The Wolds Waggoners - page 16
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 |
The long journey to northern France, by road and by rail, entailed frequent stops, both to water the horses and to feed the men. At every stop, the wagoners w?re greeted by enthusiastic French crowds, offering them tea, chocolate, cigarettes, even flowers. One officer recorded, somewhat disapprovingly, of his fellows that, '[the] subalterns appeared to think it their duty to be received by the inhabitants as heroes instead of attending to the column in march. Consequently the column was a straggling rabble.' The Wagoners' journey was, however, suddenly halted, because, unbeknown to them, the British Army had already fought its first engagement, around the Belgian town of Mons, and was now in full retreat before the numerically superior German Army. The Reserve Parks had to disembark from their trains in a hurry, somewhat short of their original destinations, and get on the road, moving southwards, both to support their parent divisions, and to avoid capture themselves. For the Reserve Parks, the retreat from Mons was chaotic, since G.H.Q. sometimes lost track of the movements of certain units, and since it was on the move itself, orders were often lost or delayed. The Parks were ordered to distribute food to whichever unit required it, rather than just to troops of their own division. Yet, despite the continual movement, the men snatching sleep as and when they could, and despite the soaring temperatures, it is a tribute to the skill and dedication of the wagoners that hardly any teams were forced to drop out. In the 5th Park, for example, only a handful of animals, suffering either from severe laminitis (a chronic infection of the hoof) or from septic poisoning, had to be destroyed. The great retreat came to halt at the beginning of September, when ths German advance was held and then thrown back at the Battle of the Marne. The British were now advancing, so the Reserve Parks followed, returning the way they had come. The Wagoners must have been surprised later that month to be visited by Sir Mark, who had taken a short leave from his battalion to see how they were getting along. Taking with him only his private secretary, Walter Wilson, now a sergeant, he set off on a whistle-stop tour by car around that part of northern France which was behind the lines, stopping to talk with as many Wagoners as he could. The next day,' he recalled in a brief account of his travels (from which he had expunged all details of place names and precise dates), 'made enquiries, and found Dee, Sykes, Megginson and 256 of the Wagoners' Reserve - all very popular, efficient and well-liked. There were no complaints, but Dee was anxious about harvest and the farm at home. Comforted him.' Unfortunately, none of the Parks' war diaries recorded Sir Mark's visit, so we cannot tell exactly where or when it was that he caught up with the Wagoners. Perhaps two days later, Sir Mark found himself following the path taken by the retreating Wagoner 1086 R i c h a r d Davison M.M. |
| Book number | R0398 |