Wells Somerset Recruiting Drive?

[asdarley]

Here is an old postcard taken in Wells Somerset in 1915. Could it be a recruiting drive? Look at the old cannon to the rear!

Writing on the card says

"Crown Hotel Billet Wells M.T.A.S.C. at Wells Feb 1915"

Anyone any thoughts on this?

[Moonraker]

edorc

I don't think it's a recruiting exercise, which more likely would have been carried out by the county's infantry regiment. During the winter of 1914-15, some 800,000 troops were billeted in private houses, boarding houses and hotels because there just wasn't enough military accommodation for those flocking to join the colours, many of whom were living in tents. A massive camp-building programme was under way, but as winter drew on conditions were so bad that soldiers were moved into billets.

Some got cushy numbers - in Llandudno, for example, where the troops were treated almost as holiday visitors in hotels and boarding-houses. Perhaps the Crown Hotel was as hospitable? Others ended up with people who resented having strangers imposed upon them. Charles Messenger in "Call to Arms" has some good material on billeting at this time (from which the above comes).

Moonraker

[asdarley]

Thanks for the reply Moonraker.

Just a couple of points. I actually live near Wells and cannot recall seeing the cannon thats behind the unit there. I presume it would have been a local artefact? And it seems pretty large!

The other is what the initials M T A S C might stand for

[michaeldr]

Col Michael Young's history 'ASC 1902-1918' has a photograph of 133 Company [formed 11 Jan 1915] driving through Wells as they leave for the front, and he mentions that a number of ASC companies trained at Wells

MTASC = Mechanical Transport Army Service Corps

[Moonraker]

. .. I actually live near Wells and cannot recall seeing the cannon thats behind the unit there. I presume it would have been a local artefact?

I don't know the area at all, but I would guess that the cannon was a memorial to, or memento of, an earlier conflict and, as with WWI artillery pieces that were a common sight in towns around the UK post-1918, was taken away when metal was being collected for the WWII effort.

There's a chance that Wells library may have a book or two of local reminiscences of 1914-15, as well as copies of the local paper for that period that may comment on the influx of soldiers into the city.

In the case of Wiltshire the local papers were full of useful info for the first few months of war, describing the new camps that were being built and naming the units there. Then censorship was imposed, presumably nationwide rather than just in the major training area that Salisbury Plain had become, and newspaper coverage became restricted to court cases involving local soldiers, entertainment and sports events. But you never know your luck; I came across a couple of newspaper references to an "open day" and sports gala held by 499 ASC at Shepherd's Shore, near Devizes in late summer 1915; this was particularly intriguing because though there had been prewar Yeomanry camps there it was an unusual place for the ASC to camp - save for the fact that there was a Marconi wireless station that had been nearing completion when war broke out and was to be converted into a top-secret facility to track Zeppelins. I don't think I'll ever be able to prove it, but I like to think that 499 ASC was there to provide transport facilities for the conversion.

Moonraker