Motor Transport Volunteers

Cars on the forecourt of the Swan Hotel, Bedford, 1907 [Z50/9/299]

Thursday 13th June 1918: A half section of the Motor Transport Volunteers is to be formed in Leighton Buzzard, with Second Lieutenant Pannell of the Chalet, Dunstable, in charge. The Volunteers will be men over military age who are exempted by Tribunals or who hold protection certificates. They will be required to enrol both themselves and their vehicles, either a car if they possess one, or a motorcycle. Between 15 and 20 volunteers will be required. It is expected that they will mostly be men who already know each other and meet in other work. Membership of the corps will allow them to use their cars for authorised military duties.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 18th June 1918 

Bedfordshire Motor Volunteer Corps

Officers of the Bedfordshire Motor Volunteer Corps

Sunday 7th April 1918: This weekend has seen the Bedfordshire Motor Volunteer Corps taking part in a highly successful camp. The Corps was formed about three months ago, and this is the first time they have paraded as a whole. The Corps is divided into four local sections under the overall command of Captain Frederick Ray: Bedford; Luton; Biggleswade and Sandy; Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.

The camp has been held in the west end of Kempston at Rushey Ford Farm, which was purchased by Captain Ray last September. The units reached the camp on Friday evening and enjoyed a fine, but cold, night sheltering in either covered vans or a large barn. In the morning hot cocoa and a biscuit were served at 6 a.m. before the Corps paraded for a short march and physical exercise. After a day of parades an excellent evening concert was held in a barn. A toast was given to “The Officer Commanding” who congratulated the Corps on their excellent attendance, despite the camp causing many of them to give up their most profitable day’s work of the week. He particularly commended the Biggleswade section, from which 43 out of 45 members were present.

After settling down for the night a successful emergency mobilisation was staged. Within three minutes of the alarm sounding the men were on parade, and in a few more minutes the transport vehicles were on the move through the darkness. This morning the Corps attended a church parade in front of the house. Training carried on over the weekend has included mechanical training and lectures in map reading for dispatch readers.

Source: Bedfordshire Times, 12th April 1918

Hockliffe Soldier Dies After Fall From Car

Hockliffe c.1905 [Z1130/60/11]

Wednesday 8th August 1917: A minor car accident has caused the death of Sergeant Herbert Henry North, the landlord of the Bell Hotel at Hockliffe. Sergeant North had served with the Bedfords during the South African War and rejoined the regiment for the present war. On Friday he was given seven days’ leave and was offered a lift from Kempston Barracks to Hockliffe by two Leighton Buzzard men. Although the car was only a two-seater all three men squeezed into the front seat, with Sergeant North on the outside near the door. Near Milton Bryan some partridges flew into the front wheels; without waiting for the car to stop, Sergeant North jumped out, apparently intending to run back and fetch a bird. However, when he jumped he lost his balance and apparently hit his head on the road. A doctor was fetched from Aspley Guise and the sergeant was taken home in an army ambulance that happened to be passing. His wife, Lizzie North, was out shopping when her husband was brought home; she returned to find him on the bed unconscious. He recovered slightly on Saturday, but died on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Ernest Heady, a motor car proprietor of Bridge Street, Leighton Buzzard, gave evidence at the inquest that Sergeant North had said “There are some birds down; pull up and I’ll get them”. He had told him to wait until the car had stopped and  slowed; when the car was almost at a standstill Sergeant North opened the door and stepped off in the opposite direction  to that in which the car was going. Mr Heady saw him lying in the road. He spoke to him but could not get an answer so went for the doctor. He thought Sergeant North was in a hurry to get the birds as he thought they were only stunned and wanted to pick them up before they got away. He was known to most of the jury as a very excitable man. P.C. Racher of Eversholt said he was on duty on Woburn when Mr Heady drove up and told him of the accident. He returned to the spot with Mr Heady and found the soldier lying at the side of the road in a pool of blood. The doctor who attended Sergeant North at home said there had been an extensive haemorrhage from the injured man’s left ear and he concluded he was suffering from a fracture at the base of the skull in addition to concussion. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 14th August 1917

Morgan and Company Celebrate Their First Bus

Welders at Morgan and Company Limited, 1914-1918 [Z1432/2]

Sunday 13th May 1917: A concert was held last night at the Corn Exchange in Leighton Buzzard to celebrate the delivery of the first bus made at the Morgan and Company Limited works in Linslade. A toast was proposed to the company by the Chairman of Linslade Urban District Council, who recalled his friendship with Mr. William King, the proprietor of the works before Morgan’s arrived in the town forty years ago. He believed Morgan and Company had manufactured every kind of wheeled vehicle from the popular Battlesden car to the 30 to 40 horse-power motor with luxurious landau-lette and limousine bodies. He was sure that the company had a great future before it. He recalled when Morgan’s employed 50 or 60 hands, compared to the 400 who now worked there. These include 100 women and girls who can be seen carpentering, filing drilling, and even welding.

The concert was presided over by Mr. R. A. Wheatley, who has recently come into the works and carried out a reorganisation. A former professional singer, he was one of the most popular contributors to the concert programme.  He also gave a speech in which he told the audience that he had visited Farnborough and seen the bus, and had been complimented on it by “one of the sternest critics” who said it was the finest first bus every delivered to him. He intended to ensure that good relations between the company and its workers continued, and would be putting the employees on a bonus system which would recompense them for really good work. The part of the work-women in this war was “simply glorious”, and when the last nail was driven into the coffin of “His Nibs” the women of England would have played no small part in the victory. The company’s “top hole” ladies had worked until three o’clock in the morning so that the first bus could be delivered within 24 hours of the time it was promised. The company chairman, Mr. J. W. Salisbury was not able to attend, but wrote congratulating  the entire staff on the progress of the work now in hand.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 22nd May 1917

Motor Car Accident

Ref: Z1306/36/18/1, View of an early motor car accident in Dunstable, 1908 (Bedfordshire Archives & Records Service)

Friday 5^th January 1917: An alarming motor accident occurred in the early hours of the morning, the occupants of the car making miraculous escapes. Mr and Mrs Charles Hall of Octagon House, Cople, had been spending the evening with Mr and Mrs Galletly of the Midland Hotel, Bedford. On their way home, a tyre burst over the Fenlake Bridge (Cardington side) and the car dashed into the ditch and up the bank on the left hand side of the road. Mrs Hall was thrown into the ditch, which was filled with water, and ended up with part of the car’s wheel over her leg. Miss Horton, a domestic help travelling with the Halls, came to her rescue by keeping Mrs Hall’s head above water. Once Mrs Hall had been freed, she ran back to the Midland Hotel to seek help and was accompanied by a police officer on duty in St Paul’s Square. She was joined later by Miss Horton and Mr Hall. Both were badly shaken, and Mr Hall’s face and hand were bleeding profusely. They were attended to by a doctor the following morning, before making their way back to Cople.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard 5/1/1917

New Vehicle Lighting Regulations

Marquis of Northampton's Car after accident at Dunstable, 1908 [Z1306/36/18/2]

Tuesday 11th January 1916: New regulations relating to lights on vehicles came into force in Bedfordshire yesterday. Under these rules the use of headlights on motor cars is prohibited. All vehicles must carry a lamp displaying a white light at the front. Unless the vehicle is a bicycle this must be displayed at the extreme right hand side of the vehicle; if a second lamp is carried this must be at the extreme left hand side. At the rear a red lamp must be displayed, again at the extreme right hand side of the vehicle. If electric lamps are used the bulb must not exceed 12 watts and the longer side or diameter of the front glass must not exceed six inches; other restrictions are in place for acetylene and oil lamps.

The difficulties likely to arise from the new regulations have already been demonstrated by Ronald Guy Larking, an officer of the Royal Engineers who appeared today at the Borough Court charged with assaulting a special constable in an argument over motor car headlamps. After being convicted and fined £1 he told the magistrates that the previous night four members of the mobile corps of signallers to which he belonged had been sent out from Baldock. There were seven accidents that night, two involving dispatch riders and the others civilians. He himself had travelled to Cambridge and estimated that even though he had a fairly bright light he had run on to the grass verge nearly fifty times. He suggested an exception should be made for officers and dispatch riders on duty; they could not possibly carry out their work safely, and it seemed ridiculous that men should be injured by falling off their bicycles in the dark. The police superintendent pointed out that Mr. Larking had not properly read his instructions. An order had been made some weeks ago that military motor cars on duty could use headlights, on condition that while doing so they must carry a green light on each side.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 28th December 1915 and 18th January 1916

Road Rage at Toddington

Church Square, Toddington [Z1130/126/32]

Wednesday 29th September 1915: A Bedfordshire Yeomanry trooper from Toddington has been prosecuted for assaulting Ernest Duckling, the proprietor of the Great Northern Laundry at Dunstable. Mr. Duckling stated that he was a passenger in a motor van which passed a governess cart near Dropshort Farm on the road from Dunstable to Toddington. When they stopped further up the road Horace Fowler and his father drove up. The father complained that he had had to go on to the grass. The younger man said “Leave this to me” and struck Mr. Duckling several times in the face, giving him two black eyes and breaking a tooth. Fowler jumped into the governess cart and drove off, leaving his father behind. When asked who they were the father refused to tell him. Mr. Duckling followed the cart up the road and took hold of the horse’s head. Horace Fowler jumped down and assaulted him for a second time. He cried “murder” and a crowd gathered; he was then told that the man’s name was Fowler.

Horace Fowler said that Ernest Duckling had struck the first blow – Duckling denied this, saying that his arms had been full of parcels. George Pearson, chauffeur to Dr. Lathbury of Dunstable and the driver of the van, said he was driving that night as an act of friendship. They had passed the governess cart and stopped further on to deliver parcels. Fowler had struck Mr. Duckling in the face without a word being said. He reiterated that Mr. Duckling could not have struck Fowler as he was carrying parcels. Fowler suggested that Pearson was driving because Mr. Duckling had had too much to drink, but Pearson emphatically denied this.

Horace Fowler said he was on leave and had cycled from Olney to Toddington before driving to Dunstable and back with his parents. The motor car had passed them at a terrific pace. He shouted, his father pulled on the grass and the car just missed them. Near Mount Pleasant he got out to lead the pony; as he passed the motor car he asked Duckling if he wanted all the road. They had an altercation during which Duckling struck at him and grabbed the pony’s reins. He retaliated, although he admitted Duckling had got the worst of it. The pony escaped and he had to run after it. Duckling, who was under the influence of drink, followed him and again grabbed the pony. Ebenezer Fowler said that after he spoke to Duckling about driving too close, Duckling and his son “began to dance about the road”; his son merely retaliated when Duckling struck him. When Duckling shouted “murder” people thought it was because he was drunk.

The Bench were not convinced by the Fowlers’ evidence. Horace Fowler was fined £2 with the alternative of one month’s hard labour and was told that if he had not been in uniform he would have been sent to gaol.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard, 1st October 1915

A Near-Miss in Bedford

Diemer and Reynolds printing works, Midland Road 

during flood of April 1908 [Z1306/10/41/7]

Monday 20th September 1915: A near-miss took place in Bedford this morning which could easily have led to tragedy. A large Army motor transport heading in the direction of the station turned right from Gwyn Street[1] into Midland Road into the path of a powerful motor car driving fast in the direction of the High Street. The driver averted a collision by swerving to the right, mounting the footpath near Messrs. Diemer and Reynolds’ printing works, drove round a street lamp, returned to the middle of the road and continued without stopping or reducing his speed. Fortunately there were no pedestrians on that part of the pavement, although there were many people nearby and a good number of vehicles on the road. The army driver braked so violently that several yards of tar-macadam on the road was damaged. That no accident took place and that nobody was injured or killed is a piece of extraordinary good fortune.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard, 24th September 1915

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[1] Most of Gwyn Street, which originally ran from Bromham Road to Midland Road, has since been demolished.

Furious Driving at Woburn

Woburn High Street [Z1130/135]

Friday 18th June 1915:  Private James Henry Tack of the Norfolk Yeomanry has appeared at the Woburn Petty Sessions today charged with driving a motor car on the highways in a manner dangerous to the public. At 6.25 on the morning of March 31st Lieutenant Lister of the Royal Engineers was addressing a party of about 40 men on Sandhills Road, Aspley Heath when the car came along, driven furiously at a speed which manner both Lt. Lister, his sergeant and others of their men considered dangerous.

The car was the property of Sir John Ramsden and Private Tack was his chauffeur and was driving the car to Sir John’s seat. His defence counsel said that Private Tack, a married man aged 29, had been driving as a professional chauffeur for eight years and had been head chauffeur to Sir John for four. He had a perfectly clean record. He had joined the Norfolk Yeomanry in September last year and was wearing his uniform as he drove. As a fellow soldier “he would be the last to attempt to ride over men who were also in the King’s service”. The Chairman of the Bench was confused as to why Private Tack was driving for Sir John Ramsden after he had enlisted. His counsel explained that Sir John held a commission in the Norfolk Yeomanry and Tack was therefore a military servant. The summons was dismissed under the Probation of Offenders’ Act and Private Tack was ordered to pay costs of £3 8s.6d.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard, 25th June 1915

Red Cross Cars for the Front

A Red Cross Train, France (H. Septimus Power)

(Imperial War Museum, available under IWM Non Commercial Licence)

Monday 19th April 1915: Mr. Arthur Brown, Mr. C. R. Clay and Mr Rupert Plummer left Luton today to drive three new Red Cross cars to the battlefield. The cars will be used to convey wounded soldiers to hospital trains from as near to the firing line as it is possible for them to reach. The number of Red Cross vehicles in use in France now amounts to 400 cars, 78 touring cars, 32 motor lorries, 21 motorcycles, 8 travelling kitchens and 5 travelling workshops. There are around 560 drivers, with 430 being paid and the others volunteers. The military authorities supply the Red Cross with petrol and tyre, and provide billeting for the men.

The cars taken out by our Luton men are 20 h.p. Colonial type Napiers with a specially high clearance; each car is able to carry the driver and six passengers. Including equipment and spares the outlay amounts to £700 per car. The car driven by Arthur Brown is the gift of his family, Mr. Clay bought his own car, and the car driven by Rupert Plummer was purchased by his father, Mr. Matthew Plummer. The cars remain their own property, but it is unlikely there will be much left of them to bring back. Cars in the fighting area have a short life as they are constantly driven over extensively damaged roads and within the fire zone. The three drivers are all giving their services voluntarily, and will be expected to remain with the Red Cross for at least six months. Mr. Brown volunteered for this work early in the war, and as an expert motorist has already been providing the military authorities with valuable service.

It is expected that the drivers’ work in France will be directed by the officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps. The hoods fitted to the cars enable them to be closed right in, and when necessary they will have to live and sleep in their cars. They will form part of 25 vehicle convoys which typically have three or four cars of this type for patients who are able to sit up, with the rest of the convoy made up of stretcher ambulances. 

Source: Luton News, April 22nd 1915

Kitchener vs. Kitchener's Men and a Tragic Motor Accident

Grand Cinema, Leighton Road, Linslade [Z1306/72]

Monday 22nd February 1915: Leighton Buzzard continues to provide facilities and entertainment for the troops billeted in the town. The programme at the Grand Cinema this week includes showings of “The Loss of the Birkenhead” tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday, and Keystone comedies are regularly included on the bill. A branch of the Soldiers’ Christian Association has been formed and the first meeting was held last Tuesday in the Bible Class Room at the Wesleyan Chapel in Hockliffe Street. Across the road in the Baptist Church schoolroom a ping pong tournament was held on the same evening. More competition was provided at the same venue on Friday when Mr H. O. Kitchener of Leighton Buzzard took on twenty-two of the men of Lord Kitchener’s Army in simultaneous games of draughts. The final score was Kitchener 19, Kitchener’s Men 2, with one game drawn.

On a sadder note the non-commissioned officers and men of the 15th Platoon, D Company of the 8th Lincolnshire Regiment have sent a wreath to the funeral of their seventeen year old officer Second Lieutenant William Crabtree, who was killed in a taxi-cab accident near Tring on the morning of Wednesday 10th February. The young man came from Doncaster and had been staying at Castle House in Linslade. At the inquest into his death it was stated by the taxi driver, Alfred Hodge of Lambeth, that he picked Lt. Crabtree up outside a club in Tottenham Court Road between 4 and 5am, having already collected another officer and a lady in Oxford Street. The young man sat in front with Hodge, although he was asked by both the driver and the other officer, Second Lieutenant Cowes, to ride inside with the other passengers. Hodge was travelling at about 16 mph when he saw a sharp bend and slowed to about 10 mph. As they were on the bend the near side front tyre burst, causing him to run on to the bank. Knowing the car was likely to overturn he accelerated to run along the bank until he could right the car in the road again. This weight of the car on the near side rear wheel caused the wheel to collapse. In trying to right the car again he collided with a post at the bottom of a stile and went over onto the near side of the cab.

The driver helped out the first officer and the lady but Lt Crabtree was underneath. They managed to lever the car up with a piece of wood and dragged him out.  When he was pulled out from under the car Lt Crabtree said “I’m all right” but there was blood on his face and the lady ran to a cottage for help. Dr O’Keefe of Tring  found that his face was badly cut, his breathing was very rapid and he was in great pain. He died from shock brought on by an injury to his lung caused by a broken rib which resulted in a haemorrhage. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death and asked that a caution sign should be erected at the spot where the accident happened.  

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette, 16th and 23rd February 1915

Arlesey Officer Killed in Motorcycle Accident

Arlesey Bury, 1931 
[from On The Button, used with permission]

Saturday 20th February 1915: An inquest was held yesterday afternoon into a fatal accident in which Second Lieutenant Joseph C. J. R. Waterton of the 5th Bedfordshire Regiment was killed. Twenty-three year old Lt Waterton was  the eldest of three Arlesey brothers, the sons of Mrs Waterton of The Bury, Arlesey, who joined the Forces at the beginning of the war and were all commissioned as Second Lieutenants.[1] The fatal accident took place on Thursday as when Lt Waterton’s motorcycle collided with a motor car as he was riding from Cambridge to Newmarket.

At the inquest yesterday afternoon the car driver, William Henry Miles, stated that he was driving from Luton to Newmarket with Mr Ernest Gibbs, who had a son in the Beds Territorials. They had tea at the White Hart Hotel in Newmarket then started their journey back to Luton. They saw something travelling fast towards them in the middle of the road. Mr Miles drew to the left and pressed the hooter, but the motor cyclist ignored the hooter and came right onto the wrong side of the road. Mr Miles pulled his car to the right to avoid a collision. He told the jury that he was driving at about 18 miles an hour and that Lt Waterton had plenty of room to avoid him. Mr Gibbs corroborated Mr Miles’ evidence and added that the cyclist only seemed to notice them as Mr Miles tried to get out of his way, whereupon he tried to return to the proper side of the road, coming right into the path of the car. The motorcycle crashed into the bonnet of the car and Mr Gibbs though the cyclist had gone underneath. The car spun round with the motorcycle still wedged into the bonnet. He found Lt Waterton lying on the opposite side of the road.

Miss Constance Queenie Golding said that she and her sister Miss Eileen Golding were walking on the Cambridge Road. A motor car overtook them at a moderate speed travelling on the correct side of the road. About 100 yards on it seemed to swerve suddenly. There was “an awful noise like breaking glass or a gun report” and sparks seemed to come from under the car. After the crash a gentleman (Mr Gibbs) stopped them and told them there had been a terrible accident. They found a man lying on his face and turned him over to see where the bleeding came from. She wiped his face with her handkerchief to see where the blood came from. At this point Lt Waterton was still alive. She undid his collar and belt and found he had a broken leg. She covered him with a rug to keep him as warm as possible but could do nothing else for him. Her sister went to the golf links for help. She explained that she had been trained in Red Cross work and nursing in Newmarket and was complimented by the Coroner on the able service she rendered and the good work done by the Red Cross Society.

Doctor Norman Gray of Newmarket was called to the scene of the accident where he found a man lying on his back on the grass practically dead. He had several fractures of the skull, a compound fracture of the left thigh and broken bones in the left leg. He stated that the fractured skull would cause almost immediate death. He also treated the driver of the car who was walking about in a dazed condition. The jury gave a verdict of accidental death, exonerating the car driver from all blame. As a mark of their appreciation of her conduct they decided to give their jury fees to the Red Cross Society. The witnesses asked to do the same.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard, 26th February 1915

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[1] A fourth brother, Jack, was still at school 

An Unfortunate Motorcar Accident

Wrest House (South Front), c.1914 [Z1130/104/1/20]

14th September 1914, Wrest Park: About sixty convalescents recovering from injuries they sustained during the Battle of Mons have already arrived at  Lord Lucas’s house at Wrest Park, which has been converted into a hospital for soldiers. Some of the Red Cross nurses who have been sent to Wrest were involved in an unfortunate accident yesterday evening. They were given permission to take one of Lord Lucas’s cars for a spin and took a corner badly near the village of Haynes. The car overturned, leaving the driver with a broken arm and the passengers with injured heads. A motor omnibus taking a group of soldiers from Bedford to Shefford stopped at the scene to help and the injured nurses were taken to Shefford. They were well enough to return to Wrest but the car was badly damaged.

Source: Luton News 18/9/1914