The Wolds Waggoners - page 15
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 |
. , : ; • : • : • : . maintain a reserve of two days' iron rations, including tinned goods, plus two days' worth of grain sufficient for one infantry division, as well as sufficient grain for one-sixth of the requirements of a cavalry division, and one-sixth of the requirements of Army headquarters troops. It was normally positioned some miles to the rear of the fighting troops, but in a position where it could easily resupply the units in the front line. Each Reserve Park formed part of one of the six infantry divisions of the B.E.F., which were assembling on the South Coast before leaving for France. To fulfil its functions, each Park was equipped with fifty- nine of the Army's standard General Service (G.S.) wagons, two forage carts, one lighter, two-wheeled 'Maltese cart 1 and a water cart. To pull these vehicles, the unit had an establishment 358 horses of all types, both riding and draught. Before the Parks could proceed overseas, they had to be organised as a unit. Men, both wagoners and other reservists from all over the country, were assembled at a single point (the divisions were mobilising at Aldershot, Devonport and Portsmouth), and the horses and wagons brought together. Each horse was marked on its hooves with its own number and that of the Company. The horses were simply requisitioned from civilian life, coming from as far apart as the West Midlands and Cornwall, and were frequently shires or Clydesdales, more used to pulling coal carts or brewers' drays. Unsurprisingly, given the sheer numbers of horses involved, a few bad animals, ill-tempered or easily frightened, slipped through the selection process, and so contributed to the Wagoners' difficulties. Nor were they used to being picketed in lines with other horses, and quite a few revealed a tendency to kick and bite. Wagoner 272 John Hornby of Woodmansey, near Beverley. He is wearing an ammunition bandolier over his s h o u l d e r , although many wagoners were 'Hie sheer size of the animals posed another problem, since there was a shortage not properly instructed in using of neck collars for the largest of the horses. The shires weighed about one ton each, a rifle until April whereas the average weight of pre-war Army draught animals was only half that. Their 1915. civilian collars had been discarded, so all the tack had to be fitted to suit from scratch, before the horses could be paired off together as a team. The Wagoners quickly settled down to life in khaki, but a little give and take was required on both sides. Basic requirements of military life, such as the need to salute officers or the importance of personal hygiene when in a large encampment, had to be made clear to the wagoners; at the same time, the sight of a soldier carrying his rifle in the crook of his arm, for example, normally guaranteed to reduce any sergeant-major to a state of apoplexy, had to be overlooked - at least for the moment. Far too little time for training was available. After not much more than a fortnight, the Parks were on their way to the Channel ports, bound for a ship to France, their destination usually Rouen or Le Havre. On landing, empty wagons had to be dispatched to the various dumps and depots to collect the supplies which each Park had to carry. Once the wagons had returned fully loaded, wagons, men and horses were loaded onto trains for the journey to the front. |
| Book number | R0398 |