Legion of Frontiersmen
Encyclopedia
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
group formed in Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
in 1905 by Roger Pocock, a former Constable with the North-West Mounted Police and Boer War veteran, with its roots firmly set in another era, to bolster the defensive capacity of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Prompted by pre-war fears of an impending invasion of Britain, the organisation was founded as a field intelligence corps on a romanticised conception of the "frontier
Frontier myth
The frontier myth or frontier tall tales is a term given to the popular romanticization of the Wild West frontier.-Origins:In the United States, the frontier was the term applied to the zone of unsettled land outside the region of existing settlements of Americans...
" and imperial idealism. Headquartered in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, branches of the Legion of Frontiersmen were formed throughout the empire to prepare patriots for war and to foster vigilance in peacetime. Despite persistent efforts, the Legion never achieved much official recognition. Except for a brief resurgence in the interwar period, a series of schisms and sectarianism prevented attempts to reinvigorate the movement. Various Legion of Frontiersmen groups still exist throughout the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, but as a whole, it has been unable to define its niche in the post-imperial world. There are unsuitable members all Legion members were volunteers and found unable to serve in the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
.. In the late 1930s, the Legion of Frontiersmen was formally affiliated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
, but after a schism split the Canadian Frontiersmen, the RCMP severed formal ties. The Legion is still without any formal recognition.
Uniforms
The dress uniform is generally centred around a cavalry blues theme - complete with shoulder chains. This is either worn with a russett-coloured beret, an SD cap or a colonial-pattern 'Lemon Squeezer' (Smokey Bear hat). Johdpurs and riding boots are worn by the 'Legion of Horse' when 'mounted'.Decorations
Different branches of the legion, in different parts of the Commonwealth award medals within their membership and occasionally to external recipients. These medals have no official recognition from the Australian government or anyone else. For example, the Australian Division award a decoration called the Australian Medal of Merit (internally used post nom. AMM). It has caused controversy where it has been implied by an occasional recipient that it is a government endorsed, official medal.The AMM appears to have been freely issued by the legion in the late 1970s and early 1980s, mostly for service in the Legion, although it has recently been changed so that the AMM is awarded for: by the Division to a member who has performed meritorious service above and beyond that which could be normally expected of them either for a specific act or for performance over a period...
Sources
- Christopher M. Andrew, Secret Service: The Making of the British Intelligence Community. London: Trafalgar Square, 1985. ISBN 978-0-340-40430-0
- Robert H. MacDonald, Sons of the Empire: The Frontier and the Boy Scout Movement, 1890-1918. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0-8020-2843-3
- John Fisher. Gentleman Spies: intelligence agents in the British Empire and beyond. Stroud, UK: Sutton, 2002. ISBN 0-7509-2698-8
- Geoffrey A. Pocock. One Hundred Years of the Legion of Frontiersmen. Chichester, UK: Phillimore, 2004. ISBN 978-1-86077-282-5