Easter spectacle on Brighton Beach

While Easter on Brighton Beach is remembered for the violent clashes between Mods and Rockers 60 years ago (see Saturday’s post), it should also be remembered for a much bigger and colourful spectacle - the Easter Volunteer Review. This image - The Easter Volunteers Review: A Sketch on the Brighton Beach published in the Illustrated London News on 23 April 1870 - depicts a scene from the event during Easter 155 years ago. 

The Easter Volunteer Reviews were major public military events held annually in Britain during the 19th century, particularly popular from the 1860s onwards. Originating after the formation of the Volunteer Force in 1859 - a citizen militia created in response to fears of invasion and to supplement the regular army - these reviews became a fixture of the Victorian social and military calendar.

Held most often on Easter Monday, the reviews brought together thousands of volunteer soldiers from across the country for large-scale parades, drills, and mock battles. Brighton, with its broad seafront and easy rail access, was a favoured location, frequently drawing crowds of both participants and spectators. The events were not only military exercises but also significant social occasions, attracting families, dignitaries, and local residents, as depicted in contemporary illustrations showing mingling soldiers, elegantly dressed women, and children enjoying the spectacle

The foreground of the illustration above shows volunteer soldiers in uniform, some seated and others standing, interacting with women and children dressed in typical Victorian attire. One woman holds a parasol, and several children are present, suggesting a family-friendly atmosphere. Behind, a dense crowd of spectators fills the beach and the promenade above, with people standing on steps and railings to get a better view of the event. The background includes boats and seaside structures, reinforcing the coastal setting. The overall scene is lively and crowded, reflecting the popularity of the annual military review, which was both a ceremonial occasion for the volunteer regiments and a major social event for the public.

In fact, the Illustrated London News ran two articles on the Brighton 1870 military spectacle in successive editions - both freely available to view or download at Internet Archive (issues 1590 and 1591). Here are several paragraphs from the first report (and a further illustration found in the second report): 

‘The annual Easter Monday review and sham fight of the metropolitan and home counties volunteer corps took place at Brighton, with the advantage of the finest possible weather. [. . .] As Brighton is a holiday town, where Londoners are sure to find comfortable accommodation for themselves and families, with the benefit of the sea air and sufficient opportunities of amusement, large numbers of the volunteers and their friends went down either on Saturday or Good Friday, or the previous Thursday evening, some of the corps marching by the high road from London, but most of them arriving by railway. [. . .] 

Among the officers staying at the chief hotels in the town were Lieutenant-General the Hon. Sir James Scarlett, with Lady Scarlett, and Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, who went together, on Saturday, to examine the review ground. The Esplanade, the sea-beach, the King’s-road, the Steyne, the Pavilion Garden, the old Chain Pier and the new Western Pier, at Hove, the line of terraces in Kemp Town leading to the walk over the cliffs towards Rottingdean, the Racecourse, the Downs, and the road to the Devil’s Dyke, were much frequented by visitors in uniform, with a crowd of others - men, women, and children - who took their share of pleasure in those few days. The beach opposite the town was continually thronged; and the boatmen and the keepers of refreshment-saloons made a pretty good profit of the occasion. [ . . .]

The London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway, with excellent traffic management, conveyed down thousands upon thousands on Monday morning, the first arrival being at half past six. At ten o’clock, when the signal-gun was fired, they began to assemble on the Level, the ground adjoining the Steyne. in order to march thence to the Racecourse, where the inspection was to commence.’