Raised as a coastal artillery battery in 1854, the Northumberland Artillery Militia was headquartered in Newcastle, it had an establishment of just 161 men of all ranks [REF].
During its embodiment during the Crimean War (4 April to 2 March 1861) a group of around 30 militiamen rioted in North Shields, after two of them had been threatened with imprisonment for a drunken assault the previous night, 14 May 1860.