THE TANK CORPS TRAINING CENTRE
Early in February 1916 a Conference was held at the War Office, to
decide as to the training of the personnel for the tank units it was
now decided to raise. At this Conference, Lieutenant-Colonel Swinton
and Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Bradley, D.S.O., were ordered to be
present.
At this time, Lieutenant-Colonel Bradley was Commandant of the Motor
Machine Gun Training Centre at Bisley, and was in the position to
select suitable men for the new arm.
The number of men required for the first 150 tanks was estimated at
1,500, or ten men for each machine, and 150 junior officers. This
personnel was obtained as follows: 600 men were transferred from the
reserves in training at the Motor Machine Gun Training Centre and 900
were obtained by special enlistment. Thirty officers were transferred
from the Motor Machine Gun Section, fifteen were detailed by G.H.Q.,
France, and the remainder were obtained by calling for volunteers from
units in England and by special selection from Cadet units.
For purposes of secrecy the new formation was “tacked on” to the
Machine Gun Corps and was christened with the terrific name of:
“Special Armoured Car Section Motor Machine Gun Section.” A month later
it became known as the Heavy Section Machine Gun Corps.
The recruiting was very successful, and this was largely due to the
untiring energy of Mr. Geoffrey Smith, editor of _The Motor Cycle_, who
spared neither time, trouble, nor money in getting the men.
Towards the end of March the training camp was moved from Bisley to
Bullhouse farm, and at this camp all elementary training was carried
out, recruits being taught drill, the ways of military life, and the
Vickers and Hotchkiss machine guns as well as the Hotchkiss 6-pounder.
The first establishment issued by the War Office provided for 10
companies of 10 tanks each, but within a fortnight this was changed
to 15 companies of 10 tanks each, the companies being grouped in 3
battalions. A little later this organisation, at the request of G.H.Q.,
France, was again changed to one of 6 companies of 25 tanks each.
With a further view of ensuring secrecy it was arranged by
Lieutenant-Colonel Swinton that no tanks should be sent to Bisley,
but that a training ground, far removed from prying eyes, should be
secured. Steps were at once taken to find such a ground, and eventually
Thetford in Norfolk was visited and Lord Iveagh’s estate at Elveden
selected. The necessary training ground here was taken over and was
known as “the Elveden Explosives Area”; and round it at 200 yards
intervals were posted groups of sentries of the Royal Defence Corps.
During the early part of April a certain amount of grumbling on the
part of specially enlisted men occurred at Bisley. They had been
induced to join an Armoured Car Service, and for six weeks they had
not even seen the wheel of a car. They were asked to exercise a little
patience and were promised a surprise. At Elveden the surprise was
revealed to them, and when they had got over their astonishment on
seeing the first Mark I tank approach them they set down to work with
a will, which, it is an honour to record, was never abandoned by all
ranks of the Tank Corps from this day on to the conclusion of the war.
The camp at Elveden was placed just outside the “Explosives Area”
and no one was allowed to enter the area without a special permit.
Companies, before they proceeded overseas, however, spent their last
three weeks within the area. As soon as this necessary ground had been
taken over, three pioneer battalions were brought to Elveden Camp and a
complete series of trenches was dug on a front of a mile and a quarter,
and to the depth of two miles. The plan of this work was laid out by
Major Tandy and Captain Martel, both R.E. officers.
Unfortunately, on account of delay in delivery of tanks, constructional
defects and repeated requests from G.H.Q., France, that all available
tanks and crews should be sent out to France for the September
operations on the Somme, little use was made of these trenches, for
tactical training. Machine-gun firing from tanks with ball ammunition
was, however, freely carried out, and also 6-pounder practice which,
unfortunately, was much hampered by danger restrictions.
The tank drivers were all drawn from the A.S.C., and the 711th Company
A.S.C. was formed to include these men, the workshops, and the M.T.
personnel of the Heavy Section. The officer in command of this company
and in charge of all mechanical instruction and driving was Major H.
Knothe, D.S.O., M.C.
By the end of May the last company had completed its training at Bisley
and had moved to Elveden; the headquarters, having some time prior to
this, moved to this place and established itself in the stables of Lord
Iveagh’s mansion and in the new almshouses in Elveden village.
By the beginning of July training was sufficiently advanced to give
the first tank demonstration ever held. Twenty tanks took part in it
and advanced in line followed by infantry against a section of the
instructional trench system. The demonstration was a great success and
many notable persons witnessed it, including Mr. Lloyd George and Sir
William Robertson.
This demonstration was shortly afterwards followed by a second at which
the King attended. His Majesty was most anxious that his projected
visit should be kept secret, but as it was nevertheless necessary
to make certain preparations it was given out at the camp that a
very distinguished Russian general was about to visit the tanks. The
identity of the Russian general was, however, discovered by the bulk of
the men before the demonstration was concluded, much to their pleasure
and amusement.
At the beginning of August Lieutenant-Colonel Brough, C.M.G.,
visited G.H.Q., France, to ascertain the tactics it was proposed to
employ as regards tanks. Unfortunately his visit was fruitless, for
no ideas apparently existed on the subject. Shortly after his return
instructions were received to dispatch the tank companies to France,
and to decide on this a conference was held at which the following
officers were present: Major-General Butler, Brigadier-General
Burnett-Stuart, both from G.H.Q., France; Lieutenant-Colonel Swinton,
Lieutenant-Colonel Bradley, and Lieutenant-Colonel Brough. At this
Conference it was decided to mobilise the companies at Elveden and to
dispatch them overseas by half companies. The first to leave was C
Company and the second D Company, which, respectively, were under the
commands of Majors Holdford-Walker and Summers.
Towards the end of August Colonel Swinton was instructed to send over
to France a staff officer, but as the establishments only allowed of a
commander and one staff captain, and as the latter was a very junior
officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Brough was sent over. Shortly after his
arrival he found it necessary to wire home for motor-cars, clerks,
etc., for he had been ordered to take over command of the units in
France. Captain Kingdon was thereupon sent out to assist him, and
two clerks and a motor-car were also dispatched. By these means were
extemporised an advanced headquarters, the original headquarters of the
Heavy Branch remaining in England and never proceeding overseas.
In October 1916, as already related in Chapter VI, Bovington Camp,
Wool, was selected as the new training centre. Here E, F, G, H, and I
Battalions were raised and trained during 1916-1917, and J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, and R during 1917-1918, the last battalion, the 18th, sailing
for France in September 1918.
In 1917, to cope with the steadily increasing number of tank units of
all descriptions, Worgret Camp, Wareham, and Lulworth were taken over,
the Depot Reserve Unit being established at the former and the Gunnery
Camp at the latter place.
The first schools to be formed were the Tank Drivers’ School, the
6-Pounder School, and the Lewis Gun School, but by degrees, as the Tank
Corps grew, these developed until at the close of the war the following
schools had been established:
Tank Drivers and Maintenance School.
Tank Gunnery School (6-Pounder and Machine Gun).
Tank Reconnaissance School.
Tank Signal and Pigeon School.
Camouflage School.
Revolver School.
Gas School.
Tank Compass School.
In July 1918 the preparations set on foot to double the Tank Corps for
1919 threw a great deal of work on to the Training Centre. Thirteen
British, three Canadian, and one New Zealand Battalion were to be
raised, as well as a number of subsidiary units. In August, in spite
of shortage of infantry reinforcements, an allotment, given precedence
over all the other arms, of 4,500 men, was made to the Tank Corps
Training Centre, so that the raising of the above new units might
forthwith begin; besides this, nearly half a million pounds worth
of buildings were sanctioned without estimates being called for, so
important was it now considered that not a day should be lost in the
Tank Corps preparations for 1919.
By the date of the armistice about half the building programme was
finished, and eight British and one Canadian battalion had been raised.
The following is a summary of the total number of tank units and
reinforcements raised and trained at the Training Centre between
November 1916 and November 1918.
British Tank Battalions 22 (5th to 26th).
Canadian Tank Battalions 1 (1st Canadian Tank Battalion).
American Tank Battalions 3 (301st, 302nd, and 303rd).
Gun Carrier Companies 2 (1st and 2nd).
Tank Supply Companies 5 (1st to 5th).
Tank Advanced Workshops 2 (Nos. 4 and 5).
Tank Salvage Companies 1 (No. 3).
American Tank Salvage Companies 2 (306th and 317th).
Various Headquarters 3
---
Total Tank Units raised 41
The whole of the above units, with the exception of eight British and
one Canadian Battalion, were sent out to France prior to the armistice.
In all, some 21,000 officers and men passed through the Training
Centre, 14,000 in formed units, and 7,000 as reinforcements; besides
these, 950 cadets were trained. In October 1918 the Training Centre,
which from one camp at Bovington had grown to include Worgret,
Lulworth, and Swanage Camps, had on its strength in all ranks and
service approximately 16,000 men.
The time required wherein to raise and train a new Tank Battalion
averaged four months. The system of instruction adopted from November
1916 onwards was to start with a very thorough individual training
and then to pass the recruits through the various schools, leaving
collective and tactical training to be carried out in France.
Recreational training played an important part in the above
instruction, and the Training Centre gained a considerable reputation
in the Southern Command for efficiency in sports and games.
In the expansion which commenced on September 1, 1918, 30 per cent. of
the personnel for each new unit was sent to the Training Centre from
the trained Tank Corps personnel in France, and this trained personnel,
together with the increased numbers of training tanks and other
improved facilities, would have gone far to effect a more efficient
and rapid training of the units, before their departure overseas, than
heretofore.
Besides raising and training new units and reinforcements the Tank
Corps Training Centre was intimately connected with much of the
experimental work, armament design, and the fittings of all types of
tanks from the introduction of the Mark V and Medium “A” tanks onwards.
The following were the main improvements initiated.
The adaptation of the Hotchkiss machine gun to the tank.
The invention of the Palmer machine-gun battle-sight.
The invention of fire-control instruments.
During the spring and summer of 1917 various experiments were carried
out at Wool to arrive at the best method of demolishing and removing
wire entanglements. Eventually grapnels were decided upon and were used
with great success in November at the battle of Cambrai.
The use of cloud smoke from tanks was also originated at the Training
Centre, and with the aid of an invention of the late Commander Brock
was eventually adopted for all tanks, and was used on several occasions
with effect during the summer and autumn operations of 1918.
For purposes of general interest and education as well as for the
conversion of the mechanical heathen, a considerable number of
demonstrations, showing the power of tanks and their co-operation
with infantry, were given to officers of the War Office, Commands and
Schools throughout 1918. On October 25 this year, His Majesty the King
visited Wool to witness one of these, and paid the Tank Corps Training
Centre the great honour of inspecting the various battalions, and
welcomed many of the men of the British and American units assembled by
walking amongst them and conversing freely with them.