I think it was in the spring of 1891. I was then a 2nd lieut. in St. Brelade Company. The Governor, as O.C. troops in the Island, had ordered a brigade parade of the regular regiment and the three Militia infantry regiments. According to orders, we were drawn up in line of battalion quarter-columns. The South Lancashire Regiment on the right of the line, the West Regiment on the left, with the two other Militia regiments between us. That was the rule in those days on training parades, the two senior battalions taking the flanks of the line.
But the men of the West Regiment did not understand this and thought we should have been next to the regular battalion. The next order was for the brigade to form fours, right turn, and the whole brigade to move off to the right.
The staff officer for Militia galloped up and explained the matter. It was no good, the men would not move. The parade was then cancelled by the O.C. troops, and a few days later the West Regiment paraded by itself on Les Blanches Banques, and about a dozen or so of the ringleaders were made to lay down their arms and belts. After which they were arrested, and in due course appeared before the Magistrate in St. Helier and were given a few days' imprisonment. At the end of which, if I remember correctly, they were met by men of their company and given a dinner in town.
Lt.-Col. A.F. Stewart, I.A.
The Royal Jersey Militia in the years 1890 to 1892
Evening Post 27/1/1956