30 replies to this topic

[Broznitsky]

David Key, on 19 September 2011 - 08:48 PM, said:

the Canadian Pioneer Corps aided by German POWs soon erected more permanent wooden and brick buildings and hangars

I'm sure this is a mistake and should read Canadian Forestry Corps.  There were no pioneer battalions operating in England, and certainly no corps was ever created.

[David Key]

Broznitsky, on 20 September 2011 - 01:06 PM, said:

I'm sure this is a mistake and should read Canadian Forestry Corps.  There were no pioneer battalions operating in England, and certainly no corps was ever created.

Hi Broznitsky,

To be honest I suspect you're right and I couldn't find anything to really support the comment. I've got to talk to the Curator at the museum in the next couple of days anyway so I'll ask him. In the past Worthy Down & the AGC have been really helpful so I'll see what they say and post what I discover.

I noticed your earlier post on the Forestry Corps and wondered if you had any pointers to where they were engaged in Camp Construction or where to go searching. I'm trying to pin down which of the buildings at Hursley Camp were built at which dates, who they were built for and by whom. There are references to "split new" huts in spring 1917 for the RFC Cadets and others were completed in early October 1917 for the Wireless & Observer School (later AICS). But whether these were additional to ones built between 1915-1917 for the army units that passed through etc. or linked to the 1915 Hutted Hospital or all new ... who knows?  

So any hints, even if only to rule the Canadians out, would be greatly appreciated.  

Cheers
Dave

[David Key]

OK, So I did some digging and found a bit more on the Canadian Foresty Corps ... Based on what I found, for Worthy Down we're talking District 54 and the 2 Companies who were involved with Aerodrome construction in Britain: 123 & 124.

So with some more digging I found the War diaries for District 54 and a brief skim through found the following ...  

         25th September commencing operations at Worthy Down

Jan. 1st,1918:   STRENGTH At DIFFERENT LOCATIONS:-


Worthy Down, near Winchester, Hants;
Lieut. F.D.I. Honeyman, 38 Other Ranks and 5 R.F.C.Other
Ranks attached. Completing work as shown in Historical Record on 1st December,1917

Jan. 21st,1918 Pte. Bigelow, shoeing smith, proceeded to Worth Down,
Winchester, to shoe horses there

Feb 1st, 1918 STRENGTH AT DIFFERENT OPERATIONS

Worthy Down, Winchester, Hants;
Lieut, F.D.I. Honeyman, 39 Other Ranks and 2 R.F.[C].
Other Ranks. Preparing aerodrome

Feb. 14th,1918   Sgt. Duncan, 17 Other Ranks and 1 R.F.C. Other Ranks,
proceeded from Worthy Down to Handley Page, to join

Feb 14th 1918 (Cont'd)   detachment.
Ptr Bigelow, shoeing smith, proceeded from Lopcombe
Corner, to Handley Page, to shoe horses

Which is pretty conclusive that it should have been Forestry rather than Pioneer in the Worthy Down booklet.

Cheers
Dave
"

[Broznitsky]

Thanks for the followup David.

[Kev627]

Moonraker, on 21 December 2010 - 05:10 AM, said:

Indeed there was a standard-gauge railway line - the Lark Hill Military Railway - serving RFC Stonehenge and RFC Lake Down and there was a siding off the Amesbury & Military Camp Railway to RFC Boscombe Down, but, as Mick states, these couldn't have handled anything very large. The building of military hutments early in the war gave a short lease of new life to Westbury Ironworks, which had closed a few years before. The slag was removed and and transported to Sutton Veny and other local camps, where it was used for the roads and camp railways.

Moonraker

Do you know where I might be able to find a map of these 2 routes on line? I live backing on to the old lines route in North Amesbury and would love to see pictures of it.
Thanks

[Moonraker]

Google Images might help, but Amesbury and Salisbury libraries should have copies of Gunners at Larkhill and Plain Soldiering, both by N D G James, and Rails Across the Plain by Jeffery Grayer, published last year. The last covers in great detail the Amesbury & Bulford branch and the Larkhill Military Railway, and offers far more than is available on line. Probably available via Amazon or Cross Keys Bookshop in Salisbury.


Moonraker