Australian Army Service Corp (AASC) 4th M.T. Coy

[Batin]

At 19, John Carrigg joined the Australian Flying Corps in 1917, as a 2nd class air mechanic.

Later in England he requested a transfer to the Australian Army Service Corp (AASC),

and went to France as a motor transport driver in May or June 1918.

He returned to Australia (Perth) in September 1919.

Do archived documents or war diaries exist that would show where in France his unit (4th M.T. Coy) was

serving during the period between 1918 and 1919?

Thank you.

Donna

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

The 4 AMTC was with the 4th Australian Division of the Australian Corps during that late period.

Their were six AMTC one to each Aust Div and one as Corps Troops.

The MTC move supplies around the rear areas supporting the great battles being fought at that time.

The Amiens battle in August 1918 and the follow up battles across France non stop to Oct 1918 ment the aussie troops were on the move fighting and needed supply from the all Divison and Corps assetts.

So it would have been a very busy time for your relation.

I don't know if there is a unit war Diary for an MTC but you can check the AWM to see if there is.

You can also read the Australian Offical History of the War 1914-18, Vol VI, May 1918 to Armistice by CEW Bean.

Cheers

S.B

[Batin]

Thank you for that information, Steve.

I'll follow up on it.

Donna

[frev]

Hi Donna and welcome to the forum.

Just to expand on Steve's reply - a few of the men I'm researching were in the 4th MT Coy, and one of them luckily kept a diary. From this I've been able to glean the following:

At the time John Carrigg was taken on strength with the 4th MT Coy on the 23/6/1918, their Park (camp) was at St Sauveur, near Ailly.

On the 11/8/1918 they shifted to Aubigny, near Corbie - a nice little camp in a paddock, close to the Somme (which allowed them to swim)

Sometime between late Aug & early Sept (when the diarist was on leave) they moved their Park to the ruined village of Proyart.

14/10/1918 they moved to another ruined village - Etricourt.

29/11/18 they shifted to the town of Sains

Can't distinguish another move after this.

John Carrigg, as you probably realise, returned to England 22/2/1919.

Each lorry travelled from the Park on their various jobs around the general area, often sleeping in their lorries wherever they might be - coming back to Park mainly to clean out their lorries, carry out repairs, do their washing etc.

They traveled endless miles, through some of the most appalling conditions, carrying anything and everything, including meat, laundry (both clean & “chatty”), high explosives, bread, blankets, barbed wire, general rations, road metal, soldiers, timber, garbage, beer, ammunition, dismantled camps, coal …………………….. the variety is endless. In between loads it was necessary to be constantly cleaning out their lorries, as well as regularily overhauling & repairing them just to keep them in running condition. They often had to locate their destinations in the dark, and were continuously contending with either boggy roads, dust, snow, shell holes, rain, endless streams of traffic, falling shells, breakdowns, etc etc. And life could be quite scary when they were stuck in a total traffic jam on an open road, and instantly became large, easy targets for the enemy...........

Hope this helps, and all the best with your research

Cheers, Frev