cyclist battalions

[staffsreg]

pardon my ignorance but what role would the Cyclist battalions play in the scheme of things.

were they used as couriers for messages, as I would have thought that there weren't too many

useable tracks for bicycles?

[IanA]

I had always imagined that they were a sort of cheap and cheerful cavalry. Useful in a war of movement and able to travel further and faster than their mates on foot. Never heard of anyone trying to ride a bike down a communication trench!!

Ian

[Neil Clark]

My understanding is that most Cyclist units were Home Service Territorial Force and were tasked with patrolling coastal areas. I understand that the HQ of the Cyclist Corps was based somewhere in Suffolk where they contributed towards the Eastern Coastal defences.

1/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion

(1st Line Territorial)

The Kent Cyclist Battalion was one of fifteen units administered by The Territorial Army Association headed by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent. Other units included Yeomanry, Artillery, Fortress units of the Royal Engineers (Kent Fortress Royal Engineers), the 4th and 5th battalions of The Buffs, and the 4th and 5th battalions of the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment).The Kent Cyclist Battalion was formed in 1908 as part of the new Territorial Force, replacing the volunteers to form an effective properly trained and organised part-time army. The battalion was designed to defend the homeland against possible invasion when the regular army was sent overseas. The Kent Cyclist Battalion was one of the ten original territorial cyclist battalions in the country whose main role in wartime was to be in patrolling the UK coastline. This was soon changed when the regular army lost most of its manpower.

The 1/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion comprised 8 companies some of which maintained small detachments in nearby villages.

* A Company - Bromley

* B Company - Tonbridge (Pembury)

* C Company - Beckenham

* D Company - Maidstone (Chatham)

* E Company - Tunbridge Wells

* F Company - Canterbury (Ashford, Whitstable)

* G Company - Ramsgate (Margate, Sandwich)

* H Company - Sandgate (Hythe, Dover, Folkestone)

The soldiers of the Kent Cyclist Battalion wore a cap badge similar to the Royal West Kent Regiment (the invicta horse with a scroll beneath saying Kent Cyclist Battalion).

Upon the outbreak of war the 1st Line Territorial Battalion from Tonbridge was attached to the 2nd (West Lancashire) Division. It spent most of it's time training and preparing was deployment overseas. On 2 December 1915 the battalion was re-organised as a dis-mounted infantry unit and attached to 57th Division. The battalion spent most of it's time guarding key points throughout Kent. Records and photographs exist that show the battalion guarding coastal ares in and around Lydd and Drurys Gap. In February 1918 the Kent Cyclist Battalion was moved to India where it took up garrison duty. It remained in India for the remaining duration of the war.

2/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion

(2nd Line Territorial)

Formed at Tonbridge sometime in late 1914. This Second Line Terriotorial Battalion remained in the UK for the duration of the war. It was tasked with guarding key points and patroling the coastline to deter invasion and to catch spys.

3/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion

(3nd Line Territorial)

Formed in 1916 but dis-banded before 1918. Not much is known about this Third Line Territorial Battalion.

The 1/1st and 2/1st Kent Cyclist Battalions were both disbanded in 1920.

Those interested in the history of this battalion are advised to read the battalions official history – ISBN 0-9512880-0-8. It is held by some Kent reference libraries.

[IanA]

Cyclist units were not all home-based. I am looking at a photograph of the 4th Divisional Cyclist Company in Rouen. They were in St. Quentin on 26th August, 1914 and formed part of the rearguard to the 4th Division as it retreated from the battlefield of Le Cateau.

Cheers,

Ian

[gporta]

In the last months of the war, Cyclists would act as scouts ahead from infantry.

Gloria

[John_Hartley]

Ivan

In terms of those overseas on active service, they acted as scouting cavalry in the first and last months of the war. Similarly they also worked as despatch riders.

In the intervening period, they were simply used in the trenches as dismounted units.

The following is from my website write-up on John Sidebotham whio died on 21 August 1916 whilst serving with 17th Battalion, Army Cyclist Corps:-

When war was declared on 4 August 1914, Jack was quick to enlist, joining up later in the month. He originally served with the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (service number 14787), going overseas on active service in September 1915. At some point, he was transferred to the Cyclist Corps. At the beginning of the war, the main roles for the Corps were in reconnaissance and to act as despatch riders. However, as the war settled into the stagnation of the trenches, the cyclists regularly found themselves being used as normal infantry in the front line trenches.

Lieutenant J H C Lindesay wrote to Mr & Mrs Sidebotham to tell them what had happened to Jack. “I am writing to offer you and your family my sincere sympathy in your grief. He was standing in front of the line at his work when a sniper’s bullet passed through the sandbag parapet and struck him in the head. It is slight consolation to know that he suffered no pain and he remained unconscious till he passed away just before reaching the dressing station. I have known him during the whole of his training. He was in my platoon in the Loyal North Lancashires and came with me to the cyclists and I may say that a more trustworthy, hard-working and cheerful man it would be hard to find anywhere. But apart from the soldier, I feel that in the man I have lost a firm and upright friend.”

Sergeant Major Edward Jones also wrote and confirmed that Jack had been shot about 1.30pm and lost consciousness at once. “His comrades dressed the wound and bore him away – doing all that could possibly be done for him. We all mourn the loss of a gallant comrade. As a soldier, I knew him to be one of the best – always ready and willing and reliable.”

2nd Lieutenant Raymond Penny concluded ”He was buried this afternoon at three o’clock and all the men in the company attended, including Captain Hemming and myself. He was carried by other members of No. 2 Platoon. His grave is in a military cemetery here, at the foot of a hill, covered with trees and it will be well tended and looked after and a wooden cross will be erected to mark it.”

John

[Moonraker]

A popular recurring topic! A search of the Forum for "cyclist battalions" leads to many useful entries made before you enlisted, Ivan.

Moonraker

[gporta]

G.D. Sheffield, in his article "The Operational Role of British Military Police on the Western Front 1914-18" (published among various articles within the book "British Fighting Methods in the Great War") mentions that Cyclist units also were used as Military Policemen (and so were cavalrymen: patrolling behind the lines, controlling traffic, etc)

Gloria

[staffsreg]

thanks one and all!

regards,

Ivan

[per ardua per mare per terram]

They saw service on other fronts too, like Salonika.