Army signallers

[tjp28blue]

Hello,

Please forgive my naive question but an important job of a battalion signaller was to lay and maintain landlines for communications to and from HQ, etc. Was this communication via morse code or the spoken word, both?

Many thanks for your patience.

Regards,

TJP

[David_Underdown]

Both/either: this book https://archive.org/details/signalserviceine00prie is very useful for understanding the roles of the signal service (though this conentrates on the role of the Signal Service RE, later the new Royal Signal Corps, rather than at battalion level, but it demonstrates the tech available)

[FROGSMILE]

Hello,

Please forgive my naive question but an important job of a battalion signaller was to lay and maintain landlines for communications to and from HQ, etc. Was this communication via morse code or the spoken word, both?

Many thanks for your patience.

Regards,

TJP

For infantry battalions the communication was almost exclusively via land line using buried, copper core cable. This precarious form of communication required regular line checks and repairs when and where breaks, often caused by artillery fire, occurred. Communication was usually by morse using a 'Fuller Phone'. http://www.wftw.nl/ful.html Later on other, revised forms of the Fuller field telephone, permitted voice communication.

You get a good understanding of this process by reading the book, "Old Soldier Sahib", by Private Frank Richards MM, of 2 RWF, who was a battalion signaller throughout the war. His book is readily available online.

Read further here:

1. http://www.museumoftechnology.org.uk/military.php?cab=milcomms

2. http://royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk/WebSite/index.php/displays/2011-11-15-20-18-00/1st-a-2nd-world-wars

[tjp28blue]

Dear Frogsmile/David,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply and for the images of equipment. I am following up both replies and have already ordered 'Old Soldier Sahib'.

It is a remarkable website, it has never failed me yet.

Regards,

TJP

[FROGSMILE]

Dear Frogsmile/David,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply and for the images of equipment. I am following up both replies and have already ordered 'Old Soldier Sahib'.

It is a remarkable website, it has never failed me yet.

Regards,

TJP

I fear I made a mistake. Frank Richards wrote two books, the first 'Old Soldier Sahib' covers his pre-war service, the second 'Old Soldiers Never Die', his wartime service when he was recalled from the reserve. I apologise for that error and any inconvenience it may cause you.