WW1 Tanks, Trains and My Great Grandad!

[jerry.ice]

After talking with my aunt recently she told me of the First World War record of my Great Grandfather. She had written an account of this for a family history magazine, which forms the basis of the following:

 

 

Robert Haugh was born in 1874 in Newcastle Upon Tyne. After an apprenticship in riveting with the railways he rose to the position of Coal Trimmer at Blyth by 1914.

Prior to the war of 1914, the government realised that if there was t be a war they would have a great need for experienced railwaymen. The soldiers would need to be transported through England to the ports efficiently and later the French and Belgian railwaymen would need hep to repair bomb damaged lines and bridges, to build new sidings and to put in rail heads. It was decided with the agreement of the railway companies , that, if war broke out, experienced railwaymen should be actively encouraged to enlist into the Royal Enginers, but they were to be non- combatant. Volunteers would be aged between 19-40 years though Formen and Inspectors could be up to the age of 45.

Robert Haugh voluntered for the Railway Troop in December 1914, aged 40. he was sent to Longmoor for training, and was in the second group of 1000 men sent over to France on Jan 9th 1915. By 1916 he was a sergeant in charge of railhead labour at Gezaincourt, a casualty clearing station to the rear of the Somme.

It was during this time that a secret weapon was being prepared and tested in Britain ready for sending for trials on the front. This was a strange and lumbering vehicle code named 'tank'. Having decided to try the first ones out at the front there was a new problem. There were no wagons strong enough to carry them once they landed in France, nor were there enough wagons available to be strengthened in France or Belgium, and, above all there was a need for the utmost secrecy. I believe it was this problem that brought Robert and his officer , Capt E Rickard, with other experienced railwaymen into the secret. A wagon had to be devised which was strong enough to carry the tank, and stable enough to allow the 20 ton tank to mount without tipping and to plan for much heavier vehicles which were already being produced. After trials a special wagon was made in England with screw jacks attached to the corners, giving stability during loading and unloading. There was also difficulty in finding the best way of loading the tank on to them as there were few loading platforms on the continent. After a trial the best method was found to be loading from a rampat one end and driving them over the line of the wagons to the front wagon, and then detraining them from the front. A further problem was that the trains sometimes changed directions at junctions but had to face the detraining ramps on arrival, or else, the route had to be changed.

By May 1917 eight trains were run to carry 72 fighting tanks and 12 supply tanks, three 10 ton wagons for stores, two coaches for officers, eight covered wagons for 280 other ranks, two brake vans, and three 20 ton flats for sponsons. These were the 2nd Brigade Heavy Branch and were to be moved at a rate of 2 trains per day to 2 different stations alternately. Think of the logistics of planning this and other such operations, making allowance for lines or bridges being bonbed ,etc. One of the results was that the British railway men took over the running of the rail lines being used from the ports to the railhead for the period of the war.

There was an increased use of tanks on the battle fronts of Arras, Messines and Ypres, but the most important concentrations was in November 1917 for the battle of Cambrai. For this the trains ran from the entraining stations to the assembly point at Plateau ready to move forward to the battle of Cambrai. One thousand tanks were involved in that battle. Sergeant Haugh was in charge of railhead labour at 22 C.C.S Cambrai, based at Plateau, according to his discharge papers. At Plateau 6 ramps were built in readiness, 3 facing up lines and 3 facing down lines so that whichever way they came there was a suitable ramp, and three more ramps at Meaulte in case of emergencies. Complications had arisen because of the mixture of wagons then in use, some were still using side unloadng because of the different stations they had to use. It was a mamouth task for the railway men who rarely get mention in the annals of history.

 

After visiting the Imperial War Museum we found a good collection of photos showing the loading unloading area at Plateau. At the Railway Museum in York we discovered a book written in 1921 called 'Railway Transport Establishment: Royal Engineers' by Edwin A Pratt and covers a lot more of the technicalities.

 

Captain Rickard is reported as telling Robert Haugh that he was putting his name forward for a medal, however, as often happens, it was only the officers who got the medals. They may not have been in the heroes in trenches but they were vital to the war effort.

 

Having been discharged in 1919 and returning to a life in the North East, he had a long life passing away in 1955 at the age of 81!

 

 

 

Jerry

[mark m uk]

Very interesting stuff, thanks for posting,

 

Regards Mark.

[Grasshopper]

Fascinating. Thanks for posting.

[Tony B]

Smashing stuff! Fills in the background so often missing from 'popular' books. Mark and Jack will be after your Aunt for Pathfinder. Is Longmoor still going? The famous clip from there is steam loco going off the line. Trouble was someone thought to be clever and locked the whistle, so a lot of steam was lost.

[Bystander]

Thanks for a facinating account.

 

Smashing stuff! Fills in the background so often missing from 'popular' books. Mark and Jack will be after your Aunt for Pathfinder. Is Longmoor still going? The famous clip from there is steam loco going off the line. Trouble was someone thought to be clever and locked the whistle, so a lot of steam was lost.

 

The Longmoor Military Railway shut in 1969, after an abortive attempt to set it up as preservation center for railways and vehicles, which was frustrated by a local residents group, opposed to the plans, purchasing the critical sections of the alignment at an auction.

[Tony B]

If it had been some medieval site the loclas would have been told ***** O** As far as English Heritage is concerned Heritage ended about 500 bc. :angry

[Snapper]

That is a wonderful bit of history...Thank you.

 

MB

[ArtistsRifles]

Truly fascinating - we hear of the use of tanks for the first time quite a lot - but rarely if ever about the logistical nightmare it must have been getting them to the front as you describe.

[jerry.ice]

We were down at Bovington at the end of August, it brougt a new interest to the early tanks and the small amount of info on their transportation they have there.

I have just re read his service record and noticed he suffered a weak chest after being caught in a gas attack!

When he was n France he was the same age as I am now, and when i think of the horrific scenes that must have been all around for four years it sends a shiver down my spine! Not only seeing the new arrivals moving forward but all the casualties being returned back to the UK.....

 

Jerry