The Royal Guernsey Militia has a history dating back 800 years. Always loyal to the British Crown, the men were unpaid volunteers whose wish was to defend the Island of Guernsey from foreign invaders.

Guernsey is the second largest island in the Channel Islands, located 27 miles (43 km) west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited islands and many small islets and rocks. The Bailiwick has a population of 63,950, the vast majority of whom live on Guernsey, and the island has a land area of 24 square miles (62 km2).