Civilian Specialists at War Britain’S Transport Experts and the First World War

Civilian Specialists at War Britain’s Transport Experts and the First World War CHRISTOPHER PHILLIPS Civilian Specialists at War Britain’s Transport Experts and the First World War New Historical Perspectives is a book series for early career scholars within the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Books in the series are overseen by an expert editorial board to ensure the highest standards of peer-reviewed scholarship. Commissioning and editing is undertaken by the Royal Historical Society, and the series is published under the imprint of the Institute of Historical Research by the University of London Press. The series is supported by the Economic History Society and the Past and Present Society. Series co-editors: Heather Shore (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Jane Winters (School of Advanced Study, University of London) Founding co-editors: Simon Newman (University of Glasgow) and Penny Summerfield (University of Manchester) New Historical Perspectives Editorial Board Charlotte Alston, Northumbria University David Andress, University of Portsmouth Philip Carter, Institute of Historical Research, University of London Ian Forrest, University of Oxford Leigh Gardner, London School of Economics Tim Harper, University of Cambridge Guy Rowlands, University of St Andrews Alec Ryrie, Durham University Richard Toye, University of Exeter Natalie Zacek, University of Manchester Civilian Specialists at War Britain’s Transport Experts and the First World War Christopher Phillips LONDON ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OF LONDON PRESS Published in 2020 by UNIVERSITY OF LONDON PRESS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDY INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU © Christopher Phillips 2020 The author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. More information regarding CC licenses is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/. Copyright and permissions for the reuse of many of the images included in this publication differ from the above. Copyright and permissions information is provided alongside each image. Available to download free or to purchase the hard copy edition at https://www.sas.ac.uk/publications/. ISBNs 978-1-909646-90-2 (hardback edition) 978-1-909646-97-1 (paperback edition) 978-1-909646-92-6 (PDF edition) 978-1-909646-91-9 (ePub edition) 978-1-912702-45-9 (.mobi edition) DOI 10.14296/420.9781909646926 Cover image: A Royal Engineers working party coming down from the line by light railway, Ypres, 7 January 1918. © Imperial War Museum (Q 8404). Contents List of illustrations vii Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations xiii Maps xv Introduction 1 I. Preparation 21 1. Forging a relationship: the army, the government and Britain’s transport experts, 1825–1914 23 2. A fruitful collaboration: Henry Wilson, the railways and the British Expeditionary Force’s mobilization, 1910–14 63 II. Expansion 93 3. Stepping into their places: Britain’s transport experts and the expanding war, 1914–16 95 4. Commitment and constraint I: the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway and the port of Boulogne 137 5. Commitment and constraint II: Commander Gerald Holland and the role of inland water transport 167 6. The civilians take over? Sir Eric Geddes and the crisis of 1916 199 III. Armageddon 237 7. ‘By similar methods as adopted by the English railway companies’: materials and working practices on the western front, 1916–18 239 8. The balancing act: Britain’s transport experts, the global war effort and coalition warfare, 1916–18 277 9. The road to victory: transportation in the British Expeditionary Force, 1917–18 321 v Civilian Specialists at War: Britain’s Transport Experts and the First World War 10. Conclusion 367 Appendix I: Information requested by the secretary of state for war from the transportation mission led by Sir Eric Geddes, August 1916 375 Appendix II: Instructions issued to General Nash, 10 January 1918 379 Bibliography 381 Index 407 vi List of illustrations Maps 1 The Chemins de Fer du Nord in 1914. xv 2 Principal navigable waterways serving the western front. xvi 3 Railways constructed and converted in Egypt and Palestine, 1914–18. xvii 4 The Cherbourg–Taranto railway line, 1917–18. xviii Figures 2.1 Diagram showing how all (rail) roads lead to Southampton. 87 4.1 Monthly tonnage record and average daily issue of men’s rations from the port of Boulogne, 1914–18. 144 5.1 Map of the northern waterways, France and Belgium. 172 5.2 The development of inland water transport resources on the western front, 1915–18. 177 5.3 Detail of the railway facilities surrounding Calais and Dunkirk. 184 6.1 The railway lines near Amiens at the time of the battle of the Somme, 1916. 203 7.1 Route miles operated and average tonnage conveyed per week by the British Expeditionary Force’s light railways, 1917–18. 247 7.2 The growth of the light railway system operated by the 5 New Zealand Light Railway Operating Company, 1917. 259 7.3 Delays to freight traffic on the Midland Railway, average weekly hours, 1907–13. 262 8.1 Principal railways in north-western Russia, 1917–18. 302 8.2 Principal ports and routes used by the American Expeditionary Force, 1917–18. 312 9.1 The British Expeditionary Force’s rail network, April 1918. 341 vii Civilian Specialists at War: Britain’s Transport Experts and the First World War 9.2 The Somme crossings west of Amiens, March 1918. 349 9.3 The Somme crossings west of Amiens, August 1918. 354 Tables 0.1 Resource and development ratios, allies:central powers. 16 1.1 Number of officers to pass the administrative training course at the London School of Economics, 1907–14. 50 2.1 Numbers embarked at English and Irish ports between 9 August and 21 September 1914. 72 3.1 Railway companies’ manufactures of ambulance stretchers, September 1914. 122 3.2 Members of the railway war manufactures sub- committee, October 1914 and April 1915. 124 4.1 Wagon turnover for the London district of the South- Eastern and Chatham Railway, 1914–18. 160 5.1 Approximate tonnages of materials carried by inland water transport on the western front, 1915–18. 192 6.1 Estimate of probable daily requirements for the British Expeditionary Force, 1917. 219 7.1 Principal road plant available in France, 1916–17. 242 7.2 Light railway construction in France and Flanders, 1917–18. 245 7.3 Projected traffic allocations for the British Expeditionary Force’s Channel ports, November 1916. 253 8.1 The equipment and personnel required for operation of the overland route to Salonika, February 1917. 288 9.1 Selected weekly averages on the light railway network for typical months, 1917. 330 viii Acknowledgements This book is in many ways a story about a collaborative project. Its existence is also in many ways the result of a collaborative project. My name may be the only one to appear on the front cover, but many people have contributed to its conception, development and completion – both professionally and personally – in the nearly fifteen years that have passed since I submitted a timid proposal for an undergraduate dissertation on ‘something to do with logistics in the First World War’ at the University of Birmingham. Throughout that period I have been lucky enough to have been able to rely upon the moral and financial support of my family. My mother Diane and brother Andrew have been constant sources of warmth and patience, whilst without my wife Claire’s sacrifices, encouragement and valuable advice this book would never have been completed. I am principally indebted to them and dedicate it to all three of them with my gratitude and love. My brother’s partner Helen, my niece Jessica and my friend James Hyde have each provided welcome distractions from the First World War in their own ways – and for that I am also profoundly grateful. That the book following these acknowledgements is barely recognizable from the proposal from which it sprang is thanks to a host of inspirational scholars. During my time at the University of Birmingham I was lucky enough to be a part of the Centre for First World War Studies under the stewardship of John Bourne. He guided me into the care of Rob Thompson, whose influence upon the subject of this book is testament to his boundless enthusiasm and expertise in the field. I would like to thank them both for their support, along with the assistance provided by Peter Simkins and the stimulating conversations undertaken with my fellow postgraduate students in the British First World War Studies class of 2009. All were pivotal in my decision to continue my studies at a higher level. My doctoral research would not have been possible without the financial assistance provided to me by a PhD studentship in First World War Studies, awarded by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Leeds. From Leeds I would like to thank: my PhD supervisors, Holger Afflerbach and Alison Fell for giving me the benefit of their experience and knowledge; David Stevenson and Edward Spiers for their advice and guidance during my viva voce examination; my fellow students, including Dominic Berry, Laura Boyd, Hannah Coates, Henry Irving, Claire Martin, Simone Pelizza, Philippa Read, Danielle Sprecher and Mark Walmsley, whose work across ix Civilian Specialists at War: Britain’s Transport Experts and the First World War a variety of subjects created a vibrant and supportive atmosphere; the numerous colleagues and community partners involved in the Legacies of War project between 2011 and 2015, which opened my horizons to the breadth and scale of interest in the First World War as a subject of historical interest; and all those who contributed to the organisation and delivery of the Legacies of War seminar series.

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