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.

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