Bodmin Militia Stores Keep

Bodmin Militia Stores Keep. . , In 1859, because of the aggressive foreign policy pursued by Napoleon III, Britain felt herself under threat of invasion by France. This keep was built in that year, on land donated by the Town of Bodmin, as a militia stores, designed to hold stocks of weapons and equipment required for the rapid mobilization of the Royal Cornwall Militia. , In 1881 as a result of a radical reorganisation of the British infantry the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry was formed from an amalgamation of the 32nd (Cornwall) Light Infantry and the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot. This new regiment consisted of two regular battalions, a militia battalion, two volunteer battalions and a depot. , The old militia keep was incorporated into a much larger depot barracks built behind it. For the next 87 years this was the home of the D.C.L.I., and virtually every officer and soldier passed through its gates.