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Two Further references have been found to in the ''London Gazette'' suggest that after formation of these two companiesCompanies were almost immediately redesignated as No. On 30th July 1919 it was reported that 15 and 16 Mechanical Transport (Burma) Ford Van Company respectively, and became part of the Burmese Government proposed to form Mechanical Transport section of the two companies, to be commanded by Captains Indian Army Supply and Transport Corps. Lt. Jones Arthur NICHOLS was appointed O.C. ENo 15 Coy from 15th August 1919 with Lt. LAW Robert Smith McWHINNIE as his Workshops Officer from 12th July 1919 to 17th December 1919, and Captain A. H. HILL respectively, and that recruiting had already started under the direction of the Divisional Recruiting Officer, Major was appointed O.C. MNo. D. ENRIQUEZ.8 The period of service was to be one year or less at the discretion of the Government16 Coy from 18th July 1919 with 2/Lt. The formation of these two units was also reported by Major ENRIQUEZ in one of Bernard Chevalion CHASE as his booksWorkshops Officer from 6th August 1919.9 However<ref> ''London Gazette'', 31870, the official Government of India publication detailing India’s contribution to the First World War lists only five Burma M.T20th April 1920, p. Companies4582.10 </ref>
Further references in the London Gazette suggest that after formation these two Companies were almost immediately redesignated as No. 15 and 16 Mechanical Transport (Burma) Ford Van Company respectively, and became part of the Mechanical Transport section of the Indian Army Supply and Transport Corps. Lt. Jones Arthur NICHOLS was appointed O.C. No 15 Coy from 15th August 1919 with Lt. Robert Smith McWHINNIE as his Workshops Officer from 12th July 1919 to 17th December 1919, and Captain A. H. HILL was appointed O.C. No. 16 Coy from 18th July 1919 with 2/Lt. Bernard Chevalion CHASE as his Workshops Officer from 6th August 1919.11 It is not known whether these units continued to use Burmese personnel, or if they did so for how long. Acting Captain J. R. R. CLARKE was appointed Workshops Officer of No. 16 Company on 1st April 1920 (when the unit was in Peshawar), and then as Acting Major was O.C. of the unit from 26th October 1920 to 3rd February 1921.12 <ref>''London Gazette'', 32348, 7th June 1921, p. 4551 and 32413, 5th August 1921, p. 6176.</ref> Acting Captain Harry DUPREE was Workshops Officer of No. 15 Company from 1st April 1920 to 19th November 1920.13<ref>''London Gazette'', 32257, 15th March 1921, p. 2097.</ref>
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The '''Burma Mechanical Transport Companies''', [[Royal Army Service Corps]].
Burma contributed five Mechanical Transport Companies to the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force during the [[First World War]].
In April 1919, the Burma Companies were as follows<ref name=WO>(according to The National Archives War Diary WO 95/5007/1. This diary which appears to end c April 1919).</ref>:
:'''1023''' (Burma] M T Coy RASC (No 1 Burma MT Company) disembarked at Basrah 18 1 18
:'''1024''' (Burma] M T Coy RASC (No 2 Burma MT Company) disembarked 1.7.18
No. 1 Burma M.T. Company (No. 1 Burma Ford Van Company, 1023 M.T. Company A.S.C., No. 1023 (Burma) M.T. Company R.A.S.C.)
The first Burma unit was formed in Rangoon in November and December 1917.1<ref>The main sources of information used for this research are the various unit War Diaries held at The National Archives, London. Where these have been digitised they are available for download via the State Library of Victoria. They are as follows.
<br>WO 95/5007/3 No. 1 Burma M.T. Company – from November 1917 to 30th November 1919.
<br>WO 95/5008/1 and WO 95/5008/2 No. 2 Burma M.T. Company – from 1st July 1918 to 30th November 1919.
<br>WO 95/5007/1 No. 5 Burma M.T. Company – from 3rd May 1919 to 30th September 1919.
<br>By May 1919 all five Burma companies were part of No. 5 M.T. Column, which was formed in December 1918 specifically to service the Persian Lines of Communication. There are mentions of the companies in the War Diary for this unit.
<br>WO 95/5005/1 No. 5 M.T. Column – from 1st January 1919 to 30th October 1919.</ref> It departed from the depot in Rangoon on 5th January 1918 and embarked for Bombay under the command of Major Reginald Willows Hildyard MARRIS with Captain Guy LYNN as Workshops Officer; LYNN took over as Commanding Officer on 3rd September 1918. Officers received commissions in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers.2<ref>The War Diaries usually refer to officers by surname and initials, sometimes only by surname. Where possible, full names have been obtained from the Indian Army List.
<br>The Quarterly Indian Army List, April 1920, Superintendent Government Printing, Calcutta, 1920.
<br>The Quarterly Indian Army List, April 1921, Superintendent Government Printing, Calcutta, 1921.</ref> One third of the drivers for this unit were Indians and the remainder Burmese. The unit re-embarked at Bombay on HM Hospital Transport ''Bamora'' on 11th January 1918, disembarked at Basra on 18th January with a total strength of five British officers, 23 British other ranks, and 200 Indian other ranks (the latter including the Burmese), and went into camp at Makina, Basra, to continue training until 13th February 1918.
Interestingly, the War Office had allocated the Army Service Corps company numbers 1023 and 1024 for the No.1 and No. 2 Burmese M.T. Companies, but then allocated the same two numbers to two British companies formed at Bulford, England in the autumn of 1917. When the British units arrived in theatre they found the first Burmese unit already there, and this caused some hasty rearrangement of numbers, personnel and duties. The British 1023 was temporarily renumbered to 1024, and then absorbed into the M.T. Depot, and the British 1024 was disbanded in mid-March 1918 and its personnel sent to M.T. Company 1020 as reinforcements; the two Burmese units retained their promised 1023 and 1024 numbers.
On 13th February 1918 the No. 1. Burma unit, now unquestionably 1023 M.T. Company A.S.C., commenced its journey by road from Makina to Hillah, where it was to be stationed, and where it arrived on 2nd March 1918 and commenced convoy operations.3<ref> Every attempt has been made to identify the places mentioned in the War Diaries. Where the modern spelling or name differs from that used in the War Diaries, the modern versions are as follows (in Iraq unless otherwise stated).
<br>Ain Dibs – no modern equivalent found – a few miles south of Sharqat.
<br>Aliabad – probably Ali Abad (Iran) between Kerend and Eslamabad.
Officers assisting Major MARRIS and Captain LYNN included 2/Lts. George Robinson COCKMAN, Ernest Raymond ALLEN, Edwin BRUCE and Ernest Gibson FLEMING. There were various subsequent transfers in and out of the unit, and temporary attachments of personnel from time to time, and the Diary needs to be read in detail to follow these. The Diary is also unusual in that it mentions a number of the non-commissioned officers and men by both name and regimental number; one being Mechanist Staff Sergeant Louis Vernon COLATO (050206), who later became a commissioned officer.
After the Armistice of Mudros on 30th October 1918 (curiously given no mention whatsoever in the Diary) 1023 Company remained in Mesopotamia as part of the Army of Occupation. The Diary for the period 1st December 1918 to 24th May 1919 inclusive is missing, but from elsewhere we know that on 16th January 1919 the unit was still at Hillah.4 <ref>''With the M.T. in Mesopotamia'', Brevet Lt.-Col. F. W. Leland, Forster, Groom and Co. Ltd, London, 1920.</ref> During that time command of the unit had passed to (then) Captain COCKMAN, and on 25th May 1919 temporary command was taken by Major C. N. DRAPER from 1016 Company. The unit was now at Kirkuk, where it remained until 24th July 1919. On 29th May an escorted convoy from the unit under the command of Lt. Patrick Joseph BAILLIE and on its way to Chemchamal was ambushed by Sheikh Mahmud’s mounted Kurds as part of the Kurdish insurrection of May-June 1919. The War Diary records that the convoy as a whole suffered a number of casualties including 15 Indian Other Ranks killed; one Burmese driver from 1023 Company was still unaccounted for six days later.
Major Thomas COUPER (ex-1017 Company) took command of the unit on 13th June 1919. On 25th July the unit moved to Fathah, and then again on 24th September to Baghdad, which it reached two days later. Here the unit prepared for demobilization. The final entry in the War Diary is for 30th November 1919, although there is evidence is that final demobilization did not occur until 25th January 1920.
Officers and men who served with the Company in the Mesopotamia theatre prior to 11th November 1918 were entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Evidence from medal cards at The National Archives, London, is that these medals were issued to qualifying officers and NCOs by the Government of India. However, no cards or rolls have been located showing issue to Burmese or Indian enlisted men serving with the Company.
Officers and men who were with the unit at Kirkuk in May-June 1919 were entitled to the General Service Medal (1918) with Kurdistan clasp. A small number also qualified for the Iraq clasp to this medal, indicating that they saw service after 10th December 1919. In this case medal cards or rolls have been located on www.ancestry.co.uk for the enlisted men, but not for all named officers.5 <ref>. The three relevant databases on www.ancestry.co.uk are as follows. <br>British Army WW1 Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920. <br>UK, Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920. <br>UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949.</ref> One section of the “arrears” medal roll shows the period of service in 1023 Company as 18th January 1918 to 25th January 1920, possibly indicating demobilization on the latter date.
[Note: Some medal award records are not on www.ancestry.co.uk and may be found only by searching the web-site of The National Archives, London, at http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/. It is just not possible to give a recipe for searching for details on any particular man. There are numerous transcription errors, particularly in the names of military units, and researchers will need to experiment with combinations of initials, given names and surnames. Some men qualified for medals with service other than with the Burmese M.T units.]
Recruiting started for this Company on 28th August 1918. From 4th November 1918 the Company undertook training at the No.1 M.T. Training School at Sohan Camp, Rawalpindi, India, where its Commandant, Major Richard Stanley BAKER died suddenly of influenza on 13th November 1918. Captain Thomas Garnet Henry BROWNE commanded the unit from 30th November to 9th December 1918, and Major George Chesney Nevill STEVENS took command on 10th December.
Orders to proceed overseas were received on 12 January 1919, and the Company embarked on HM Hospital Transport Bamora at Karachi on 24th January, subsequently disembarking at Basra on 30th January and going into Camp 7 at Makina, Basra. Officers assisting Major STEVENS included Captain BROWNE (Workshops Officer) and 2/Lt. John Marmaduke CONDER (Adjutant).6<ref>The Workshops Officer’s surname is spelled BROWN rather than BROWNE, but the wording indicates that he was the same man who had previously commanded the unit.</ref>
On 6th February 1919 orders were received via Captain LYNN, O.C. No. 1023 M.T. Company R.A.S.C. to proceed up country to Baquba to relieve No. 784 M.T. Company R.A.S.C. The unit left on river craft the following day, and after slow progress up the River Tigris due to flood conditions arrived at Baghdad on 17th February. The unit then entrained for the final leg of its journey, and arrived at Baquba on 19th February 1919.
No. 5 Burma M.T. Company disembarked at Basra on 2nd April 1919. It became No. 1015 (Burma) M.T. Company R.A.S.C.
This Company was formed by 5th October 1918 when Lt. Harry LINSKILL took command of ‘Depot No. 5 Burma Ford Van Company.’7 ’<ref>''London Gazette'', 31761, 30th January 1920, p. 1269.</ref>After leaving Rangoon, No. 5 Burma Mechanical Transport Company undertook training at the No.1 M.T. Training School at Rawalpindi, India. The Company disembarked at Basra on 2nd April 1919 with six British officers, ten British other ranks, 199 Burmese other ranks, and 11 followers. Its Commanding Officer was Major William Temple LIDDELL, and two of his mentioned assistants were 2/Lts. William Henry JAMES and John William EDWARDS. Shortly after arrival at Basra LIDDELL received orders to proceed to Baghdad by river and thence north to Sharqat to take over the equipment, duties and number of 1015 M.T. company A.S.C. (1015 M.T. Company A.S.C. was originally formed at Bulford, England, on 21st October 1917, one of ten Ford Van Supply Columns for mixed British and Indian establishments being formed at Bulford at that time. 1015 had arrived at Basra on 22nd January 1918.)
The Burmese unit personnel arrived at Sharqat on 3rd-7th May 1919, and LIDDELL took command of the renamed company on 8th May 1919. A detachment under the command of 2/Lt. EDWARDS was sent to Mosul on 9th May and returned in early August. The Company was employed on mail and passenger services to Mosul and back and by early July these were running smoothly. An additional daily “post and passenger” service to Ain Dibs (a few miles south of Sharqat but no modern name found) was commenced in August. Nothing of special interest occurred from then until the final entry in the War Diary on 30th September 1919.
===No. 6 and No. 7 Burma M.T. Companies===
Two references have been found to the formation of these two companies. On 30th July 1919 it was reported that the Burmese Government proposed to form the two companies, to be commanded by Captains C. E. LAW and A. H. HILL respectively, and that recruiting had already started under the direction of the Divisional Recruiting Officer, Major C. M. D. ENRIQUEZ.<ref> ''The Pioneer Mail and Indian Weekly News'', 1919, Vol. 46, p. 33.</ref>
The period of service was to be one year or less at the discretion of the Government. The formation of these two units was also reported by Major ENRIQUEZ in one of his books.<ref>''A Burmese Wonderland'', Major C.M. Enriquez, Thacker, Spink and Co., Calcutta and Simla, 1922, p. 188.</ref> However, the official Government of India publication detailing India’s contribution to the First World War lists only five Burma M.T. Companies.<ref>''India’s Contribution to the Great War'', Superintendent Government Printing, Calcutta, 1923, p. 285.</ref>
There was further redesignation of various Indian Army Mechanical Transport Companies on 6th May 1921, including the redesignation of No. 692 M.T. Coy R.A.S.C. as No. 16 (Indian) M.T. Coy.14
A sketch map of Mesopotamia showing some of the places mentioned in the War Diaries, and others relevant to the operations in 1918-1921.
===References===
<references/>
===Acknowledgement===
My thanks go to K. J. Lindsay for his assistance in the concluding stages of my research.
'''End of Noel Clark's Account'''
