Guest SarahW Posted 8 August , 2005 Share Posted 8 August , 2005 Hello, After some research it appears my great great grandfather was in the 11th and/or 12th Ordnance Mobile Workshop (AOC). He enlisted in Aug 1914, trained at Woolwich Ordnance College and worked as a Fitter. He was in France for two long periods between 1914 and 1917, being invalided home on 13th July 1917 when he was drilling the ?lug of a pds Q7 gun (anyone know what sort of gun this was?) and the drill broke, sending a splinter into his right eye (he lost the eye). I think he was based at the AOC base in Boulogne, because after the injury it seems he was at The Dublin 83rd General Hospital (which I think was at Boulogne) before being sent back to England. My mother remembers him referring to 'Wipers' also, so Boulogne makes sense. I would like to know more about what work he did and where exactly he was doing it, but don't know how to find out more about the mobile workshops and how they operated. Were they standard army 'units' or were they attached to other units? Would they be likely to have their own war diaries? Witnesses to his injury were in the IOM 14th Corps (I'm assuming this is an Isle of Man unit?) so I guess he must've been repairing one of their guns in the field somewhere. Any help as to good sources of info about the workshops would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 8 August , 2005 Share Posted 8 August , 2005 Sarah, Welcome to the Forum, and hopefully you'll get the answers you require. Just to put a damper on it the Army Ordnance Corps ran three types of Ordnance Mobile Workshops i.e. 'Heavy'; 'Medium' and 'Light', and apart from the Ordnance(Heavy) Mobile Wksps, both the Ordnance(Medium)Mobile Wksps and Ordnance(Light)Mobile Wksps were numbered exactly the same. So you have two types of Workshops both with the same number. I realise this doesn't help you one bit, but thought I'd let you know as we need to know which of the latter two was he actually serving in. Hopefully someone in the Forum with more knowledge of the A.O.C. may be able to help. Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SarahW Posted 8 August , 2005 Share Posted 8 August , 2005 Thanks Graham, any information is helpful and I didn't know that. I suppose if I could find out what type of gun he was working on (I'm pretty sure something called the p.d.s. Q7 was what was referred to although I don't have it in front of me at the moment) then this might be a clue as to which of the types of workshop he was in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhill Posted 8 August , 2005 Share Posted 8 August , 2005 . . . snip, snip . . . I would like to know more about what work he did and where exactly he was doing it, but don't know how to find out more about the mobile workshops and how they operated. Were they standard army 'units' or were they attached to other units? Would they be likely to have their own war diaries? Witnesses to his injury were in the IOM 14th Corps (I'm assuming this is an Isle of Man unit?) so I guess he must've been repairing one of their guns in the field somewhere. Any help as to good sources of info about the workshops would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Mobile Ordnance Workshops seemed to be attached to the Army Corps in the organization chart. You can find an overview of the Army's structure on the 'parent' site of this forum. I suspect each unit kept their own war diary, but someone more knowledgeable than I will have to fill you in on the diaries for your specific unit. As usual, you must be prepared for dissapointment. The diaries seldom mention individuals. As examples of what Mobile Ordnance Unit War Diaries are like you might check out those of the Canadian units, which are freely available here . These might give you a flavour of what these units did. As an example, in June, 1917, the 82nd Canadian Ordnance Workshop Unit (Light) took over the equipment of an Imperial (that is, British) unit. The Diary reports the following: " . . . The equipment consisting of One workshop lorry, one Store Lorry, One 3 ton Lorry and One Studebaker car. The workshop lorry is fitted out with One 5" lathe, motor driven, one drilling machine, electric, one electric grinder, one drilling machine hand and various other smaller natures of tools. The source of power is obtained from a 10 H.P. Douglas Engine with a direct coupled 5 H.P. Generator. . . . " Good luck with your investigations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 8 August , 2005 Share Posted 8 August , 2005 Sarah The first Light Mobile Workshop was sent to France in September 1914, followed by two more in November. Three more were requested the following month. Light Mobile Workshops had an initial strength of one Inspector of Ordnance Machinery and 21 other ranks. It was equipped with one machinery lorry and one stores lorry. A third vehicle was added later. Two LMW's per Army Corps were authorised in May 1915. Heavy Mobile Workshops were authorised in March 1915 and consisted of two Inspectors of Ordnance Machinery and 89 other ranks. They had a larger scale of machinery, from a steam hammer downwards, and a larger variety of tradesmen than the LMW's. Like the other mobile workshops, they were principally employed in the repair of artillery, but also had an Assistant Inspector of Armaments attached, who supervised the repair of small-arms and machine guns. There was one HMW per Army Medium Mobile Workshops were established in 1916, to cope with the increasing number of heavy guns. Because they carried more substantial equipment they were equipped with five lorries. IOM of course stands for Inspector of Ordnance Machinery, as mentioned above. The illustration below is of a Mobile Workshop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonsstar Posted 8 August , 2005 Share Posted 8 August , 2005 Hi Sarah In WW1 The only guns with No 7 in them No 1. 7.5in BL Naval Howitzer. No 2. 7.5in BL Coast Defence Gun. It may be a Mark 7 Gun. (eg) 7.5 BL Naval Howitzer Mark 1, or Mark 2 and so on. its only a gess from me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonsstar Posted 8 August , 2005 Share Posted 8 August , 2005 Hi Sarah You can try the AOC Archives at the Museum Address The RLC Museum, Dettingen House, The PRB, Deepcut, Camberley, Surrey, GU166RW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SarahW Posted 9 August , 2005 Share Posted 9 August , 2005 Many thanks to everyone who has helped me with this so far - it's much appreciated and has given me a much better idea of how the workshops operated and what paths to pursue next on the trail of my great-grandfather's war service. It's great being able to draw on the knowledge of so many people like this. The gun incidentally, now I've checked the full name in the witness statements from the Inspector of Ordnance Machinery (thanks Terry for disabusing me of the Isle of Man connection, which I had thought was a little odd!), was referred to as an 18 pds Q7 - I guess I should post this on the arms forum too... Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonsstar Posted 9 August , 2005 Share Posted 9 August , 2005 Hi Sarah 4. 18 Pounder No1. 18 pounder QFmark 1 Field gun. No2. 18 pounder QF mark 4 Field gun. No3. 18 Pounder QF Mark 2 Anti-Aircraft gun. No4. 18 pounder QF mark 3 gun on High Angle Field Carriage. Hpoe this helps you cheers Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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