British Army cyclists recruiting poster WWI

British bicycle troops Brie, Somme March 1917 IWM Q 1868

The Army Cyclist Corps was a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies grea ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

active during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and controlling the Army's

bicycle infantry Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on (or, more often, between) battlefields using military bicycles. The term dates from the late 19th century, when the "safety bicycle" became popular in Europe, the United States, and Austral ...

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. Cyclists were employed on an intermittent basis during the

South African War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

– whilst they were not deployed as organised combat formations, the bicycle was found to be invaluable for reconnaissance and communications work, being lighter, quieter, and logistically much easier to support than horses. When the

Haldane reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the "Childers Reforms" of the ea ...

in 1908 reorganised the volunteers into the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

, nine battalions of cyclists were formed - one from the 26th Middlesex, five from volunteer infantry battalions, and three newly raised. * 10th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Scots * 8th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

; later the Northern Cyclist Battalion * 6th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and name ...

* The Essex and Suffolk Cyclist Battalion *

5th (Cyclist) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment The 5th (Cyclist) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment was a mobile coast defence unit of Britain's Territorial Force. It was formed in 1908 from a nucleus provided by a Volunteer battalion first raised in 1859. It carried out its defence duties al ...

* 7th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

* 8th (Cyclist) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders); later the Highland Cyclist Battalion * 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment); later the Kent Cyclist Battalion * 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment (from the 26th Middlesex) A tenth, the 7th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

, was raised later in 1908; in 1910, the Essex and Suffolk Cyclist Battalion split into the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

, and the 8th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three ...

; in 1911, the 9th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The reg ...

and 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment were formed and, in early 1914, the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was formed. On the eve of the First World War, the

thus stood at a strength of fourteen cyclist battalions. Ten of these were Territorial battalions of regular infantry regiments, whilst four – the Northern, Highland, Kent, and Huntingdonshire Cyclists – were independent battalions without regimental affiliation.

Wartime service

The headstones at Vandières of R.S. Caldwell (aged 24), J.H. Wain (age 27) and A. Norris, members of the Army Cyclist Corps, died June 1918 In accordance with the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ('' 7 Edw. 7, c.9'') was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territori ...

('' 7 Edw. 7, c.9'') which brought the

into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split in August and September 1914 into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments. On the outbreak of the

, the cyclist battalions were employed on Coastal Defences in the United Kingdom. Their role was considered to be so important that, initially, none of them were sent overseas. In 1915, the Army Cyclist Corps was founded to encompass these battalions; it later extended to cover a dozen more battalions raised from second-line

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, fo ...

regiments which had been converted to cyclists. 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 North-West Frontier) or the 2/10th Royal Scots (in northern Russia). 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 The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

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 * 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, was re-formed as East Anglian Division

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the '' Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

* 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 * 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, was re-formed as 58th Medium

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). ...

* 5th (Cyclist) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, was re-formed as part of 50th (Northumbrian) Divisional Signals * 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, was disbanded in December 1919 and not re-formed * 9th (Cyclist) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, was not re-formed after the war * 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 * 8th (Cyclist) Battalion, Essex Regiment, was not re-formed after the war * 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment, was re-formed as the 47th (London) Infantry Division Signals, in 1920 * Northern Cyclist Battalion was re-formed as 55th (Northumbrian) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery * Highland Cyclist Battalion was converted as part of the Highland Division Signals * Kent Cyclist Battalion was converted as a battery of the 52nd (Kent) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, in 1920 * Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion joined the

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment, 2nd East Anglian Regiment ( ...

in 1920 as the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * {{cite web , url=http://www.huntscycles.co.uk/ , title=The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalions , access-date=17 May 2015 , first=Martyn , last=Smith Cyclist units and formations of the British Army British administrative corps Military bicycling