The Wolds Waggoners - page 12
Image details
| Corps | RPC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Books |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | The Wolds Waggoners |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1988 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1908 |
| Late date | 1983 |
| Transcription |
WAJR War was declared against Germany on 5th August 1914. On the farms of the Wolds, cutting was in full swing, and some of the Wagoners received their mobilisation papers out in the fields, along with the food baskets. "It was the middle of the corn harvest when the postman turned up with the letter," recalled Bill Maltby of Wansford, "I went home, got something to eat and got changed, and rode straight over to Sledmere." The call up was by no means universally popular, not only because it was harvest time but also because the Wagoners' departure was so sudden; but go they did, even if it meant leaving some farmers with hardly any men left to help bring in the harvest. The Wagoners were directed to the Army Service Corps depot at Moor Barracks, Bradford. Only a peacetime depot, it could not cope with this sudden influx of men, and many had to sleep on the floors of local schools instead. They were now issued with a uniform for the first time, and were given some basic military drill. But the emphasis was on sending men to their units with the minimum of delay - indeed, it is said that the first draft to leave the depot for their units was composed of small men, since there was a shortage of uniforms in larger sizes! Most men went into the Army Service Corps, but two hundred were sent to join the 1st and 2nd Bridging Trains, belonging to the Royal Engineers. The purpose of the Bridging Trains was to keep a reserve of pontoons and equipment sufficient to construct a bridge of two hundred yards in length, in addition to any equipment held by the detachments of engineers which served with each division. The wagons were driven by a mixture of drivers from the Royal Engineers, and wagoners from the Army Service Corps. When the two trains arrived in France, they were renamed Pontoon Parks, a title which stayed with them for the rest of the War. Within a few days, most of the wagoners had been allocated to their units - it should be remembered that the Wolds Wagoners' was not a unit itself, but simply an organisation of trained men, ready to serve wherever they were sent. Men were posted to the following horse transport companies of the Army Service Corps: 9th, 30th, 34th, 20th, 12th and-5th, which were then renamed respectively as the 1st to 6th Reserve Parks. The purpose of a Reserve Park was to Wagoner 815 Robert Sawdon in civilian clothes |
| Book number | R0398 |