements during World War I. After a shadowy postwar existence they were formally disbanded in 1953. Early history The English militia was descended from the Anglo-Saxon Fyrd, the military force raised from the freemen of the shires under command of their Sheriff. The universal obligation to serve continued under the Norman and Plantagenet kings and was reorganised under the Assizes of Arms of 1181 and 1252, and again by the Statute of Winchester of 1285. The men were arrayed by the Hundreds into which each county was divided. There is a reference to the men of Wallington Hundred in Surrey being mustered in the 14th year of the reign of King Henry VIII (1522–3), and the great 1539 muster saw a number of hundreds in Surrey arrayed by the king's commissioners during March and April: Blackheath Hundred: 85 archers, 167 billmen, 80