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The '''Burma Mechanical Transport Companies''', [[Royal Army Service Corps]].
Noel Clark from Victoria, Australia has kindly provided permitted information about the results of his research he carried out which is provided to be made available in his the following Account.
Burma contributed five Mechanical Transport Companies to the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force during the [[First World War]].
<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 <nowiki>http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/</nowiki>. 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.]
===No. 2 Burma M.T. Company===
No. 2 Burma M.T. Company (No. 2 Burma Ford Van Company, 1024 M.T. Company A.S.C., No. 1024 (Burma) M.T. Company R.A.S.C.)
The second Burma unit left Burma on 15th June 1918 under the command of Major George Edmund CUNINGHAM, arrived at Makina, Basra on 30th June and disembarked from HM Hospital Transport ''Aronda '' at Makina, Basra, the following day. On disembarkation the strength of the unit was four British officers, 12 British other ranks, and 162 Indian other ranks (all Burmese). The War Diary is ambiguous on whether these “strength” numbers include or exclude those taken to hospital (mainly fever cases) directly from the ship – one British officer, four British other ranks and 32 drivers – but from the names of officers given it appears that the hospital numbers should be added to the “strength” numbers. The officers initially supporting Major CUNINGHAM were Workshops Officer Captain Sydney WEBSTER and 2/Lts. Arthur John BENNISON, Claud Felix PYETT and Patrick John O’SHEA (aka John Patrick O’SHEA).
The unit remained at Makina until 16th July and then began to move via Baghdad to Hillah and had set up camp at the latter place, adjacent to 1023 Company, by 26th July, and then began convoy operations despite being depleted in numbers due to sickness. The main cargo seems to have been grain, inwards to Hillah. 2/Lts. Edmond Leslie BAYLEY and Horace William TEETON were attached to the unit from the Army Service Corps, and 2/Lt. Donald James ROSS arrived from Rangoon. One driver died from cholera.
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).<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.
The fragment of Diary for December 1919 shows the unit at Kirkuk. On 2nd December 1919 Lt. W. KINGSLEY (probably W.E. KINGSLEY originally with the Indian Labour Corps) took over command of the unit from Major STEVENS, who left for Baghdad the following day for demobilization. Lts. O’SHEA, CONDER and Charles Dixie KIERNANDER were with the Company at this time, and convoys were running to Fathah and Kifri with mail and personnel. One convoy to Fathah took down material from the 1st Battalion 3rd Gurkha Regiment dump. Major COUPER took over command on 10th December 1919. Convoys then began bringing Christmas supplies up from Baiji, some being forwarded on to Erbil, Bazzan and Altun Kupri. On 29th December Lt. C.F. PYETT and Captain E. BRUCE joined the Company, and Captain BRUCE took over command. On 31st December Major COUPER and Lt. CONDER left for Baghdad for demobilization.
Officers and men who arrived in Mesopotamia as members of No. 3 Burma M.T. Company and who had no other qualifying service did not qualify for the award of the British War Medal or Victory Medal. Most officers and men of No. 784 (Burma) M.T. Company would have qualified for the General Service Medal (1918), with either or both of the Iraq and Kurdistan Clasps; medal rolls have been located on www.ancestry.co.uk for the enlisted men (for some reason the entitlements have been indexed as ''‘7th Mechanical Transport Company’ '' or ''‘84th Mechanical Transport Company’''), and for two of the known officers (CONDER and O’SHEA). One record shows service with 784 Company until 15th September 1920, possibly indicating demobilization on that date. </blockquote>
===No. 4 Burma MT Company===
The War Diary does not give much information about the convoys being run, except that some were on mail duties and others bringing supplies up to Shargat from Baiji. On 27th April all personnel (except workshops) left Shargat and relocated at Baiji. [Note: I am not convinced that this move includes the personnel of the Burmese unit. It may refer only to the personnel of the British unit as a prelude to their dispersal or demobilization.] Two days later a detachment of the Company left for Mosul for duties on the Mosul-Zaccho road. The last entry in the War Diary is for 31st May 1919.
On 29th May 1919 Companies 784, 1023 and 1024 are all mentioned in the War Diary of No. 5 Mechanical Transport Column, and on 30th and 31st Lt.-Col P. WEIR, Commanding Officer of the Column was summoned to 18th Divisional Headquarters to explain why 1015 and 1017 Companies ''‘…were so bad.’ '' His explanation was that the Burmese had little experience as drivers, and his suggestion was that ''‘…the two new Burma companies should go on an easier line for work.’ '' These diary entries indicate that by this time all five Burma companies had assumed their new identities and were in No. 5 Mechanical Transport Column. There are subsequent references to Companies 784, 1015, 1023 and 1024 companies, but nothing further on Company 1017, in the War Diary of No. 5 MT Column, which finishes on 30th October 1919.
Officers and men who arrived in Mesopotamia as members of No. 4 Burma M.T. Company and who had no other qualifying service did not qualify for the award of the British War Medal or Victory Medal. Medal rolls for the enlisted men of No. 1017 (Burma) M.T. Company have been located on www.ancestry.co.uk showing the award of the General Service Medal (1918) with the Iraq Clasp, and for one named officer (JACKSON, Kurdistan Clasp, but attributed to 1024 Company). The medal rolls for the enlisted men are endorsed ''‘Baghdad 14-9-20.’ '' This date may indicate demobilization.
===No. 5 Burma MT Company===
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.’'' <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.
However some brief references to 1015 Company on later dates are found in the War Diary of 1016 Company. On 25th-27th October 1919, when 1016 Company was stationed at Mosul, the Commanding Officer of 1015 Company came up from Sharqat and negotiated an arrangement in which 1015 Company took over 26 vans and various duties from 1016 Company at Mosul, and Captain WRIGHT, Workshops Officer 1015 Company, brought 15 surplus vans and 50 men up from Sharqat to add to the Mosul detachment.
On 4th March 1920, when 1016 Company was at Baghdad, there is mention of the transfer to it of 34 Indian other ranks ''‘ex 1015 Coy.’''
No. 1015 (Burma) M.T. Company R.A.S.C. remained in Iraq long enough for its officers and men to qualify for the General Service medal (1918) with Iraq Clasp. As for the other companies, the medal rolls for enlisted men have been located on www.ancestry.co.uk. One shows a service period up to 18th September 1920, which may indicate demobilization on that date. However, only one record has been found for a named officer – that for Major LIDDELL.
<blockquote>A convoy of 37 vans was despatched from Kirkuk to Chemchamal at 6.30 a.m. About noon news was received that 8 vans had left Chemchamal early in the morning but had to put back as it was found that the road had been blocked by a 4-foot wall. The leading van came to grief and when the following vans got up it was found to have been stripped and the driver gone. The driver’s clothes were strewn about the ground near the van. This news caused a certain amount of anxiety to be felt as to what had become of the morning’s outward convoy under 2/Lt BAILLIE of 1023 Burma Coy. Major DRAPER, Lt. PANCHAUD and I went out to see if there were any signs of the returning convoy. About 8 miles out we met the artificers’ van returning with a number of drivers on board, who had had to abandon their vans. The drivers stated that at a very narrow part of the road they ran into the back of a cart convoy which completely blocked the road. The drivers and most of the animals had been killed [ambushed by the Kurds]. Major DRAPER and Lt. PANCHAUD went on while I returned with the Burman drivers to make their report to the 55th Brigade Headquarters. Major DRAPER eventually joined up with the 32nd Lancers who had picked up a certain number of wounded from the A.T. Convoy [“Animal Transport Convoy” – the cart convoy referred to above] and also some drivers from the M.T. Convoy who had had to abandon their vans. Upon return to H.Q. it was learned that a wireless from Chemchamal had been received to the effect that 17 vans of the Ford convoy had got through. No news has as yet been received as to the fates of the personnel or of the other vans of the convoy. </blockquote>
These two incidents serve to illustrate the difficulty of finding some of the relevant records. Both took place ''‘…north of a line drawn east and west through Kirkuk, between 23rd May 1919 and 31st July 1919, both dates inclusive…’ '' and hence those involved should have qualified for the India General Service Medal and Kurdistan Clasp. Of the men named in the first incident report, there are records of the award to both Ernest Raymond ALLEN and John Patrick O’SHEA, but no record has been found found for 2/Lt. Charles Dixie KIERNANDER. Similarly for the second incident no records have been found for Patrick Joseph BAILLIE. Lt. PANCHAUD was Stanley John Oblein PANCHAUD of the Royal Army Service Corps, attached to 1024 Company at the time. His medal card shows that he arrived in Mesopotamia in January 1918 and the award of the British War Medal and Victory Medal, but there is no mention of the award of the General Service Medal (1918) and Kurdistan Clasp.
Lt. Claud Felix PYETT provides another example of difficulties with the records. According to the War Diary for No. 784 (Burma) M.T. Company R.A.S.C. PYETT joined that Company on 29th December 1919 at Kirkuk, and this is confirmed by the General Service Medal (1918) roll on www.ancestry.co.uk. ''Prima facie '' this qualified PYETT for the award of the Iraq Clasp, i.e. he was ''‘north of a line drawn east and west through Ramadi between 10th December 1919 and 13th June 1920, both dates inclusive’'', but there is no mention of the award taking place either on the medal roll or medal index card. Indeed, PYETT’s medals are extant and there is no Iraq Clasp.
===Medal and Clasp Award Criteria===
The Victory Medal (1914-1919) was also instituted in 1919, and commemorated the victory of the Allied forces. The basic qualification was to have served on the establishment of a unit within an approved theatre of war between 5th August 1914 and 11th November 1918. The qualification period was later extended to include mine-clearance operations around the United Kingdom, and service in Russia, in 1919 and 1920.
Officers and men of the Burma Mechanical Transport Companies qualified for both the British War Medal and Victory Medal if they served in the Mesopotamia theatre as above. ''Prima facie '' only members of the 1st and 2nd Burma M.T. Companies so qualified. Members of the other companies may have qualified for either the British War Medal, or both medals, but only if their qualifying service was with another unit.
The General Service Medal (1918-1962) was instituted on 19th January 1923 for various military operations other than in East, West and Central Africa, India and on the Indian Frontier, and the Second World War. (It was intended for issue to the Army and the Air Force; the Naval General Service Medal (1915-1962) recognized service by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.) 17 clasps were ultimately issued for various conflicts; the medal was not issued without a clasp.
