Now for a tale of gallant militiamen! In June 1874 about 750 Volunteers of the First Devon Militia gathered at Dawlish The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 5th June reported their arrival:
"It would be difficult to find a more pleasant or appropriate spot for an encampment than that which has been selected for the First Devon Militia at Gatehouse near Dawlish. The men, - those who found their way to the depôt at the appointed time, - arrived at the camp about a quarter to ten o'clock on Monday night. Everything had been arranged for their reception, and it was lucky that this was so, because the march from Exeter, coupled with a long walk previously had told upon a considerable number of them. We heard of an instance, in which a man walked all the way from Barnstaple, and of others in which men had tramped from Sidmouth previous to the march to the camp, and if this be true we do not wonder at their having been 'done up' on reaching the latter place. However, with a few exceptions, the men seemed nothing the worse for the journey on Monday and none of them, we believe, were incapacitated from joining in next morning's parade."
The effort these Volunteers made shows considerable 'guts and determination'. Barnstaple to Dawlish must be about 50 OR 60 miles. Sidmouth to Exeter and then to Dawlish is all of 30. Think of those hours of marching carrying kit and wearing ammunition boots! Like our Reservists today, these were, largely unsung, the gallant defenders of our nation doing their bit for the security of the kngdom.
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