Books / Memoirs about the Base Area & Lines Of Communication troops

[Bob Chandler]

As time goes on, I find I'm becoming more and more interested in the activities behind the British lines and what was going on at the Base area. Partly because of finding more out about what my relatives were doing during the war, but also from appreciation of the sheer enormity of the task involved in supplying, training and feeding the army in the front line. I'm not expecting to find a huge number of books on this topic but would be grateful for any recommendations of books describing (even in part) the activities at places like Boulogne, Le Havre, Rouen etc.  

Edited 11 April , 2021 by Bob Chandler

[Waggoner]

Bob,

 

I have a similar interest. Good reference material is dreadfully had to find. I will be interested to know what you find.

 

All the best,

 

Gary

[RussT]

I likewise have a growing appetite to learn more about the goings-on in the back areas and how it all worked, so to speak.

 

Many thousands of soldiers passed through Infantry Base Depots and yet there is very little written about them. Just snippets here and there.

 

So I was very glad to come across this Title recently "Etaples - Britain's Notorious Infantry Base Depot 1914-1919".

 

But it turned out to be the most disappointing book I've ever purchased, and I've bought a few over the years.

 

So, I would also be interested to hear from others as to what may be available

 

Russ

 

 

 

 

 

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear All,

I have this, for example.

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[Ron Clifton]

Transportation on the Western Front, by Lt-Col A M Henniker, is a volume in the British Official History series which deals mainly with the railways. Another OH volume, France and Belgium 1916 Part 1, also has  a section on the organisation of the various support arms and services, before it gets on to 1 July.

 

There is also a series of nine books The Work of the RE in the European War, published in the 1920s by the RE Institution, although some of these may be hard to find. There is one on Work under the Director of Works (France) which will be of use.

 

The RASC and the RAOC both published single-volume histories which have been reprinted as paperbacks by Naval & Military Press Ltd.

[Waggoner]

I made the mistake of purchasing this book at full price when it came out - Supplying the British Army in the First World War by Janet Macdonald. Lots of word, not much substance. I asked the author if she could provide the references for a couple of items of interest - she couldn’t. 
 

All the best,

 

Gary

[KernelPanic]

 

14 minutes ago, Waggoner said:

I made the mistake of purchasing this book at full price when it came out - Supplying the British Army in the First World War by Janet Macdonald. Lots of word, not much substance. I asked the author if she could provide the references for a couple of items of interest - she couldn’t. 
 

All the best,

 

Gary

 

I was also unimpressed and disappointed. It could have been so much better.

 

Some of the text had curious present tense usage that made me suspect it had been lifted more or less directly from the 1914 Field Service Manual and/or other contemporary sources. 

[Keith Brannen]

7 hours ago, Ron Clifton said:

Transportation on the Western Front, by Lt-Col A M Henniker, is a volume in the British Official History series which deals mainly with the railways.

 

Thanks! Available at archive.org: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.84806/page/n5/mode/2up

[Marilyne]

Sorry to hear the Janet McDonald book does not hold its promises. I have it still to be read. 

If you're not afraid of academic writing, there's Maginniss' "Unappreciated Field of Endeavour: Logistics and the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front 1914-1918" and Michaeln Harrison's "On the Road to Victory: The Rise of Motor Transport with the BEF on the Western Front". 

of course the best reference is still Ian Brown's "Logistics on the Western Front". 

 

If someone has another reference, I'd be happy to hear of it.

 

M.

[Gardenerbill]

I have a copy of 'Notes from Calais Base and Pictures of it's Many Activities' by C.E. Montague. It's a thin volume with just 26 pages of text but there are 48 pages of photographs. May be worth a look depends on what you are looking for. 

[MaureenE]

Sample online pages British Logistics on the Western Front: 1914-1919‬ by Ian Malcolm Brown. (mentioned above)  https://books.google.com.au/books?id=xhwJQavg7BsC&pg=PP1

 

Also mentioned above and available online

• The Royal Army Service Corps: A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army, Volume II by Colonel R H Beadon 1931. Archive.org mirror version from Digital Library of India. Includes the First World War period, with chapters on the British Expeditionary Force.
• A History of the Army Ordnance Services, Volume III: The Great War by Major General Arthur Forbes 2nd edition 1932, first published 1929. Archive.org mirror version from Digital Library of India. Includes chapters on the Western Front (Part I).
• Notes from Calais Base, and pictures of its many activities by C E Montague 1918 Archive.org

Not mentioned above, available online

• Army Service Corps of the British Army, and, the organization of the transport and transportation at the front in France : lectures delivered before the officers of the Quartermaster Corps and Quartermaster Reserve Corps at Washington, D.C., May 1917 by Lieut. Col. F K Puckle, A S C, British Army. Archive.org.

Online books on the Army Service Corps, linked from the FIBIS Fibiwiki page Western Front

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Western_Front#Army_Service_Corps_and_others

 

• A Short Account of Canteens in the British Army by John Fortescue 1928 HathiTrust Digital Library, (possibly not accessible in USA etc). Include WW1, when the organisation was known as the Expeditionary Force Canteen, EFC.
• British Railways and the War, by F. A. McKenzie 1917 Archive.org
• British Railways and the Great War ; organisation, efforts, difficulties and achievements by Edwin A Pratt 1921. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org

Maureen

 

 

[KernelPanic]

Here's another one that has some useful snippets of information about supplies and L of Cs from a Canadian perspective:

Organization, administration and equipment of His Majesty's Forces in peace and war (1916) by Colonel W.R. Lang.

[Marilyne]

Thanks for the resources, guys!!! Really interesting, especially the one on the canteens, as women were working there too. I'm going to read that one first, as soon as I can dive back into the work. 

[James A Pratt III]

The Western front association has on youtube "Everything you wanted to know about the ASC but were afraid to ask" A fine presentation

[Waggoner]

James,

 

Thank you - 

 

All the best,

 

Gary

 

 

 

 

[James A Pratt III]

In Hathitrust.org there is the book  With the M.T. in Mesopotamia" by LTCOL F.W. Leland

[themonsstar]

I pick up this a few years ago.

 

 

 

[Waggoner]

themonsstar,

 

This is gold! What wonderful information it contains! I would love to have a copy of it but, at 400 or so pages, how could this be possible?

 

All the best,

 

Gary

[bootneck]

Gary,

 

It appears that there is a copy of the Directorate of Supplies document Roy mentioned at the National Archives under their references WO 158/2-3

 

Duncan

[Barwinmol]

I have just finished 'No Labour,No Battle' by John Starling and Ivor Lee (Spellmount).  A very interesting read as to what went on away from the frontline.

[Marilyne]

1 hour ago, bootneck said:

Gary,

 

It appears that there is a copy of the Directorate of Supplies document Roy mentioned at the National Archives under their references WO 158/2-3

 

Duncan

 

This is my search result: Search results: The directorate of supplies british armies in France | The National Archives

 

unfortunately they are not digitised, so reading can only be done on the spot. anyone who has a digitised copy... I'd love to have one too! 

 

M.

[Waggoner]

The RLC Archives have informed me that they have a copy. They are closed for the foreseeable future due to their recent move. Copying 400+ pages could get expensive. 
 

All the best,

 

Gary

[MaureenE]

There are copying services for documents at The National Archives such as that provided by Lee Richards of arcre.com, which is probably the cheapest way of obtaining copies.

https://www.arcre.com/questions/89-faqcopying

I have not personally used his services, but have seen good comments by others.

400 pages would be about £40.00 . (Could be extra for   poor physical condition, if you require a DVD, etc)

 

Maureen

[Marilyne]

I guess logistics is as good an excuse as any other to get over there and read it for real ... I'm going to have to reserve a seat for a whole week with everything on my list... 

 

M.

[bootneck]

I must admit that I gave up on Clem Maginniss' Unappreciated Field of Endeavour: Logistics and the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front 1914-1918 as I didn’t like its style and to my mind its repetitiveness. Perhaps, I should give it another go. Janet Macdonald’s book failed to interest me when it came out.

I’ve got a small number of books to read mainly regarding the railways and inland waterways to get an understanding of the background. They are Lt Colonel Henniker's Transportation on the Western Front, Edwin A Pratt's British Railways and the Great War ; organisation, efforts, difficulties and achievements and the Railway Gazette, Special Great War Transportation Issue of 21 September 1920 (Naval & Military Press reprint, 2020) along with Ian Brown's Logistics on the Western Front (which I haven’t looked at for a long time) and I’m waiting for a copy of Christopher Phillips, Civilian Specialists at War: Britain's Transport Experts and the First World War (New Historical Perspectives, University of London, 2020). The aim is to focus my further research.

Finally, I’ve got a visit to Kew coming up shortly and I’ve ordered WO 158/2-3 to see what’s in it but as I’ve got a lot of material to get through and it will probably have to wait for a longer look at on a further visit.

Duncan