MILITIA FIELD ARTILLERY. 
31 
a drill-ground at head-quarters, so that there is no waste of time when 
parading for driving-drill in going to and fro from barracks. 
I think it will be conceded that this combination of money with a 
drill-ground at head-quarters and fair proximity to Aldershot, gives 
the Honourable Artillery Company great initial advantage over other 
regiments, and this, added to the esprit de corps and rivalry between 
the two batteries, has, in a large measure, enabled them to attain their 
present standard of mobility. The training received by a recruit (a 
mounted man) of the artillery division Honourable Artillery Company 
on an average consists as follows in each of his two first years : 2 rides ' 
of 1J hours each for ten weeks, equal to 30 hours ; 30 drills at head¬ 
quarters, equalling about 45 hours; 6 days at Aldershot at six hours a 
day (this does not include stable duties, etc.) 36 hours ; total 111 hours 
or in two years 222 hours. 
I will now consider the training that the Militia Field gunner would 
receive. During the two months preliminary training, recruits, both 
gunners and drivers, should respectively get through gun-drill and 
riding school, and the latter should also begin driving during this time. 
These two months would be followed by the ordinary training, which 
should never be less than five weeks, four weeks field movements and 
the fifth week at gun practice. 
Without reckoning stable duties, the recruit would do at the very 
least 4 hours a day or 24 hours a week for the three months, or 288 
hours in his first year; in his second year he would do 24 hours a week 
for one month, or 96 hours, a total of 384 hours in the two years. 
Compared with the Honourable Artillery Company, this gives^a large 
excess which would compensate for the inferior intelligence of the 
militia recruit, and for perhaps, rather less of the red hot zeal that 
purely voluntary service inspires. 
Militia get through a considerable amount of drill during their 
ordinary training, and I am convinced that by keeping hard at it they 
would, with the first year’s training of three consecutive months, 
followed by an annual training of 35 days, reach a very high standard 
indeed. 
As regards horses, it would of course be impossible to hire these, 
the expense would be too great, they would have to be bought, the 
system being pretty much as follows :—Taking the brigade division of 
three batteries as the unit, sufficient horses would have to be bought 
for three complete batteries with six guns and six wagons (six 
horses in the latter) for each battery. 
A school would have to be formed for Militia Artillery either at 
Aldershot or on the new ground on Salisbury Plain, barracks and 
stables being built to accommodate the brigade division. 
The first brigade division, to arrive in April, would train for four 
weeks and then go away for practice, leaving its barracks, horses and 
guns to be taken over by the second brigade division, who would train 
during May, the third brigade division in June and so on, the 6th 
finishing at the end of September. If room could be found at Oke- 
hampton or elsewhere they might go mounted to practice every third 
Circum¬ 
stances in 
favour of 
efficiency 
Comparison 
of training ; 
H.A.C. and 
Militia 
General 
scheme- 
horses 
Barracks 
Training 
