Starter.
Attested 23 October 1915, joined at the ASC Depot at Grove Park 25 October 1915. Sent to France on 30 October 1915, arrived Rouen 31 October 1915. This rapid deployment to France was in all probability because he could already drive (he was a driver on joining). He began at the Base Mechanical Transport Depot (BMTD) at Rouen where he waited to be assigned to a particular unit.
On 15 November 1915 he was posted to 1st Indian Cavalry Divisional Supply Column (89 Company ASC). This was a unit of about 650 men and 160 lorries whose task was to move, among many things, men, coal, oil, horse feed and rations (including cardamoms and live goats for the Indian troops) from railheads to the forward brigades who would then complete the journey to the troops of the division.
He stayed with this until until early May 1916 when he developed synovitis in the knee, severe enough for his to be evacuated back to UK.
There is a war diary for the Supply Column that if nothing else will give an idea of where they were and the type of tasks they undertook. Download the relevant dates from the National Archives from the list here:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C14016585 or from Ancestry (the whole diary) at
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01nq3/More in due course.
MaxD
