Army Cyclist Corps
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Army_Cyclist_Corps_Badge_Of_Honour.jpg/220px-Army_Cyclist_Corps_Badge_Of_Honour.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/British_Army_cyclists_recruiting_poster_WWI.jpg/220px-British_Army_cyclists_recruiting_poster_WWI.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/British_bicycle_troops_Brie%2C_Somme_March_1917_IWM_Q_1868.jpg/220px-British_bicycle_troops_Brie%2C_Somme_March_1917_IWM_Q_1868.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/36th_Divisional_Cyclist_Company%2C_1918.jpg/220px-36th_Divisional_Cyclist_Company%2C_1918.jpg)
The Army Cyclist Corps was a
History
Formation
Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicycle unit (the 26th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers) being raised in 1888.
- 10th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Scots[2]
- 8th (Cyclist) Battalion,
- 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment[5]
- The Essex and Suffolk Cyclist Battalion[4]
- 5th (Cyclist) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment[6]
- 7th (Cyclist) Battalion, Welsh Regiment[7]
- 8th (Cyclist) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders); later the Highland Cyclist Battalion[4]
- 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment); later the Kent Cyclist Battalion[4]
- 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment (from the 26th Middlesex)[1]
A tenth, the 7th (Cyclist) Battalion,
Wartime service
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Army_cyclist_corps_09163.jpg/220px-Army_cyclist_corps_09163.jpg)
In accordance with the
On the outbreak of the
Most units of the Corps served out their time in the United Kingdom, providing replacement drafts to infantry battalions; some were converted back to conventional infantry and saw active service, such as the Kent Cyclists (on the
Formed units of the Corps were not sent overseas; this was done in small groups of men, with the divisions possessing individual cyclist companies and composite battalions later formed at corps level. These were rarely committed to action, rather being held back in preparation for the resumption of "normal" mobile warfare. Cyclists were employed in combat, but in conditions of trench warfare they were generally found to be ineffective. In 1918, however, with the deadlock of the trenches overcome, cyclists once more proved invaluable for reconnaissance.
Two battalions, 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion and the Kent Cyclist Battalion fought in the Third Anglo-Afghan War.
Disbanded
The Corps was disbanded in 1920; by 1922 all remaining Territorial cyclist battalions had been converted back to conventional units.
- 10th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment), was not re-formed after the war; its personnel were transferred to artillery and engineer units[2]
- 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, was re-formed as East Anglian Division Royal Engineers[5]
- 7th (Cyclist) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, was due to be converted to artillery in 1920; this was not accepted by the members of the battalion who chose to disband instead[8]
- 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, was re-formed as 58th Medium Brigade,[a] Royal Garrison Artillery[9]
- 5th (Cyclist) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, was re-formed as part of 50th (Northumbrian) Divisional Signals[6]
- 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, was disbanded in December 1919 and not re-formed[12]
- 9th (Cyclist) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, was not re-formed after the war[11]
- 7th (Cyclist) Battalion, Welsh Regiment, was not re-formed after the war and its members were absorbed into the 6th (Glamorgan) Battalion of the regiment[7]
- 8th (Cyclist) Battalion, Essex Regiment, was not re-formed after the war[10]
- 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment, was re-formed as the 47th (London) Infantry Division Signals, in 1920[1]
- Northern Cyclist Battalion was re-formed as 55th (Northumbrian) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery[4]
- Highland Cyclist Battalion was converted as part of the Highland Division Signals[4]
- Kent Cyclist Battalion was converted as a battery of the 52nd (Kent) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, in 1920[4]
- Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion joined the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1920 as the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion[13]
See also
Notes
- ^ The basic organic unit of the Royal Artillery was, and is, the battery.[17] When grouped together they formed brigades, in the same way that infantry battalions or cavalry regiments were grouped together in brigades.[18] Artillery brigades were redesignated as regiments in 1938.
References
- ^ a b c Westlake 1986, p. 224
- ^ a b c d Westlake 1986, p. 67
- ^ Westlake 1986, p. 79
- ^ a b c d e f g Westlake 1986, p. 243
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 90
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 105
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 155
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 94
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 98
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 165
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 149
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 145
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 171
- ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 35
- ^ "Salonika campaign". The National Army Museum. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Hutt, Andy (9 December 2016). "One hundred years ago: the formation of 16th Corps Cyclist Battalion". The Salonika Campaign Society. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
Bibliography
- Kirsch, Colin (2018). Bad Teeth No Bar: A History of Military Bicycles in the Great War. Unicorn Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-91-050092-7.
- Rinaldi, Richard A (2008). Order of Battle of the British Army 1914. Ravi Rikhye. ISBN 978-0-97760728-0.
- Westlake, Ray (1986). The Territorial Battalions, A Pictorial History, 1859–1985. Tunbridge Wells: Spellmount.
External links
- Baker, Chris. "The Army Cyclist Corps". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- "Unit History: Army Cyclist Corps". Forces War Records. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- Smith, Martyn. "The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalions". Retrieved 17 May 2015.