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Training Units in England

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Brief History

Egyptian camps after Gallipoli
The last British units evacuated from Gallipoli arrived in Egypt at the end of February 1916. Over a 6-week period, ships disembarked veterans of the Gallipoli Campaign and reinforcements from Australia. The ships that docked at Alexandria and Port Said also unloaded animals, guns and supplies for the troops. Both the Australian and British forces were exhausted. The AIF restructured its units to take in the reinforcements from Australia. Battalions were split to contain a mix of veterans and new arrivals. The officers and their men underwent more rigorous training before embarking on the campaigns on the Western Front and in the Sinai:

  • a machine-gun school operated at Mo'ascar Isolation Camp at Ismailia (until it moved to the Imperial School of Instruction at Zeitoun)
  • a training centre operated in Tel-El-Kebir, between Port Said and Cairo (until training was transferred to the AIF depots in England)
  • The Imperial School of Instruction was started by Major Edward Colston, who had served in the South African War. The school ran classes for officers and NCOs on existing and emerging technologies, including:
  • artillery warfare
  • grenadier - grenade (bomb) throwing
  • Lewis guns, Vickers machine guns and Stokes mortars
  • signal and telephone operations

Signallers and telegraphists provided communication services for troops. They used an extensive network of military telegraphs over 1600km of front. They did specialised training to meet the challenges of Egypt - long distances, camel transport, desert, sandstorms and mirage. [1]

Warfare training in England
Later in the war, AIF troops arriving in England from Australia were trained at military depots on the Salisbury Plain. The aim was to turn them into soldiers who were partly prepared for trench warfare in Belgium and France.

Example syllabus The No. 1 Training Company of the 15th Training Battalion covered warfare topics in the last 3 weeks of its 14-week training program. Instruction included:

  • wiring
  • firing rifle grenades
  • firing the Lewis light machine gun
  • dealing with a gas attack
  • using bombs (hand grenades)
  • using the bayonet
  • routines in the trenches

After completing training in England, the troops received an extra 10 days of training at the major British base depot at Étaples near Boulogne, on the French coast. British officers subjected them to a strict medical check and some military 'tests', such as practicing their response to gas attacks.[2]

1st Training Battalion

Existed in Egypt before later being reformed at Perham Down on 8 Aug 1916, moved to Durrington on 30 Jul 1917 and then to Sutton Veny on 10 Oct 1917.

Egypt

England

2nd Training Battalion

Formed at Perham Down on 8 Aug 1916, moved to Durrington on 30 Jul 1917 and then to Sutton Veny on 10 Oct 1917 before being disbanded 25 Apr 1918.

3rd Training Battalion

Egypt and then reformed at Perham Down on 8 Aug 1916, moved to Durrington 30 Jul 1917 and then to Sutton Veny, 10 October 1917 before being disbanded 8 Nov 1917.
Egypt

England
Unit Staff

Trainees

4th Training Battalion

Originally in Egypt, it was reformed at Rollestone on 8 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 2 Oct 1916 before being disbanded 4 Nov 1917.

Egypt
Trainees

England
Staff

Trainees

5th Training Battalion

Formed Rollestone 8 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 18 Apr 1917 and then to Fovant 11 Oct 1917.

6th Training Battalion

Formed Rollestone 8 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 18 Apr 1917 and then to Fovant 11 Oct 1917, before being disbanded 23 Apr 1918. Staff

7th Training Battalion

Egypt and then reformed at Rollestone 8 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 18 Apr 1917 and then to Fovant 11 Oct 1917, before being disbanded 8 Nov 1917.
Egypt


England
Staff

Trainees

8th Training Battalion

Formed at Larkhill on 5 Aug 1916, moved to Codford on 2 Oct 1916, and hen to Fovant 16 Nov 1916 before being disbanded on 5 Nov 1917.

9th Training Battalion

Formed at Hamilton on 31 Aug 1916, moved to Codford on 2 Oct 1916, and then to Larkhill 15 Dec 1916 and Durrington on 30 Jul 1917 before being disbanded on 12 Oct 1917.
Staff

Trainees

10th Training Battalion

Formed at Hamilton on 31 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 2 Oct 1916, and then to Larkhill 15 Dec 1916, Durrington on 30 Jul 1917 and Fovant on 12 Oct 1917 before being disbanded on 31 Mar 1918
Staff

Trainees

11th Training Battalion

Formed at Hamilton on 31 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 2 Oct 1916, and then to Larkhill 15 Dec 1916, Durrington on 30 Jul 1917 and Fovant 12 Oct 1917 before being disbanded on 8 Nov 1917.

12th Training Battalion

Formed at Rollestone on 8 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 2 Oct 1917 and then to Hurdcott on 14 Sep 1918
Egypt
Staff

Trainees

England Staff

Trainees

13th Training Battalion

Formed at Rollestone on 8 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 2 Oct 1917 and disbanded 12 April 1918
Unit Staff


Trainees

14th Training Battalion

Formed at Larkhill on 8 Aug 1916, moved to Codford 2 Oct 1916 and then Hurdcott on 25 Oct 1918.

15th Training Battalion

Formed at Larkhill on 8 Oct 1916, moved to Codford 2 Oct 1916, and then to Fovant on 16 Nov 1916 before being disbanded on 12 Apr 1918.

Overseas Training Brigade

Unit Staff

Trainees

Artillery Training Depot

Formed in Egypt during January 1916. Arrived England 20 June 1916. Renamed Reserve Artillery Brigade 28 November 1916. Egypt

England

Pioneer Training Battalion

Formed at Sutton Veny on 8 Nov 1917 and was active until after November 1918.
Unit Staff

Trainees

Machine Gun Training Depot

Grantham, Heytesbury
Unit Staff

Trainees

Engineers Training Depot

Brightlingsea with a Signals section at Shefford

29th Training Squadron Australian Flying Corps

Flying stations in Egypt Neither ground crews nor airmen in the Australian Flying Corps were prepared for wartime service when they reached Egypt. Some were sent to two local British squadrons for instruction in bombing, gunnery and photography. Others went to England for further flight training.

Flying stations in England Point Cook graduates who arrived at Royal Flying Corps stations (flying bases) around England undertook months of training. Aircrews had to be well-prepared before they could join a line squadron to face German planes in the skies over Belgium and France.

The airmen were taught the science of aviation and operational tasks, such as:

  • battery ranging for artillery work
  • gunnery
  • observation and interpretation of the ground from above
  • photography and surveillance
  • Experienced pilots lectured trainees on conditions over the Western Front and the latest aerial combat tactics.

Accidents were common during training. The average trainee pilot in the Royal Flying Corps destroyed two aircraft and wrecked six undercarriages. Towards the end of 1917, the AFC had 4 training squadrons in England - together they formed the Australian Training Wing. The graves of 32 Australians in English cemeteries prove that it was dangerous learning to fight in the air - 23 are buried at Leighteron Church Cemetery.[3]

Army Service Corps (AASC) Training Depot

1st ANZAC School of Instruction

This establishment was in France (Abbeville?)

Notes

  1. ↑ DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (2021), Training Australian army recruits during World War I, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 26 March 2021, http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training
  2. ↑ DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (2021), Training Australian army recruits during World War I, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 26 March 2021, http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training
  3. ↑ DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (2021), Training Australian army recruits during World War I, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 26 March 2021, http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training

External Links

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