Monday 24th May 1915

The whole of 23^rd Division left Folkestone and was transported, by rail, to the military training area near Bordon, Hampshire. On their departure from Folkestone the Division was complimented on their exemplary behaviour whilst in the area, in a letter from the Mayor of Folkestone to Maj. Genl. Babington:

“Now that the troops who for the past few weeks have been billeted in Folkestone are leaving, I should like to express for myself and for the inhabitants of the town our appreciation of the exemplary behaviour of the men whilst they have been amongst us. Their earnest yet cheerful demeanour has aroused our admiration; and we are deeply grateful for all that they are doing and are prepared to do for their King and country. May God bless and protect them in all their dangers”.

On arrival in the Bordon area the divisional pioneer battalion (9^th South Staffs.) went into camp near Oxney Farm; 70^th Brigade was accommodated in barracks at Bordon; and 68^th and 69^th Brigades (including Tunstill’s Company) were based in hutted camps near Bramshott. The conditions at Bramshott were described by an officer of 13^th Durham Light Infantry (part of 68^th Brigade):

“This camp holds two Brigades, 68th and 69th, and is situated just south of the Portsmouth Road, 1 ½ miles west of Hindhead; it’s a splendid position – the officer’s quarters are ¼ mile from the road and overlook the valley along which the railway runs. Mrs. B.’s cottage is about 1 ½ miles off, and I have been there twice for bath and dinner. I think the huts quite a success. It is like being under camp without any of the discomforts. The men have straw mattresses and plenty of elbow room. The whole business is more like active service than anything we have done yet. We have eschewed the caterer’s mess for officers and draw the ordinary army rations; these are supplemented by groceries etc., and cooked (very excellently) by our own soldier cooks. It seems curious that we have not done this before, because, besides saving expense, we are certainly feeding better than at Bullswater, or even Aldershot. … No sign of rifles or ammunition yet, but there is a general feeling that the days of our training are numbered”.

The Bordon training area

 The concern expressed about the lack of rifles and ammunition was widely shared and it was later acknowledged, in the official Divisional History, that the key weakness in this training regime remained the lack of opportunity to train the men in musketry, as they had still not been provided with service rifles.

Whilst stationed in the area the plan was for infantry battalions to spend three days per week on battalion training; two days training at Brigade level and one day per week on manoeuvres at divisional level, including troops being marched out, bivouacking for 1 night and carrying out operations next day before returning.

Immediately on arrival Pte. Edwin Isherwood (see 31^st October 1914) wrote a postcard home to his sister Mary, giving her details of his new address for correspondence.

The text on the front of the card is clearly not in Edwin’s own hand and it is interesting to note that the presence of so many men in the area had clearly spawned a ‘cottage industry’ producing postcards personalised to the area.

On his arrival at Bramshott, 2Lt. Robert Stewart Skinner Ingram (see 7^th April) wrote to his parents:

24^th May 1915
(Regimental headed notepaper)
Bramshott Camp
Hants

My Darling Mother and Father

We got here about 3 this afternoon after a 4 hour journey and a good deal of shunting. This is really quite a nice spot on the main Portsmouth road, 43 miles from London and 26 from Portsmouth. The Officer’s Quarters are n.g. huts, with a h & c water bath to each hut of 3 or 4 rooms. The men too are very well housed.

It was awfully good of you to come down to Folkestone this weekend. I know how you hate leaving home. I enjoyed those 2 or 3 days enormously and hope you had a good journey home.

There’s no news of any sort. My platoon sergeant is already in the Guard Room for being drunk, and we’ve only been here ½ a day. He’ll probably be broken and he’s a very good man indeed when sober.

Much love to all, your ever loving son.
Robert

(What Ingram meant by “n.g. huts” is unclear and the identity of the platoon sergeant to whom he refers has not been established).

Arthur Overend who had originally been a member of Tunstill’s Company, but had been discharged on medical grounds (see 3^rd October 1914) re-enlisted, signing his attestation papers in Blackpool and joining the territorial branch of the Army Service Corps as a Driver with the West Lancs. Divisional Train.