The Defence of the Realm Act 1803 (43 Geo. 3 c. 55) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. The Act was bought before the House of Commons on 18 May 1803 by

Charles Philip Yorke Charles Philip Yorke (12 March 1764 – 13 March 1834) was a British politician. He notably served as Home Secretary from 1803 to 1804. Political career He sat as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Cambridgeshire from 1790 to 1810. He was commis ...

, then Secretary at War in the Addington ministry. The Act required all counties to a full report on all able-bodied men aged between fifteen and sixty, classifying those in the volunteer regiments, those willing to serve, to drive waggons or act as guides, as well as the details of waggons, boats, horses, cattle, food and forage.Clive Emsley, ''British Society and the French Wars, 1793-1815'' (Macmillan, 1979), p. 101.

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{{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1803 19th-century military history of the United Kingdom United Kingdom military law Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament British defence policymaking Military human resource management Napoleonic Wars 1803 in international relations