| Level | Item |
| Creator Name | HM Government |
| Reference Number (click to see whole series/group) | 13A84/7/84 |
| Extent | 1 item |
| Title | LETTER FROM HENRY DUNDAS MP CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ARMED ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE BANK |
| Date | 11 May 1798 |
| Admin History | During the wars against France the government authorised the formation of volunteer regiments for home defence. Among these was the Corps of Bank Volunteers formed in 1798. The Corps had a total strength of around 450 to 500 men and was financed entirely by the Bank. Its sole function was the defence of the Bank. The Volunteers were disbanded in 1802 following the Peace of Amiens but reformed a year later when war broke out again. Fear of a French invasion was then at its height and the Volunteers' main function was to cover the removal, if necessary, of the Bank's gold and silver, along with the printing presses and important records to a remote location in the country. The threat of an invasion receded after the French defeat at Trafalgar in 1805, although the Volunteers were not finally disbanded until 1814. During the mid-19th century there was a revival of the volunteer movement and the Bank raised a unit which ultimately became, in 1880, the 25th Middlesex (Bank of England) Volunteer Rifle Corps. This continued in existence until the formation of the Territorial Army in 1907. |
| Description | Letter from Henry Dundas MP (the first Secretary of State for War) to Samuel Thornton (Deputy Governor of the Bank) in which Dundas conveys the King's (George III) approval of the proposed formation of a Bank Volunteer Corps. |
| Original Reference | D0199 |
| Keyword | Member of Parliament (MP) |
| Military History [UK Archival Thesaurus]; military; guard; defence. |
| King George the Third |