BASE WALLAHS

by Bob Bucher

We often hear about 'the base' and 'base wallahs', so just what was the base and who were the personnel to be found there? There were in fact originally five main bases in France: Boulogne, Calais, Le Havre, Rouen and Marseilles but further bases were established at Amiens, Brest, Cherbourg, Dieppe and Dunkirk whilst the Advanced Base was located at Abbeville.

A base was where everything needed to keep the army in the field was received, stored and forwarded as necessary. It therefore required dock facilities to enable ships to be unloaded, transport to move the cargoes to storage depots within the base area and a rail connection to enable material to be transported on. In charge of each base was a commandant, eventually upgraded from colonel to brigadier general (major general in one case). In addition to being responsible for the discipline, administration and security of the base, he was responsible for its efficient working, for which purpose he was assisted by a number of specialist officers. For example a 'military landing officer' and his assistants supervised the disembarkation (and embarkation) of all personnel, animals and material, a representative of the Director General of Transportation (DGT) arranged for their onward movement, a representative of the Director of Labour allocated unskilled labour to meet the requirements of the various 'employing' services in the base and there were many more.

To some extent, bases were specialised, for example in general Rouen handled food, reinforcements, remounts, ordnance stores, motor transport and the sick and wounded whilst Dieppe dealt with forage, supplies, engineer stores and ammunition. Marseilles was the base for the Indian contingent. Within each base there were static storage areas, known as depots, for either 'supplies' or 'stores'. Supplies included food, forage and petrol, whilst stores (or ordnance) referred to ammunition, equipment, clothing and stores of all kinds other than medical, veterinary and certain other specialist items for which special base depots were formed. Vast ordnance depots were set up in the Boulogne, Calais and Rouen bases. There was a further division within these broad categories so that, for example, ammunition and engineer stores were stored separately although both were 'stores'.

Initially ammunition was stored on the quayside but in order to avoid congestion, two large ammunition depots were established away from the docks. After one was completely destroyed by bombing, smaller more dispersed ones were favoured. The supply of ammunition was kept separate from ordinary supplies and stores the demand for which remained more or less constant irrespective of the state of operations at the front whereas the demand for quantities and types of ammunition varied considerably. Supply depots were manned by members of the Army Service Corps (ASC) and stores depots by the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC), both corps becoming Royal after the war. The latter corps was also responsible for the maintenance and repair of most warlike and other stores and therefore established extensive base repair shops. Depot staffs were assisted by working parties of the Labour Corps.*

All sorts of facilities were also established in or around the bases such as hospitals, veterinary hospitals, workshops, bakeries, butcheries, and military prisons. The men working the base also had to be quartered, fed and generally administered so that each base was like a town in itself. In the latter years base personnel were constantly being 'combed out' and medical category B men replaced A men who were sent to the front. In time considerable numbers of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) were employed on base duties to release men for more active duties, whilst local civilian labour was employed wherever available but this was always limited.

Among the vast number of military personnel working in a base were, in no particular order, clerks, stevedores, checkers, loaders, storemen, butchers, bakers, cooks, railwaymen, lorry drivers, horse transport drivers, horse handlers, farriers, labourers, policemen, telegraphists, anti aircraft gunners, infantrymen, mechanics, ordnance artificers, ambulance crews, medical and veterinary staffs, a wide range of artisans and many more.

Reinforcement drafts were arranged through the Adjutant General at GHQ 3rd Echelon at base and as they were already allotted to units they went straight to base depots on arrival in France. Infantry division base depots were mostly located at Etaples, site of the notorious 'Bull Ring' training centre, the remainder being distributed between Havre and Rouen which also housed general base depots.

 

AFRICANS AT WAR by J.P. Lethbridge

The following article appeared in the 11 May 1917 Birmingham Post.

“medal for brave africans heroic deeds which won special decoration”

It is not generally known that there is a special African Distinguished Conduct Medal awarded for gallant conduct in the field, for which British native soldiers of tropical Africa are eligible in the same way as the British European soldier is eligible for the Imperial Distinguished Conduct Medal. Awards of this African Distinguished Conduct Medal are not usually published in this country but it is thought that the following list of awards, selected from awards which have been approved since the commencement of the war, may be of interest, as affording an indication of the splendid individual services which native African troops have rendered in the war.

Corporal Matukuta, King's African Rifles. For conspicuous gallantry in rescuing wounded soldiers during a retirement. Corporal Matukuta and two other native soldiers each in turn engaged the pursuing enemy in hand to hand combats and succeeded in bringing off their wounded comrades without the loss of a single rifle.

Private Mulandi Wa Mwibi, King's African Rifles. For conspicuous gallantry in carrying a wounded British officer to a place of safety under very heavy and accurate fire. This private had his clothes and equipment riddled with bullets in performing the above act of bravery.

Private (since promoted Sergeant) Halasi Sempa, Uganda Police Service Battalion. For great ability and courage in the defence of a small British post. This post was attacked by an enemy force of five Europeans and seventy five native soldiers with one machine gun, but the attack was beaten off with a loss to the enemy of the machine gun, of four Europeans and fifty five native soldiers killed, and of one European and ten native soldiers wounded. Our casualties were nil.

No 6244 Corporal Musa Zonga, Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force. This non commissioned officer in command of fourteen soldiers whilst on patrol found an enemy party of three Europeans and fifty soldiers in position. He immediately attacked and by skilful handling of his men led the enemy to believe that a large force was opposed to them. The enemy were driven from their position and pursued for five miles.

No 2897 Company Sergeant Major Belo Akura, Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force is already in possession of the Distinguished Conduct Medal for Bravery in the Field. He received a bar for the services set out below.

His behaviour was particularly cool and courageous; He received orders to conduct the retirement of an advanced post which was being heavily attacked by the enemy. The post was separated from the main position by an un-fordable river 35 yards in width. Belo Akura got his men into the only available canoe and finding that it would founder if he entered it himself with great self devotion he lay on the bank and covered its retirement, being all the time subjected to heavy fire, one bullet penetrating his sleeve. When the boat landed he ordered the men into the trenches and swam the river to join them.

DID YOU KNOW

...that on the outbreak of war the Royal Navy had in commission twenty Dreadnought and forty Pre-Dreadnought battleships. By the end of the war the numbers were thirty-three and seventeen respectively.

During the war the Navy lost thirteen battleships from all causes. The older Pre-Dreadnought battleships, though still powerful, could not be used against enemy Dreadnoughts and were obsolescent; indeed some were due for the breaker's yard. The seventeen still in commission at the end of the war did not include twelve which had been converted to other types such as depot ships.

In all, the Navy had in 1914 a total of 648 warships (ie battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, gunboats, etc): in 1918 it had 1354 plus 3727 smaller ships of the Auxiliary Patrol Service.

During the war the Navy lost 254 warships and 815 auxiliary vessels from all causes.

The Bulletin of the Birmingham Branch of the WFA

Compiled by Bob Butcher

May 2008