3-052-520 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Preparing for the Easter Monday Volunteer Review, 1880. 'The gallant citizen soldier who is seen putting on his warlike equipment in the peaceful privacy of his own home, and in the presence of his admiring family, has the appearance of being just the right sort of man to stand in the battle-field of Dorking, whenever the foreign foe shall have landed upon our island shores, and to bear his part, with "heart resolved and arms prepared," in the final discomfiture of an invading host. We see no cause whatever to anticipate that this country will ever be exposed to direct attack from any great military Power, but the exercises of martial self-defensive alacrity and skill are enjoined by patriotic duty as a desirable safeguard and practical security for peace. There cannot be the slightest doubt, seriously speaking, of the real efficiency of our Volunteer Force to render useful service, if need should arise, in assisting to protect the lines of fortification around the great naval arsenals, and the roads of approach to the metropolis and other important parts of the United Kingdom'. From "Illustrated London News", 1880.