Maps of UK training grounds

[Moonraker]

I've spent the last two Sundays walking over MoD land on Salisbury Plain - the eastern area (Tidworth, Bulford, Netheravon) last week and the central, Larkhill, ranges today. I was using a well-printed 1:50,000 Landranger map but had problems on both days sorting out the maze of tracks, especially north east of Tidworth - and north of West Down (where there were camping sites a hundred years ago, up to early 1915). And there wasn't a great amount of detail on the map.

I also have several War Office maps of 1 inch scale (ie slightly smaller than mine) of the Plain published in the first part of the last century. I can see that these were OK for guiding people to particular landmarks and camping-sites, especially if, as I presume, the tracks linking these were quite distinct (having been used by hundreds of marching men and dozens of wagons).

But I wondered what sort and scale of maps were issued to soldiers on manoeuvres in the area, notably infantry. I'm not aware of larger-scale War Office maps of the area, though there were "civilian" OS 6-inch maps. (There are bound volumes of these surveyed soon after the Great War in the National Archives, by the way.) The one-inch maps must have been of limited use to them, especially the succession of newly-raised battalions training in the area - and completely unfamiliar with it - during the war.

The same problem must have occurred with other training areas, whether used regularly or occasionally. Dartmoor and the New Forest come to mind, and in 1910 massive manoeuvres spread over from Wiltshire into several other counties.

Moonraker

[jhill]

I have not, alas!, seen maps of that area. However, there is a wee bit of stuff with some war diaries, for example those of the 13th Canadian Infantry Brigade for August, 1917. This was part of the 5th Canadian Division at that time, stationed at Witley. They often seem to have been going out on exercises.

This is an example of the type of maps issued. It is from the ALDERSHOT DISTRICT NORTH 1 in. map, and the level of detail must be typical of the maps issued elsewhere.

[Moonraker]

There's a lot of detail in that map, which depicts an area with more features in it than the Plain. Since you mention Canadians, their First Contingent arrived on the Plain in October 1914, usually at night, and were guided to their camping-sites seven or eight miles by local scouts and policemen, including one, it is said, mounted on a tricycle. I've come across no evidence of British soldiers then guiding them around the Plain on exercises, though some men quickly found their way to the local village pubs (before these were put out of bounds).

Since my first post, I have unearthed a two-inch to the mile map, which would have been a bit more useful. It employs hachures rather than contour lines, and these do better convey an idea of hills and valleys. With modern maps, where the ground is rolling (rather than hilly) I have trouble deciding whether the contours show "ups" or "downs".

A hundred years ago on the Plain there would have been fewer tracks - just those connecting villages and farms - so finding the right one would have been easier. Today the MoD has laid gravelled tracks (and a few tarred ones) which look tempting to use but sometimes take one off one's intended direction, there are farm tracks and a few rights-of-way (not always signed), and other tracks that seem to serve no useful purpose save to mislead.

Moonraker

[themonsstar]

All I could find are these from the Mersay Defences Plans, I will only post the one.