Isle of Man Volunteers
| Isle of Man Volunteers | |
|---|---|
| Active | 29 September 1860 – 3 March 1920 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | One Company Two Companies (World War I) |
| Peacetime HQ | Douglas |
| Engagements |
Second Boer War World War I |
The Isle of Man Volunteers was a nominal battalion of the British Army formed during the 1860s and disbanded in 1920. During its existence, the battalion had the distinction of being the only representative of the Isle of Man in the British Army, and the last Volunteer Force unit in the British Army.
Amidst rising tensions between the United Kingdom and France, a perceived threat of invasion by the much larger French Army, and a British Army stretched with imperial commitments, the Volunteer Force began to take shape from May 1859 as a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps.
The Isle of Man's first volunteers appeared on 29 September 1860 when three independent Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) were formed: the 1st Isle of Man RVC at Castletown, the 2nd Isle of Man RVC at Douglas, and the 3rd Isle of Man RVC at Ramsey. They were joined by the 4th Isle of Man RVC at Crosby on 24 April 1866. By the end of 1870, all had been disbanded except the 2nd Isle of Man Rifle Volunteer Corps.
The unit was attached to the 15th Lancashire RVC from 1873 for drill and administration purposes and in 1877 to the 64th Lancashire RVC, before returning to the 15th Lancashire RVC in March 1880. As it was the only remaining RVC on the Isle of Man, it was renumbered as the 1st Isle of Man Rifle Volunteer Corps on 19 October 1880. At this time, it consisted of just one company and its HQ was in Douglas.
The Childers Reforms of 1881 saw the Isle of Man Volunteers join The King's (Liverpool Regiment) on 1 July as a volunteer battalion. Notwithstanding this, in 1884 the unit was attached to the 19th Lancashire RVC for administrative purposes. Finally, on 1 March 1884, came the final redesignation as the 7th (Isle of Man) Volunteer Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment), the junior battalion of the regiment.
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