Tom Morgan Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 In 1914, an officer and a number of men were sent to France ahead of the rest of their battalion, to form an Overseas Base Company. Could anyone tell me what the Overseas Base Company had to do? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 That would depend on the unit. An advance party for artillery would have different tasks than one from an RE company for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 19 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 19 August , 2008 Thanks for that, Tom. I should have said that this particular Overseas Base Unit was for an infantry battalion. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 I went back to your first post and had a ponder. I have a notion that this may have been more than just an advance party who's duties would have been to arrange accomodation for officers, men and animals. That is, find billets and or pitch tents, arrange food and fodder. This sounds a bit more permanent and I think they were intended to set up a transit camp. I think they may have been the cadre for that and if so, they would have only been part of it. The administration, so to speak. There would have been RE and Pioneers constructing the camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 19 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 19 August , 2008 Tom - yes I did wonder if it was something like putting up tents in a spot already prepared by the REs or similar labouring jobs like that. (As it happened, while this particular Overseas Base Company was waiting at Southampton, the rest of their battalion crossed the Channel in the night and got there first). Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 That has the real authentic Army ring to it, that does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 Tom I don't believe that this was any form of official title, merely a phrase coined by this unit for its advance party. There was certainly no question of any unit having to find and organise its own camp on arrival in France. The camps were already there and titled Large Rest Camps. Charles M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 The camps were already there and titled Large Rest Camps. Not in 1914 (the date mentioned in the original posting) they weren't - some one had to set them up in the first place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 20 August , 2008 Share Posted 20 August , 2008 Centurion Actually the Large Rest Camps were set up by the French and the staffs to man these crossed the Channel on 7 August. Charles M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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