In 1805, Napoleon and his army were camped at Boulogne just across the English Channel. Along the south coast of England the warning of an imminent invasion was to be given by the lighting of beacons. The action to be taken by the Yeomanry is shown in the instruction opposite which was issued just two months before the Battle of Trafalgar where Admiral Lord Nelson defeated the French and Spanish navies off the coast of Spain.
The role of the Yeomanry was then to round up sheep and cattle from the fields of Kent to prevent them being stolen by the invaders, in effect a ‘scorched earth policy’. They would then be used to guide friendly troops coming into the area to face the invaders.