No. 1 Dispersal Camp

[jay dubaya]

Hi all, can anyone tell of the where abouts of no.1 Dispersal Camp?

I'm reading a notice from there and under the heading 'What Happens'...'Once taken to the Pattern Room, you will be asked if you will have a suit of clothes or a voucher for 52/-...and the reason 'Why'...Because the Government owes it to you.... there's a couple more that tickled me if anyones interested.

cheers, Jon

[Moonraker]

Hi all, can anyone tell of the where abouts of no.1 Dispersal Camp?

I'm reading a notice from there and under the heading 'What Happens'...'Once taken to the Pattern Room, you will be asked if you will have a suit of clothes or a voucher for 52/-...and the reason 'Why'...Because the Government owes it to you.... there's a couple more that tickled me if anyones interested.

cheers, Jon

Fovant, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. Recently I won on eBay a demobilization ration book and an "out-of-work donation policy" issued to soldiers being discharged here, both stamped "No 1 Dispersal Unit, Fovant". (On both occasions I was the only bidder, curiously.) The demobilization centre at Fovant covered the Channel Islands, Devon, Cornwall, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Somerset and Wiltshire, and I take this to mean it handled soldiers whose homes were in these areas. The unit at Fovant disbanded on January 15, 1920, but was replaced, until June, by a rest camp for drafts disembarking at Devonport and Southampton and due to be demobilized elsewhere in the country.

I haven't worked out the mechanics of demobilization before January 15 for overseas units. Presumably a battalion, say, would be relieved of its duties in France, Germany or wherever, travel as an unit to Britain, and then split up, men travelling to the most appropriate dispersal unit for their home area.I believe there were 28 dispersal units spread through the country.

See

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...ic=35210&hl

for more on demobilization.

Moonraker

[jay dubaya]

Thanks for that moonraker, each camp having more than one dispersal unit presumably. Would I be right in thinking then, that demob camps were placed regionaly around the country?

cheers, Jon

[Moonraker]

Thanks for that moonraker, each camp having more than one dispersal unit presumably. Would I be right in thinking then, that demob camps were placed regionaly around the country?

cheers, Jon

Jon: There were a score of camps in Wiltshire, but the county had only two dispersal units, one at Fovant, the other at Chisledon, south of Swindon. They were probably chosen because of their good locations, and both had a railway line connecting with main lines; so Fovant was convenient was trains to the south west of England, and Chisledon for the junctions at Swindon for the north and west. If you have access to The Times archive (which many Pals can consult via their local library website if they have an appropriate reader's ticket), and search for "dispersal unit" and "demobilisation" for 1919 you'll get an idea of the problems the Government had in returning British troops to civilian life (and Empire soldiers to their homelands).

Moonraker

[Guest mruk]

Hello Jon,

I think what Moonraker says may be right, and that were many dispersal centres around the country. I have a photocopy of a man's 'Certificate of Identity', on which is stamped 'No.1 Dispersal Centre Crystal Palace' [30-4-1919], along with a third class rail ticket from Whitley Bay to Balham-One Way. This was issued by the 3rd Bttn West Yorks at its base in Whitley Bay, and is dated 27-9-1918. The 'Certificate' is for Cpl. Cyril Cox [59777], formerly of the 10th West Yorks, and lists Clipstone as the place of rejoining in the case of emergency. Hope this helps in some way.

Kind Regards,

Dave