Amid the tumultuous landscape of World War Two, a Mobile Bath Unit emerged as a contributor to the triumph of the 2nd New Zealand Division in the Middle East and Italy. Picture this: battle-weary troops, having endured weeks of relentless pursuit through deserts and muddy fields in pursuit of the enemy, suddenly find themselves in a surreal moment. Covered in grime and exhaustion, they are met by an extraordinary sight – a unit ready to offer them a hot shower and a complete change of clothing. This transformation is nothing short of miraculous, revitalising soldiers’ spirits amid the hardships of war. The impact on morale is so profound that one can surmise that, at times, the enemy may have deliberately targeted Bath units for elimination, recognising their pivotal role. This article provides historical context on the NZEF Mobile Bath unit, which operated from 1941 to 1945, spanning Egypt, Syria, and Italy. It sheds light on the unit’s vital role in the overall success of the 2nd New Zealand Division during this pivotal period of World War Two.
Following the British model, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) incorporated a Bath unit into its organisational structure and war establishment. This unfamiliar capability posed challenges to the NZEF leadership, as they lacked experience in this field. There was considerable uncertainty about whether this responsibility fell under Ordnance or the Medical Corps, leading to delays in forming this units. On 15 November 1940, confirmation was received from NZEF liaison staff in London that Bath services did indeed fall under Ordnance responsibility.
Discussions persisted throughout 1941 regarding establishing a Bath unit, with the primary issue being whether this unit should be formed, equipped, and trained in New Zealand before deployment to the Middle East or formed from within the existing structure of the NZEF. Despite these ongoing deliberations, the NZEF Order of Battle was updated on 17 April 1941 to include a Divisional Mobile Bath Unit as part of the NZEF.
Authorisation for the formation of these units under the New Zealand Ordnance Corps (NZOC) was granted on 31 August 1941, with the Mobile Bath unit scheduled for formation on 6 September 1941.
In September 1941, a unit twenty-one strong, consisting of one officer and twenty other ranks, was formed through a call for volunteers. Most of the personnel initially came from infantry units. The initial officer Commanding (OC) was 2nd Lieutenant Astly. On 16 September 1941, the unit was assembled at the Engineer and Ordnance Training Depot (E&OTD).
Following the unit’s formation, most personnel spent five days at the Helwan prisoner of war camp, familiarising themselves with a British-run Bath unit. Upon their return to their depot, they discovered that their equipment had not arrived, and it was uncertain whether such equipment was even in Egypt.
Courses on compass work and similar activities began but became tedious. It was at this point that the unit undertook a crucial task. In the day’s scorching heat, they manually laid approximately 2560 cubic feet of concrete and constructed the entire set of buildings that would house the 6th Division Workshops. This gruelling work lasted for about three months, during which pieces of the unit’s equipment were gradually acquired piecemeal from various Base Ordnance Depots (BODs).
In early 2 December, Lieutenant P. Hawkins assumed command. On 10 January 1942, the unit left Maadi camp for the Canal Zone, where they served alongside the NZ Division on the Great Bitter Lake. They also provided showers to Indian and British troops at Kabrit, Fayid, and other locations in the zone. Despite facing minor challenges, such as a four-day sandstorm, they accomplished valuable work. Two incidents stood out during this time: a raid on a nearby airfield by enemy planes and a fire that destroyed the Shaftes picture theatre.
Vehicle Tactical Sign, NZ Division Mobile Bath Unit (1941)
The NZ Division moved to Syria in February, and the bath unit followed on 13 March. Without their own transport, the Bath unit relied on other units, often unloading and camping in various locations on-route. They reached Baalbeck on 20 March and began working alongside the 27th Battalion machine gunners, performing several months of essential tasks, including laying concrete floors by a creek fed by historic springs.
Syria provided an interesting change from the Egyptian sands, with the unit’s OC arranging many fascinating day trips to cities like Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli, and even Turkey. When the Division was hastily recalled to Egypt, the unit returned on 20 June, calling at the small town of Zahlie for a few days, where they joined up with the mobile laundry. Leaving on 29 June for Kfar Vitkin in Palestine. And then making stops along the way before arriving back in Maadi Camp. In July, they reorganised and left for the western desert, beginning operations at Burg el Arab in August.
After nearly a month in Burg el Arab, their water supply was requisitioned for urgent needs, leading to their return to Maadi Camp. The unit was temporarily disbanded, with the disinfector returned to BOD to allow full credit to be extended to the New Zealand Government, effectively covering its entire cost. The bath equipment was retained as an asset of New Zealand and stored at the E&OTD, anticipating potential future deployment in other theatres of operation.
On 22 August 1942, eleven Other Ranks from the Bath Unit were transferred back to their respective depots. The formal disbandment of both the NZ Divisional Mobile Bath Unit occurred on 30 September 1942, with the OC and remaining Other Ranks of the bath unit transferred to other branches of the NZOC on the understanding that if the bath capabilities were to be regenerated, these men would be released to train and have the unit fully operational within a matter of days.
In September 1943, the Bath unit was reformed at Maadi as 1 NZ Mobile Bath Unit, with 2nd Lieutenant D. Ewing in charge. The personnel remained the same in number, including two members from the previous unit who provided valuable information. However, the shower did not function as expected.
In October 1943, the NZ Division and the newly formed 1 NZ Mobile Bath Unit conducted a covert move from Egypt to the southern regions of Italy. In late October, the flight personnel left Alexandria, with the unit Drivers and equipment departing Port Said for Italy. After some travel, they arrived near the Sangro River and commenced operations. Despite challenges, the unit improved its functioning, and on New Year’s Eve, they faced a heavy snowstorm that transformed their surroundings. Despite the adversity, they carried on with their work.
As the Division moved to the Fifth Army front, the unit went to Atessa and proceeded northwest, proving invaluable to the Mobile Laundry unit by towing heavy trailers. In November 1943, the NZ Division ADOS expressed the intention to streamline administration by placing the Mobile Bath Unit under the command of the Officer Commanding the Mobile Laundry Unit. This move aimed to achieve greater efficiency in the management of both units.
On 16 February 1944, the NZ Mobile Bath Unit was disbanded, and concurrently, the NZ Mobile Laundry Unit was rebranded as the NZ Mobile Laundry and Bath Unit (NZ Mob Laundry & Bath Unit).
This restructuring aligned the New Zealand organisation with the British Army War Establishment II/293/1 of December 1943, categorised as a Type B: Mobile Field Laundry and Bath Unit. The mobile bath component of the MLBU consisted of four independent shower sections, one attached to each brigade and one remaining with the laundry.
Water for showers was drawn from a stream or other suitable supply by an electric pump, heated in a locally designed boiler fired with oil and water, and passed into a shower room, a tent with duckboards laid out inside, where six showers were available. A larger tent forming a dressing room opened into the shower tent. The water supply was continuous, and men could use as much as they pleased, within reasonable limits, with the duration of showers determined by the number waiting to go through. The showers used two hundred gallons of water an hour, and each section could manage 500- 600 men daily.
Vehicle Tactical Sign 2 NZ Mobile Laundry and Bath Unit (1944)
The figures below show the number of men who received showers. In cases where the numbers are low or incomplete, this can be attributed to the lack of recorded data during the Division’s advance or during periods when sufficient shower facilities were available within the Divisional area, rendering the full-time operation of mobile units unnecessary. An example of this was when the Division was billeted around Trieste.
Throughout the Italian campaign, the NZ Mob Laundry & Bath Unit supported the NZ Division, often deploying detachments to provide frontline units with essential services. The unit continued its service until it was disbanded as part of the NZEF on 8 December 1945.
A significant function of the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War was managing the New Zealand Divisional Laundries and Baths. The Laundry and Bath functions helped to maintain the New Zealand Division’s hygiene by providing the opportunity for regular bathing, the exchanging of underclothing and socks and the delousing of uniforms. Although the NZ Division s Laundry and Bath functions were interconnected with its neighbouring Divisions and supporting Corps, this article’s focus is on providing a snapshot of the NZ Divisions Laundry and Bath operations from October 1916 to June 1918.
At the onset of the First World War, partly due to the lessons learnt in the South African War and the more recent Balkan Wars, the British Army had a reasonable understanding of the importance of hygiene in the field and published The Manual of Elementary Military Hygiene in 1912.[1] However, as with any military doctrine, the practical application of the field hygiene lessons learnt took time to become effective in the early years of the War. However, by the time the New Zealand Division arrived at the Western Front in mid-1916, the British Army had a rudimentary Laundry and Bath system at the Corps and Divisional levels into which the New Zealand Division was integrated into.
Command and Control
Initially, as the New Zealand Division took over the existing Laundry and Baths from British units, these functions were initially vested as a responsibility of the New Zealand Medical Corps, who provided officers and men to supplement he existing civilian staff.[2] In line with British practice both the Divisional Laundry and Baths came under the control of the Division Headquarters “Q” Branch, and from 21 December 1916, the New Zealand Division, Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (DADOS) was the officer responsible for the running of the Divisional Laundry and Baths.[3]
Baths
The Bathing concept was that four Bathhouses were to be established in a Divisional area: usually one Bathhouse for each Infantry brigade and one Bathhouse for the rest of the Division. The concept was that Soldiers were to rotate through Bathhouse on a schedule to allow the entire Division to be bathed once every ten days. In the early years of the war, Bathing facilities were rudimentary, with Baths ranging from breweries or fabric processing plants to Beer barrels cut in half.[4]
Although initially built on an ad-hoc basis using whatever resources were available, by 1917 most Bathhouses in the New Zealand Division were built and operated on a uniform pattern: [5]
A typical Bathhouse was be operated as follows.
The men enter at 1, Undress and hand their Service Dress and valuables in at 2(Obtaining receipt) and dirty underclothes at 3.
They then have a hot shower in D
While the men are having their showers, the seams of their Service Dress Tunics and Trousers were ironed to kill lice, and small repairs were undertaken.
Upon completing the shower, the men enter F, collect a towel, clean underclothes at 4 and their Service Dress and valuables at 5. Dress and leave by 6.
All Towels and dirty underclothes are sent from the baths to the Divisional Laundry daily, and a supply of clean or new items received in exchange.
In June 1918, the system of delousing the soldier’s Service Dress clothing was improved using the Thresh Disinfector Delousing Chamber. As soldiers passed into the Bathhouse, the soldier’s Service Dress was turned inside out and handed over to the Thresh operators. The Garments were hung up inside the Thresh’s airtight chamber and sealed. Coke braziers then heated the airtight chamber, and after the garments had been treated by this method for 15 minutes, they were found to be entirely free form lice and eggs.[6]
Personnel employed in the Divisional usually consisted of
Locally employed civilian women for ironing and mending.
Depending on the ebb and flow of the battle and the New Zealand Division’s movement, between October 1916 and June 1918 the DADOS War Diary records that Bathhouses to support the NZ Division were established in over thirty-four separate locations.[8] On most occasions, existing bathhouses were taken over from other Divisions. If there were no existing Bathhouse or the ones taken over were not deemed suitable, NZ Engineers were employed to construct new bathhouses.[9]
Plan for the NZ Divisional Baths as Vauchelles. Archives New Zealand
By June 1918, the New Zealand Divisional Bathhouse system was operating effectively and bathing on average between 700 – 800 troops daily, with 46411 men passing through the Divisional Bathhouses in total.[10]
New Zealand soldiers recently in the trenches outside the Divisional Baths, France. Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association :New Zealand official negatives, World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-013160-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23139145
Soldiers after leaving the line wait their turn for a bath. Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association :New Zealand official negatives, World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-012817-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23097155
Laundry
On most occasions, as the Division relieved an existing Division in the area and took over the existing Divisional Laundry as a going concern. However, there were occasions when a Laundry needed to be established from the ground up, such as when the Division Laundry and Baths at Pont de Nieppe were destroyed by enemy shell fire in April 1917.[11]
The Divisional Laundry received dirty garments from the Baths, (underclothes, socks, and towels) they were disinfected, washed, and mended and placed into a reissue pool.[12]
Usually, the Divisional Laundry placed indents on the supply chain for new items to replace items beyond repair, however, in January 1918 authority was granted for the Divisional Baths to hold a pool of new clothing to me maintained consisting of: [13]
5000 shirts
13100 vests woollen
12450 Drawers Woollen
12700 Towels
19000 pairs of socks
By 1918 the average output from the New Zealand Divisional Laundry was 35,000 – 40,000 garments per week.
Personnel employed in the Divisional Laundry usually consisted of.
Between October 1916 and June 1918, as the NZ Division moved, the NZ Divisional Laundry was also relocated and established in new locations, some of the known sites were
October 1916 Located at Estaires.
Pont de Nieppe, Laundry destroyed by enemy shellfire, 12 April 1917
18 to 25 April 1917 Established at Steenwerck, Handed over to the 8th Division.
Before and during the German 1918 Spring Offensive, the Divisional Laundry was located at.
RenninghelstOuttersteene Westoutre
Abbeville
Socks
Socks were an unlikely enabler; in the extreme conditions found in the mud-filled trenches, clean, dry socks were often the difference between life and death. When feet are constantly wet, as they often were in the trenches, they begin to rot. Gangrene sets in, and often the only remedy is amputation. In the First World War, 75,000 British troops died due to complications caused by trench foot.[15]
Acutely aware of the need for clean socks, the New Zealand Division maintained a system where socks were exchanged daily. To facilitate the daily exchange, a dry sock store was run in conjunction with the Bathhouses. Here dry socks were drawn daily by units in the line in exchange for dirty socks. The dirty sock was then be backloaded to the Divisional Laundry and exchanged for clean socks.
Once received by the Divisional Laundry, the dirty socks if damaged, were mended, washed, and once dried, treated with camphor (as prevention against trench foot) before being placed into the exchange pool.
By May 1918, the disruption caused by the 1918 German Kaiserschlacht offensive had affected the supply routes with the railway service from the Laundry at Abbeville becoming irregular, and it was taking 6-7 days for trucks to travel the short distance to replenish Bathhouses with clean underclothing and socks. However, given the hygiene and morale benefits that clean socks brought, the need to maintain the sock exchange system to the forward troops was a priority. Therefore, close to the front, under the supervision of the NZAOC, a small sock washing depot was established with Sixteen men from the Divisional Employment Company in May 1918. Socks were sorted with torn or holey socks returned to the Laundry for mending, with the remainder of the socks washed by hand. In fine weather, the drying was done outside, if it was wet, the socks were hung on wires from the ceiling of a room and dried employing coke braziers. The men did excellent work, and output was 4 to 5 thousand pairs daily and kept up an adequate supply.[16]
Soldiers washing socks during World War I, Bus-les-artois, France. Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association :New Zealand official negatives, World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-013179-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23052031
New Zealand soldiers washing socks in wooden tubs near the New Zealand Divisional Headquarters at Bus-les-artois, 7 May 1918. Photograph taken by Henry Armitage Sanders Nº H-563 Photo source – Alexander Turnbull collection at the National Library of New Zealand. (Colorized by Marina Amaral from Brazil) https://www.facebook.com/marinamaralarts/?fref=nf See less
Gumboots
As the western front settled down into the routine of trench warfare in the winter of 1915, the time spent in the saturated trenches by British troops was limited to thirty-six hours during which the wearing of gumboots became widespread in the water-soaked areas.[17] The use of gumboots helped minimise the effects of mud and water on exposed feet, thus limiting Trench foot occurrences. Based on the early success of gumboots, contracts were placed with the North British Rubber Company (now Hunter Boot Ltd) to manufacture over 1,185,000 pairs of Gumboots for the British army during WW1.[18]
Boots were classed as Trench Stores and usually only issued to a division when it was on the line. The NZ Division was typically provided with around 6000 pairs, pooled, and issued from a Gumboot Store. The Gumboot store was designed with drying racks and heaters to allow the wet gumboots to be dried and prepared for reissue.
Plan for Drying Apparatus for Rubber Boots. Australian Imperial Force Unit War Diaries, 1914-1919 – Australian Corps Baths and Laundries, 2 – June 1916 – April 1918.” Australian War Memorial Archives Collection No AWM4 18/1/1 PART 2 (1918)
This article provides a small snapshot of how the Laundry and Bath functions contributed to maintaining the New Zealand Division’s hygiene by providing the opportunity for regular bathing, the exchanging of underclothing and socks and the delousing of uniforms. Although the playing a small but significant role in maintaining the combat effectiveness of the New Zealand Division, the efforts of the NZ Division DADOS Staff, the men of the Divisional Employment Companies and the locally employed civilian staff in maintaining the Laundry and Bath operations are worthy of further study to expand the historiography of New Zealand’s First World War combat enablers.
Notes
[1] Martin C. M. Bricknell and Colonel David A. Ross, “Fit to Fight – from Military Hygiene to Wellbeing in the British Army,” Military Medical Research 7, no. 1 (2020).
[2] Major J.S Bolton, A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (Trentham: RNZAOC, 1992), 71-72.
[3] “2nd Australia & New Zealand Army Corps [2anzac], Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Ados) – War Diary, 1 December – 31 December 1916,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487340 (1916).
[4] Janet Macdonald, Supplying the British Army in the First World War, vol. , (Pen and Sword military, 2019), , 143.
[5] “An Account of the Working of the Baths Established in the Divisional Areas in France,” Archives New Zealand Item No R24428508 (1918).
[6] “Headquarters New Zealand and Australian Division – New Zealand Division – Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 June – 30 June 1918,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487667 (1918).
[7] From May 1917 drawn from No 1 NZ (Divisional) Employment Company.
[8] Based on the DADOS War Diaries Bathhouses were established at, Neuve-Eglise, Selles, Balinghem,Merck-Saint-Liévin, Watou Area, Vlamertinge, Poperinghe, Canal Bank, Bayenghem, Potijze, Hondichen, Staple, Halifax Camp, Caistre, Béthencourt, Louvencourt, Pas, Nauchelles, Pont de Nieppe, Blendecques, Café Belge
[9] Peter D. F. Cooke, Won by the Spade: How the Royal New Zealand Engineers Built a Nation (Exisle Publishing Ltd, 2019), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 199.
[10] “Headquarters New Zealand and Australian Division – New Zealand Division – Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 June – 30 June 1918”
[11] “Headquarters New Zealand and Australian Division – New Zealand Division – Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 April – 30 April 1917,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487653 (1917).
[12] “An Account of the Working of the Baths Established in the Divisional Areas in France.”
[13] “Headquarters New Zealand and Australian Division – New Zealand Division – Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 January – 31 January 1918,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487662 (1918).
[14] From May 1917 drawn from No 1 NZ (Divisional) Employment Company.
[16] “Headquarters New Zealand and Australian Division – New Zealand Division – Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 June – 30 June 1918.”
[17] Susan Cohen, Medical Services in the First World War (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014).
The role of the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) during the First World War is one that has remained untold, if not forgotten. While the contribution of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), its commanders, battles and significant units is well recorded, the narrative on the Logistic Services of the NZEF has been universally biased towards the larger of the Logistic Services; the New Zealand Army Service Corps (NZASC), with the contribution of the NZAOC, seldom mentioned. The significance of the NZAOC is that from 1914 to 1919, the NZAOC was the body charged with supplying and maintaining the weapons, ammunition, clothing and equipment of the NZEF and, as such, was a key enabler towards the success of the NZEF. The main NZAOC functions were within the NZ Division under the control of the NZ Division Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (DADOS). Additionally, as part of the NZEF Headquarters in London, the NZAOC managed a range of ordnance functions in support of the NZEF. This article examines the role of the NZAOC as it grew from an initial mobilisation strength of two men in 1914 into a small but effective organisation providing Ordnance services to the NZEF.
New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Badge, 1916-1919 (Robert McKie Collection 2017)
Unlike the Australians, who were in the early stages of establishing their Ordnance Corps under with the assistance of a British Ordnance Officer in 1914, New Zealand was without a uniformed Ordnance Corps on the declaration of war in 1914.[1] The formation of the NZAOC had been a topic of discussion and indecision from as early as 1900, and despite the transformational reforms of the New Zealand Defence Act of 1909, there was little appetite to decide on formation of the NZAOC.[2] However, the need for personnel trained in Ordnance duties was understood, with some training and experimentation in the provision of Ordnance Services carried out in the Brigade and Divisional Camps of 1913 and 1914, laying the foundation for the mobilisation of August 1914.[3]
Section 5 of General Order 312, issued in August 1914, established Ordnance Services as part of the NZEF. This order authorised as part of the Division Headquarters establishment; a DADOS, one clerk and a horse.[4] Appointed to the position of DADOS was Honorary Captain William Thomas Beck of the New Zealand Staff Corps,[5] with the position of Clerk filled by Sergeant Norman Joseph Levien, a general storekeeper who had enlisted into the 3rd Auckland Regiment on the outbreak of war.[6] Beck and Levien both assisted in equipping troops for overseas service at the Avondale camp before embarking with the main body of the NZEF.[7]
Disembarking in Egypt on 3 December 1914 and armed with The Ordnance Manual (War) of 1914, Beck was provided with the following guidance on his role as DADOS;
“To deal with all matters affecting the Ordnance services of the division. The DADOS would manage the state of the clothing and equipment on the charge of the units composing the division and would from time to time advise the officers in charge of the stores which in all probability would be required for operations”.[8]
NZAOC Captain W T Beck, Ordnance Depot Shrapnel Gully Gallipoli 1915
One of Becks first tasks was to establish a shared depot with the NZASC at Zeitoun, with NZEF Order No 9 of 10 December 1914 detailing the instructions for submitting demands to the DADOS Ordnance Depot.[9] Working alongside their Australian and British counterparts, Beck and Levien had their staff enhanced with the addition of six soldiers from 28 December 1914.[10] With no experience of the British Ordnance systems and procedures, Levien was attached for a short period to the British Army Ordnance Corps Depot at the Citadel in Cairo to study the ordnance systems in use and adapt them for use by the New Zealand Forces.[11] As the preparations for the Dardanelles campaign began to unfold, the NZAOC begin to take shape with Levien, and Sergeant King from the Wellington Regiment commissioned from the ranks to be the first NZAOC officers on 3 April 1915.[12]
To support the upcoming Dardanelles operation and ensure the flow of stores forward, Alexandra was to be the main Ordnance Base Depot. The cargo ship ‘SS Umsinga’, which had been fitted out in the United Kingdom with many of the Ordnance Stores anticipated to support the operation, acted as the forward Ordnance Depot.[13] As part of the New Zealand preparations, Beck was the DADOS for the New Zealand & Australian Division (NZ & A Div). At Alexandra, Levien secured premises at No. 12 Rue de la Porte Rosette and Shed 43, Alexandra Docks, for a New Zealand Ordnance Depot. The Australians also established a similar Depot at Mustapha Barracks and at No 12 Bond Store on Alexandra Docks.[14] King remained at Zeitoun as the Officer in Charge of the Ordnance Depot at Zeitoun Camp to manage the reception of reinforcements and bring them up to theatre scales as they arrived from New Zealand.
Rue de la, Porte Rosette, Alexandria, Egypt. Public Domain
Concentrating off the Island of Lemnos from April 10, the ANZAC, British and French invasion fleets invaded Turkey at three locations on the morning of April 25. The 1st Australian Division landed first at around 4 am on 25 April, with Godley’s Headquarters leading the NZ & A Div ashore at around 9 am, with Beck, according to Christopher Pugsley, the first New Zealander ashore as part of Godley’s Force.[15]
As Beck landed, the 1st Australian Division DADOS Lt Col J.G Austin was supervising the cross-loading of ammunition and Ordnance stores in a rudimentary Logistics Over-the-Shore (LOTS) operation using a small fleet of lighters.[16] As the lighters unloaded and the stores transferred to a hastily established ordnance dump just off the beach, issues of ammunition had begun to be issued to replenish the men fighting in the hills,[17] and Beck was immediately committed to establishing his domain as DADOS of the NZ & A Div. Under Austin, who had taken control of the Ordnance operations in the ANZAC sector,[18] Beck remained as the DADOS of the NZ & A Div until August.
Supplies on the beach at ANZAC Cove 1915. Athol Williams Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library Ordnance Depot Shrapnel Gully, Gallipolli. Alexander Turnbull Libary
Assisting Beck with the more onerous physical work and the management of the depot staff was Staff Sergeant Major Elliot Puldron.[19] Beck’s service at Gallipoli was reported in the Hawera & Normanby Star on 24 June 1916.
“Finally, there was Captain William Beck, an ordinary officer. “Beachy Bill” was in charge of the store – a miserable little place – and whenever he put his nose out of the door bullets tried to hit it. The Turkish gun in Olive Grove was named after him, “Beachy Bill.” The store was simply a shot under fire, and Bill looked out and went on with his work just as if no bullets were about. He was the most courteous and humorous, and no assistant at Whiteley’s could have been more pleasing and courteous than the brave storekeeper on Anzac Beach. General Birdwood never failed to call on Captain Beck or call out as he passed on his daily rounds, asking if he were there, and they all dreaded that someday there would be no reply from a gaunt figure still in death. But Captain Beck was only concerned for the safety of his customers. He hurried them away, never himself”.[20]
As a result of the rigours of the campaign, Beck was evacuated from Gallipoli in August, with Levien replacing him as DADOS. From mid-September, the exhausted New Zealanders withdrew to Lemnos for rest and reconstitution. King and Levien switched roles, with Levien appointed the Chief Ordnance Officer (COO) of Sarpi camp with the responsibility for re-equipping the depleted NZ & A Div. Returning to Gallipoli in November, King remained with the NZ & A Div as the DADOS and Levien remained on Lemnos. Both men returned to Egypt in December after the NZ & A Div withdrew from Gallipoli.
Now with sufficient New Zealand reinforcements available, the NZEF was expanded and reorganised into an Infantry Division, which served on the Western Front and a Mounted Rifle Brigade, which remained in the Middle East.[21] As a consequence of the logistical lessons learnt on the Western Front by the British Army Ordnance Corps(AOC), the existing NZ Ordnance cadre expanded into a modest unit of the NZEF.[22] In the NZ Division, the Staff of the DADOS expanded from the original officer, clerk and horse in 1914 into a staff of several officers, warrant officers, SNCOs, men and dedicated transport.[23] The NZAOC in the Mounted Rifle Brigade worked under the Australian DADOS of the ANZAC Mounted Division, with the Ordnance establishment for each Mounted Brigade Headquarters consisting of a warrant officer, sergeant clerk and corporal storeman.[24]
Beck had been identified to continue as the NZ Division DADOS, but continual ill-health had resulted in his return to New Zealand in November. Godley selected Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Henry Herbert as an officer with the right business acumen to replace Beck. Herbert was the first Mayor of Eketahuna and a successful business owner who ran a chain of general stores in north Wairarapa, the challenge of managing the NZAOC well suited to his experience.[25] Herbert had previously commanded the Maori Contingent and then the Otago’s on Gallipoli, and in January 1916, was transferred into NZAOC as the NZ Division, DADOS and Officer Commanding of the NZEF NZAOC.[26] As Herbert took command, additional officers and soldiers were transferred to the NZAOC to complement the men already serving in the NZAOC.[27]
Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Henry Herbert, NZAOC. aucklandmuseum/Public Domain
As Herbert prepared his men for the move to France, he had the formidable task of instructing them in the necessary ordnance procedures and duties that they were expected to carry out in France. Almost all of Herbert’s men had seen service on Gallipoli and adapted themselves to their new circumstances to provide their mates on the front with the best possible service. Not all the original NZAOC officers remained with the NZ Division; King became ill with enteric fever and was invalided back to New Zealand to become a foundation member of the NZAOC in New Zealand on its formation in 1917.[28] Levien (and two Other Ranks) remained in Egypt attached to NZEF Headquarters, where he closed the Alexandra Depot and disposed of the vast stockpile of stores that the NZEF had accumulated over the past year. Departing Egypt in May 1916, Levien did not rejoin the NZ Division but remained with the Headquarters NZEF as the NZEF COO in the United Kingdom.[29]
A significant duty of the DADOS and his staff was to vet all indents submitted by NZ Division units. Herbert and his staff were to check on these indents and keep records of the receipt and issues of stores to prevent placing excessive demands. Herbert’s role was not to obstruct legitimate demands but to accelerate their processing and see that the stores, when received, were issued without delay. Herbert later reminisced at a Returned Servicemen’s meeting that his role was “to see that all units were properly equipped, at the same time endeavouring to ensure that no one ” put it across him ” for extra issues”.[30] The DADOS did not typically hold stocks of any kind, but as experience grew, the DADOS held a small reserve of essential items.[31] An example of the items held by the DADOS were gumboots and socks.[32]
A crucial role of the DADOS was to ensure that all damaged or worn stores that were fit for repair were exchanged for new or refurbished items and the damaged items returned to the appropriate repair agency. Under the responsibility of the DADOS, an Armourer Staff Sergeant was attached to each infantry battalion in the early years of the war. It was later found to be a much better plan to remove the armourers from Battalions and form a division armourers shop equipped with all the tools and accessories necessary for the repair of small arms, machine guns, bicycles, primus stoves, steel helmets and other like items, allowing them to be repaired and reissued with much higher efficiency than if left with an individual Battalion armourer.[33] Also under the supervision of the DADOS were the Divisional boot repair shop and Divisional Tailors shops. These shops saved and extended the life of hundreds of pairs of boots and clothing suits.
In May 1916, shortly after arriving in France, the DADOS was directed to provide one officer, one sergeant and two corporals for the Divisional Salvage Company, with the OC of the Pioneer Battalion providing four Lance Corporals and 24 Other ranks. The duties of the NZ Divisional Salvage Company were;
“The care and custody of packs of troops engaged in offensive operations; The care of tents and canvas of the Division; The salvage of Government property, and also enemy property, wherever found; The sorting of the stuff salved, and dispatch thereof to base.”[34]
Although initially reporting to the Corps Salvage Officer, entries in the DADOS war diaries indicate that the Divisional Salvage Company was an integral part of the DADOS responsibilities.[35]
The appointment of Divisional Baths and Laundry Officer was another DADOS responsibility from December 1916.[36] The Division endeavoured to maintain facilities to provide the entire Division with a Bath and a change of clothing every ten days.[37] The Divisional Baths and Laundry provided a welcome respite for soldiers from the front; soiled clothing was handed in as soldiers arrived and undressed, provided a hot bath or shower, and soldiers were then issued a clean uniform. The soiled uniform was inspected, cleaned and repaired if necessary and placed into stock, ready for the next rotation of soldiers to pass through.[38]
9/39 Temporary Major Charles Gossage OBE. National Library of New Zealand/public domain
Herbert remained as DADOS until 31 March 1918, when he relinquished the appointment of OC NZAOC and DADOS NZ Division to be the Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (ADOS) of XI Army Corps.[39] Herbert was replaced as DADOS by Lieutenant Gossage, who had recently completed an Ordnance course at Woolwich and was granted the rank of Temporary Captain while holding the position of DADOS. The appointment of OC NZAOC was taken up by Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Edward Pilkington. Pilkington was a New Zealand Artillery Officer with a flair for administration. Pilkington had acquitted himself well as the ADOS of XIX Corps during the retreat of the British 5th Army in March 1918 and was considered the most experience Ordnance Officer in the NZEF and was appointed NZEF ADOS on 30 June 1918.[40]
Before the arrival of Pilkington as NZEF ADOS, the headquarters of the NZEF in London had evolved into a self-contained administrative unit, with capably managed departments providing the full range of medical, pay, postal, and other administrative services to maintain the NZEF training camps in the United Kingdom as well as the NZEF units in France and the Middle East.[41] In his role as the NZEF COO, Levien undertook several initiatives to improve the logistical situation of the NZEF. Levien’s initial work included the establishment of the Sling Ordnance Depot and smaller sub-depots at all of the NZEF Training Camps and Hospitals throughout the United Kingdom.[42] Levien also established an Ordnance Depot at Farringdon Road, London to support these Depots.[43] Levien was always keen to reduce costs, and an example of his cost-saving efforts is that by a combination of switching clothing suppliers from the Royal Army Clothing Department (RACD) at Pilimlco to commercial suppliers and by repairing damaged clothing, these changes resulted in savings of 2019 NZD$9,788,232.00 in the period leading up to December 1917.[44]
Levien also studied the stores accounting procedures employed by the Australians and Canadians, and after discussions with Battalion Quartermasters and the Ordnance Officer at Sling, Levien submitted a modified stores accounting system that was adopted across the NZEF to provide a uniform and efficient method of accounting for stores. So successful was this system that it was adopted by the post-war NZAOC and proved very successful, with losses becoming comparatively negligible against the previous systems.[45] Levien also instigated the establishment of an independent NZEF audit department and a purchasing board to supervise purchasing by the NZEF. Levien, who finished the war a Major, was awarded an MBE and OBE for his efforts.[46]
The armistice of 11 November 1918 brought a sudden end to the fighting on the Western Front leading to the NZ Division marching into Germany to take up occupation duties at Cologne soon afterwards. Gossage and his staff were initially concerned with closing down or handing over the ordnance stores and infrastructure in France and Belgium and establishing the ordnance mechanisms required to support the NZ Division in Germany. The New Zealand occupation was short, and the NZ Division had disbanded by 26 March 1919.[47] With all of the NZ Division’s equipment requiring disposal, Gossage and his men were ordered to remain in Germany to manage the handing back of the Divisions equipment to British ordnance and dispose of the items unable to be returned by sale or destruction. Gossage eventually marched out for England on 2 May 1919.[48] Concurrent with the mobilisation activities undertaken by Gossage in Germany, the NZAOC in the United Kingdom swiftly switched activities from equipping the NZEF to demobilising the NZEF and all the ordnance activities associated with that task.
Army clothing at a New Zealand military ordnance store, England. Alexander Turnbull Library
Additionally, the NZAOC managed the return to New Zealand of the considerable amount of war trophies that the NZEF had accumulated [49] and the indenting of new equipment to equip the New Zealand Army into the early 1940s.[50] Under Captain William Simmons, the final OC Ordnance from 20 Feb 1920, the final remnants of the NZEF NZAOC were demobilised in October 1920, closing the first chapter of the NZAOC.[51]
In conclusion, this article provides a snapshot of the role of the NZAOC and its place within the NZEF. Charged with the responsibility of supplying and maintaining the weapons, ammunition, clothing and equipment of the NZEF, the NZAOC provided the NZEF with a near-seamless link into the vast Imperial ordnance system. The responsibilities of the NZAOC as part of the NZ Division extended from the traditional ordnance supply and maintenance functions to the management of the Divisional Baths, Laundries and Savage. In the United Kingdom, the NZAOC not only provided ordnance support to the troops undertaking training and casualties in hospitals but, under a process of continual improvements, streamlined logistics procedures and processes to enable the NZEF to make considerable savings. However, despite its success as a combat enabler for the NZEF, the legacy of the NZAOC was one of anonymity. The anonymity of the NZAOC was a consequence of its small size and its place in the organisational structure as part of the NZEF and Division Headquarters.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Australia & New Zealand Army Corps [2ANZAC], Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (ADOS) – War Diary, 1 December – 31 December 1916.” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487340 (1916). “An Account of the Working of the Baths Established in the Divisional Areas in France.” Archives New Zealand Item No R24428508 (1918). Allied and Associated Powers, Military Board of Allied Supply. Report of the Military Board of Allied Supply. Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1924. “Appendices to War Diaries, I – Lxii.” Item ID R23486739, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Beck, William Thomas.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. Bond, Alfred James.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914.| “Brave New Zealanders.” The Hawera and Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXXI, , 24 June 1916. “Coltman, William Hall Densby “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Crozier, Lewis “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (DADOS) – War Diary, 1 April – 30 April 1918.” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487665 (1918). Drew, H. T. B. The War Effort of New Zealand: A Popular (a) History of Minor Campaigns in Which New Zealanders Took Part, (B) Services Not Fully Dealt with in the Campaign Volumes, (C) the Work at the Bases. Official History of New Zealand’s Effort in the Great War: V.4. Whitcombe & Tombs, 1923. Non-fiction. Equipment and Ordnance Depot, Farringdon Road, London – Administration Reports Etc., 18 October 1916 – 8 August 1918 Item Id R25102951, Archives New Zealand. 1918. “Geard, Walter John.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Gilmore, Arthur “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Gossage, Charles Ingram.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Grants of Temporary Rank, Appointments and Promotions of Officers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.” New Zealand Gazette 8 July 1915. “H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand, Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding the Forces from 1 July 1922 to 30 June 1923.” Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1923). “H-19 Report on the Defence Forces of New Zealand for the Period 28 June 1912 to 20 June 1913.” Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representives (1 January 1913). “Hamilton, Gavin “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “The Hautapu Camp.” Waikato Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 5575, 4 April 1914. Headquarters New Zealand and Australian Division. “New Zealand Division – Administration – War Diary, 1 May – 26 May 1916.” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487546 (1916). “Henderson, Joseph Roland.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Herbert, Alfred Henry “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Hutton, Frank Percy.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “King, Thomas Joseph.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Levien, Norman Joseph “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Little, Edward Cullen “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Lofts, Horace Frederick “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Macrae, Kenneth Bruce “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “New Zealand Army Ordnance Department and New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Regulations.” New Zealand Gazette No 95, June 7 1917, 2292. “New Zealand Expeditionary Force – Army Ordnance Corps Daily Order No. 1 “. Archives New Zealand Item No R25958433 (1916). “O’brien, John Goutenoire “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Oldbury, Charles Alfred.” Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. Ordnance Manual (War). War Office. London: His Majesties Printing Office, 1914. “Pilkington, Herbert Edward “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Puldron, Elliot “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Returned Soldiers.” Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 136, 12 June 1922. “Road to Promotion.” Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 29, 4 February 1916. “Seay, Clarence Adrian “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Simmons, William Henchcliffe “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Territorials.” Evening Star, Issue 15018, 29 October 1912. “Troopships; Embarkation Orders; Daily Field States; and a Large Chart of ‘New Zealand Expeditionary Forces – Personnel’ as at 1 June 1915).” Item ID R23486740, Archives New Zealand, 1914. “Trophies and Historical Material – [War] Trophies – New Zealand Expeditionary Force [NZEF] – Shipment of to New Zealand, 21 September 1917 – 24 November 1919.” Archives New Zealand Item No R25103019 (1919).
New Zealand Ordnance Corps demobilisation Staff at Mulheim, Germany, Febuary1919. Alexander Turnbull Library/Public Domain
Secondary Sources
Australian Army. “Logistics.” Land Warfare Doctrine 4.0 (2018). Bolton, Major J.S. A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps. Trentham: RNZAOC, 1992. Cooke, Peter D. F. Won by the Spade: How the Royal New Zealand Engineers Built a Nation. Exisle Publishing Ltd, 2019. Bibliographies, Non-fiction. Drew, H. T. B. The War Effort of New Zealand: A Popular (a) History of Minor Campaigns in Which New Zealanders Took Part, (B) Services Not Fully Dealt within the Campaign Volumes, (C) the Work at the Bases. Official History of New Zealand’s Effort in the Great War: V.4. Whitcombe & Tombs, 1923. Non-fiction. Forbes, Arthur. A History of the Army Ordnance Services. London: The Medici society, ltd., 1929. Harper, Glyn. Johnny Enzed: The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War 1914-1918. First World War Centenary History. Exisle Publishing Limited, 2015. Non-fiction. McGibbon, I. C. New Zealand’s Western Front Campaign. Bateman, 2016. Non-fiction. McDonald, Wayne. Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914-1918. 3rd edition ed.: Richard Stowers, 2013. Directories, Non-fiction. Pugsley, Christopher. Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story. Auckland [N.Z.] : Sceptre, 1990, 1990. Soutar, M. Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Māori in the First World War. Bateman Books, 2019. Tilbrook, John D. To the Warrior His Arms: A History of the Ordnance Services in the Australian Army Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps Committee, 1989. Williams, P.H. Ordnance: Equipping the British Army for the Great War. History Press, 2018.
Notes
[1] Arthur Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services (London: The Medici society, ltd., 1929), 229. [2] Major J.S Bolton, A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (Trentham: RNZAOC, 1992), 52-53. [3] Under the Director of Equipment and Stores, a fortnight course of instruction on ordnance duties was conducted at Alexandra Barracks in January 1913 to train selected Officers in Ordnance Duties. During the Brigade and Divisional camps of 1913 and 1914, each Brigade Ordnance Officer was allocated a staff of 2 clerks and 4 issuers, who had also undertaken training on Ordnance duties. , “Territorials,” Evening Star, Issue 15018, 29 October 1912.; “H-19 Report on the Defence Forces of New Zealand for the Period 28 June 1912 to 20 June 1913,” Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representives (1913). [4] “Troopships; Embarkation Orders; Daily Field States; and a Large Chart of ‘New Zealand Expeditionary Forces – Personnel’ as at 1 June 1915),” Item ID R23486740, Archives New Zealand 1914. [5] Beck was an experienced military storekeeper who had been a soldier in the Permanent Militia before his appointment as Northern Districts Defence Storekeeper in 1904. Beck was the Officer in charge of the Camp Ordnance for the Auckland Divisional Camp at Hautapu near Cambridge in April 1914, so he was well prepared for the role of DADOS “Beck, William Thomas,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.; “The Hautapu Camp,” Waikato Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 5575, 4 April 1914. [6] “Levien, Norman Joseph “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914. [7] “Beck, William Thomas.” [8]Ordnance Manual (War), War Office (London: His Majesties Printing Office, 1914). [9] “Appendices to War Diaries, I – Lxii,” Item ID R23486739, Archives New Zealand 1914. [10]Divisional Order 210 of 28 December transferred the following soldiers to the Ordnance Depot;
• Private Walter John Geard, Geard remained with Ordnance for the duration of the war • Private Arthur Gilmore, Gilmour remained with Ordnance for the duration of the war| • Private Gavin Hamilton, Worked At Alexandra Depot until returned to New Zealand in October 1915 • Private Lewis Crozier, Promoted to Sergeant 18 Feb 16, returned to NZ August 1917 • Private Horace Frederick Lofts, Transferred to NZASC October 1917 • Private Joseph Roland Henderson, Transferred to NZASC 25 February 1916
“Geard, Walter John,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Hamilton, Gavin “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Crozier, Lewis “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Lofts, Horace Frederick “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Henderson, Joseph Roland,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Gilmore, Arthur “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.[11] “Levien, Norman Joseph “. [12]Thomas Joseph King was a qualified accountant and was to be the Corps Director in the interwar period and served in the 2nd NZEF as ADOS, “King, Thomas Joseph,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.: “Grants of Temporary Rank, Appointments and Promotions of Officers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force,” New Zealand Gazette 8 July 1915. [13] Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services, 221-23. [14]“Levien, Norman Joseph “; John D Tilbrook, To the Warrior His Arms: A History of the Ordnance Services in the Australian Army (Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps Committee, 1989), 43. [15] Christopher Pugsley, Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story (Auckland [N.Z.]: Sceptre, 1990, 1990), 111. [16] Australian Army, “Logistics,” Land Warfare Doctrine 4.0 (2018): 7. [17] Lt Col Austin was a British Army Ordnance Department officer on secondment to the Australian Army as DOS before the war and served with the AIF on Gallipoli as the DADOS 1st Australian Division and later ADOS of the ANZAC Corps. Tilbrook, To the Warrior His Arms: A History of the Ordnance Services in the Australian Army 45. [18] Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services, 229-30. [19] “Puldron, Elliot “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914. [20] “Brave New Zealanders,” The Hawera and Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXXI, 24 June 1916. [21] I. C. McGibbon, New Zealand’s Western Front Campaign (Bateman, 2016), Non-fiction, 30-31. [22] “Road to Promotion,” Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 29, 4 February 1916.; Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services, 151.[23] The NZAOC Establishment was published in the NZEF Orders of 18 Feb 1916. “New Zealand Expeditionary Force – Army Ordnance Corps Daily Order No. 1 “, Archives New Zealand Item No R25958433 (1916). [24] Tilbrook, To the Warrior His Arms: A History of the Ordnance Services in the Australian Army 55. [25] “Herbert, Alfred Henry “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914. [26] M. Soutar, Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Māori in the First World War (Bateman Books, 2019), 185. [27] The officers and men transferred into the NZAOC in the period January/March 1916 included;
• Private Frank Percy Hutton • Sergeant Kenneth Bruce MacRae • 2nd Lieutenant Alfred James Bond • Company Sergeant Major William Henchcliffe Simmons • Company Sergeant Major William Hall Densby Coltman • Temp Sergeant Edward Cullen Little • Corporal John Goutenoire O’Brien • Corporal John Joseph Roberts • Private Clarence Adrian Seay • Sergeant Charles Ingram Gossage • Armourer Charles Alfred Oldbury
“Gossage, Charles Ingram,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Oldbury, Charles Alfred,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Seay, Clarence Adrian “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “O’Brien, John Goutenoire “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Little, Edward Cullen “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Coltman, William Hall Densby “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Simmons, William Henchcliffe “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Bond, Alfred James,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Macrae, Kenneth Bruce “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914; “Hutton, Frank Percy,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[28] The New Zealand Army Ordnance Department and Corps were established as a permanent unit of the New Zealand Military Forces from 1 Feb 1917 “New Zealand Army Ordnance Department and New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Regulations,” New Zealand Gazette No 95, June 7 1917. [29] “Levien, Norman Joseph “; “New Zealand Expeditionary Force – Army Ordnance Corps Daily Order No. 1 “. [30] “Returned Soldiers,” Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 136, 12 June 1922. [31] Military Board of Allied Supply Allied and Associated Powers, Report of the Military Board of Allied Supply (Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1924). [32] Peter D. F. Cooke, Won by the Spade: How the Royal New Zealand Engineers Built a Nation (Exisle Publishing Ltd, 2019), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 199. [33] P.H. Williams, Ordnance: Equipping the British Army for the Great War (History Press, 2018). [34] Headquarters New Zealand and Australian Division, “New Zealand Division – Administration – War Diary, 1 May – 26 May 1916,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487546 (1916). [35] Items Salved by the NZ Div Salvage Company in April 1918 included:
• One Bristol Airplane, • One Triumph Norton Motorcycle, • Three Douglas Motorcycles, • The following enemy stores; • 285 Rifles, • 10 Bayonets and scabbards, • 25 Steel Helmets, • Four Pistol Signal, • Three Mountings MG, • 62 Belts MG, • 32 Belt boxes MG, • 95 Gas respirators
“Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 April – 30 April 1918,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487665 (1918).
[36] “2nd Australia & New Zealand Army Corps [2anzac], Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Ados) – War Diary, 1 December – 31 December 1916,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487340 (1916). [37] Ideally, baths were established for each Brigade and one for the remainder of the Division; these baths were supported by a central Laundry “An Account of the Working of the Baths Established in the Divisional Areas in France,” Archives New Zealand Item No R24428508 (1918). [38] Glyn Harper, Johnny Enzed: The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War 1914-1918, First World War Centenary History (Exisle Publishing Limited, 2015), Non-fiction, 351-54. [39] “Herbert, Alfred Henry “. [40] “Pilkington, Herbert Edward “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914. [41] H. T. B. Drew, The War Effort of New Zealand: A Popular (a) History of Minor Campaigns in Which New Zealanders Took Part, (B) Services Not Fully Dealt with in the Campaign Volumes, (C) the Work at the Bases, Official History of New Zealand’s Effort in the Great War: V.4 (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1923), Non-fiction, 248. [42] “Levien, Norman Joseph “. [43]Equipment and Ordnance Depot, Farringdon Road, London – Administration Reports Etc., 18 October 1916 – 8 August 1918 Item Id R25102951, Archives New Zealand (1918). [44] Ibid. [45] “H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand, Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding the Forces from 1 July 1922 to 30 June 1923,” Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1923). [46] Wayne McDonald, Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914-1918, 3rd edition ed. (Richard Stowers, 2013), Directories, Non-fiction, 146. [47] McGibbon, New Zealand’s Western Front Campaign, 355. [48] “Gossage, Charles Ingram.” [49] “Trophies and Historical Material – [War] Trophies – New Zealand Expeditionary Force [Nzef] – Shipment of to New Zealand, 21 September 1917 – 24 November 1919,” Archives New Zealand Item No R25103019 (1919). [50] “O’brien, John Goutenoire “. [51] Simmons had served on the Samoa Advance party in 1914 and demobilised in October 1920, possibly one of the longest-serving members of the NZEF. “Simmons, William Henchcliffe “.
In the early years of the Second World War, the United Kingdom was unable to provide Australia with the necessary military hardware to equip a rapidly expanding Australian Army. The following two articles; For Want of Clean Socks: The Australian Mobile Laundry Trailers and And More Clean Socks: The Australian Light Laundry Trailer by Australian military historian and authority on the technical history of vehicles and equipment, Michael K Cecil, examine how Australian industry stepped up to provide the Australian Army Ordnance Corps with a Mobile Laundry capability. First published in the Australian Khaki Vehicle Enthusiasts Newsletter the KVE News of March 2013 these articles are Published with the permission of the author, Michael K Cecil.Copyright Michael K Cecil
For Want of Clean Socks: The Australian Mobile Laundry Trailers
Laundry the hard way: scrubbing by hand in a basin of water.
Keeping clothing and bedding clean is only second in importance to good food and clean water when it comes to maintaining an Army’s health and morale. To this end, Laundry Units have been an integral part of the Australian Army’s Order of Battle since the First World War. But the early days of the Second World War heralded a change from the semi-static trench warfare of the First World War to a much more mechanised and fluid war – a war on wheels and tracks where gains or losses might be measured in tens of kilometres in a day. Any unit operating in a forward area had best be prepared to move quickly in response to changes in the tactical situation.
Mobile laundry facilities were first given serious consideration by the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (2AIF) in mid-1940, and by the Australian Military Forces (AMF) later the same year. Initial equipment was to be provided by purchase from Britain in line with the policy of adopting British Army standardised equipment wherever possible. However, Britain was unable to supply the laundry equipment in a timely manner or in the quantities required, so the Army turned to local industry to bridge the gap.
By late 1940, orders had been placed for the supply of various commercially available laundry equipment, in order to assemble a pilot model mobile laundry for trials. Several Australian companies from across the nation were contracted – Robert Bryce for the washing machine, Robert Lilley and Co. for the hydro-extractor and the soap and soda dissolver, Burtons Ltd for the tumble dryer, Cameron and Sutherland supplied centrifugal pumps, and a clarifier was supplied by the Perth-based firm Boltons Ltd. An entirely new device, a continuous drying machine, was being designed by the Land Headquarters Experimental Workshop, who would also assemble the pilot model laundry trailers. Power for each complete laundry was to be supplied by a 25kva, 415 Volt, three-phase AC generator mounted on a four wheel trailer. This was already an issue item, so procuring one for the pilot model laundry did not present a problem.
The equipment had all arrived at the workshop by the close of July 1941, except for the trailers. These were in extremely short supply owing to a higher priority demand for machinery trailers. The workshop went ahead and began assembling the laundry as a static unit – at least the components could be tested and their inter-relationship could be worked out within the trailer’s known dimensions in the interim.
And they were desperately needed. By February 1941, sixteen mobile laundry units were allowed for on the Australian Army’s Order of Battle – six for the 2nd AIF, and ten for a fully mobilised AMF, each one attached to an individual higher formation. Of those for the 2nd AIF, 5 were needed overseas. The 8 th Infantry Division in Malaya were in the greatest need, so the pilot model laundry – still not mounted on trailers – was sent to Malaya, along with some additional commercially available equipment, to provide a static laundry facility. Tropical conditions were already proving to be particularly hard on troops, and regular changes of clothing and bed linen helped keep tropical diseases, particularly skin rashes, in check.
By the time the pilot model’s equipment left for Malaya in September 1941, the mobile laundry design was well advanced. In anticipation of receiving trailers, contracts for the supply of the various major components were issued to suppliers. There was even a contract for the woven rattan trolley baskets, with Lawries Ltd engaged to manufacture enough sets for 11 mobile laundries.
Assembly of the first mobile laundry was to be undertaken by Robert Lilley and Co., but the supply of the trailers was still proving something of a problem. It was overcome by supplying machinery trailers that then had to be converted: hardly an ideal solution, but the only one available under the prevailing circumstances. The stripped machinery trailers were delivered to Lilleys in late April, 1942.
A Mobile Hospital laundry set up, with the boiler trailer set at right angles to the other 4 trailers. The trailer sides are dropped to the horizontal and used as the walkways and working area. The boiler trailer is the specially built McGrath model with the stepped bed construction to provide maximum height for the vertical boiler. AWM140751. Copyright expired.
By mid June 1942, good progress was being made on the construction of the pilot model mobile laundry at Robert Lilley and Co in West Melbourne. Trailer brake modifications were well advanced at Patons Brakes, and the McGrath Trailer Co had completed a new trailer specifically for the boiler assembly after the converted machinery trailer proved unsatisfactory. In anticipation of successful trials, contracts had also been placed with various manufacturers for laundry components, such was the urgent need to supply completed laundries to field units. The contractors list was a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the Australian light manufacturing industry at the time: Andrew & Higgs, Gordon Brothers, Lawries Ltd, Johnsons Tyne Foundry, and L Horscroft & Co., to name a few.
A fully equipped divisional mobile laundry consisted of 9 trailers of equipment, each one towed by a 3- ton truck or lorry. There were four washing machine trailers, two boiler and feed water trailers, two trailers equipped with a generator and tumble dryer (the dedicated generator trailer had been abandoned in favour of combining it with a dryer in a more compact layout), and a continuous drying room trailer. They were designed to be parked in a line and interconnected by the various pipe work and electrical cabling. The trailers’ lower sides were designed to fold out horizontally to provide working room and facilitate movement of staff and trolleys laden carrying washing between trailers. The upper wire mesh sides were hinged at the top, allowing them to be raised to the horizontal to provide an all round awning over the workspace.
Feeding the laundry boiler to provide hot water and steam for washing, and heat for the continuous dryer. The boiler had the versatility to be fired by wood or, in the tropics where dry wood was not available, quickly converted to a petrol-fed ‘hydra burner’. AWM055382 Copyright expired.
Baskets full of linen waiting to be washed. A mobile laundry’s work was never done! The near trailer houses the drum-type washing machine and to its right, a ‘hydro-extractor’ is being loaded from the trolley basket. The hydro-extractor was a machine that performed the ‘spin’ cycle of a modern washing machine. AWM026376. Copyright expired.
The Unit was manned by 3 officers and 118 other ranks, and the washing capacity was 400 pounds weight (181 kilograms) of dry clothing and linen per hour. Manning was based upon a sustained operation of two 8 hour shifts per day, 6 days per week, but greater output was possible if operated with more staff on a three shift rotation. For attachment to hospitals, a Hospital Mobile Laundry Unit was created. This was essentially a ‘half laundry’, consisting of five trailers: 2 washing machine, 1 each boiler and generator/tumble dryer trailer, and a drying room.
By early 1943, mobile laundry equipment manufactured by Australian industry was flowing to field units. Divisional Units were attached to higher formations located across Australia and in New Guinea, and Hospital laundry units were taking over from the older and far less efficient technology being employed at General Hospitals and Casualty Clearing Stations in Northern Australia and New Guinea.
A ‘flat head’ V8 working hard to spin the generator to provide all the power needs of the Mobile Laundry Unit. The other end of the same trailer housed a tumble dryer unit. AWM027631. Copyright expired
While these large capacity laundries were hard at work satisfying the never-ending requirements for clean linen and uniforms in larger formations and medical facilities, experience in the tropics during 1942 had demonstrated a need to constantly provide front line troops with clean clothes whenever possible, both for health and morale reasons. But the Mobile and Hospital laundries were just too far in the rear and too unwieldy to be safely moved further into the combat zone. Consequently, there was a desperate need for a lighter, more compact laundry for deployment as far forward into the combat zone as possible. Consequently, there was a desperate need for a lighter, more compact laundry for deployment as far forward into the combat zone as possible. The following article covers the Australian ‘Light Laundry’,
And More Clean Socks: The Australian Light Laundry Trailer
While the multi-trailer Mobile and Hospital laundries served the rear areas well, there was still a desperate need for a lighter, more compact laundry for deployment as far forward into the combat zone as possible. Troops operating anywhere need to maintain their clothes and equipment, but suffice to say, combat conditions often preclude anything more than the most basic of attention to this. While troops could survive quite well operating in the dry conditions of the Middle East, Greece and North Africa, the tropics meant dealing with a whole new regime of endlessly wet, muddy and humid conditions, together with the prevalence of some debilitating tropical diseases. Such conditions could rapidly reduce an army’s fighting effectiveness. Hence, the provision of clothes washing and decontamination facilities for front line troops and forward medical facilities such as Casualty Clearing Stations became almost as important as good food and shelter.
To provide washing facilities, the mobile showering unit, wholly mounted in a ¼ ton truck, was invented. To wash and decontaminate their clothes, the Australian Light Laundry was devised. The design work commenced in earnest in December 1942, and a pilot model was put together during January 1943. It was a somewhat radical design, as it dispensed with the steam pressure boiler altogether, opting for a direct-fired water heater to provide the hot water directly to the washing machine. This had the advantage that a qualified pressure vessel (boiler) attendant was not required: the simple system could be operated by almost anyone with a minimum of training. The drying system was also a departure from the conventional, as it too used a system of direct firing to heat the air exchanger that forced heated air into the tumble dryer. The complete laundry was mounted on a single four-wheeled 14 foot x 7 foot flat bed trailer. Initial trials of the pilot model during January and February 1943 proved the rugged simplicity of the design.
The Light Laundry (Aust) used a radical design to achieve compactness, but not sacrifice efficiency. Built by L. Horscroft, they were an instant success in forward areas. (Image reproduced from the MGO Equipment Memorandum)
The US Forces had also come to the realisation that a light mobile laundry was needed, but when shown the Australian pilot model, expressed some dismay at its unconventional features. The US Army Services of Supply (USASOS) opted for a different, more conventional design much to the disappointment of the Australian authorities. This design, which utilised a conventional 100 psi steam pressure boiler, was to be manufactured in Australia under the Reciprocal Lease Lend agreement. By refusing to standardise, Australian industry would effectively be required to split their efforts and produce two light laundry designs in parallel. Australian authorities considered this division a waste of precious manufacturing resources, but the USASOS were not to be swayed.
The Light Laundry (Aust) was geared toward the washing needs of a small hospital or casualty clearing station of up to 200 beds. With this capability, it could also be used for the washing and decontamination of the clothing of front line units when withdrawn to secure areas a short distance behind the lines. In addition to consumables such as soap and fuel, all the Light Laundry (Aust) needed was a reliable supply of water. Delivery of water to the washer and water heater was handled by a small petrol engine driven pump which was included as part of the laundry’s basic equipment.
The oil-fired water heater provided hot water to the washing machine, with the residual heat used to provide the primary supply of warm air to the tumble dryer. A booster burner was also provided to heat the air-exchanger for times when the water heater was not in full operation. Power to operate the dryer and washer was provided by a 10hp Ford petrol engine connected to a counter-shaft running the full length of the trailer. Flexible couplings enabled any one part of the system to be temporarily disengaged, such as when emptying or filling the dryer or washing machine, and power was transferred from the countershaft by belts and pulleys. The fully integrated system was designed to wash 60 lbs dry weight of clothing per hour, but early trials exceeded all expectations by consistently processing more than 70 lbs per hour, and an experienced crew could complete more than 80 lbs per hour for short periods if needed.
With the success of the pilot model, and in anticipation of an early delivery of the production equipment, Army Headquarters authorised the addition of 22 Light Mobile Laundry Units onto the Order of Battle in February 1943. The units were designed to operate with any type of formation or unit as required, and were manned by members of the Australian Army Ordnance Corps (AAOC). To equip them, contracts were raised with L Horscroft and Co. for 25 Light Laundries (Aust) in April 1943, which was later raised to 40. L. Horscroft and Co. were experienced in the manufacture of laundry and oven equipment, and were already handling several military contracts for cleaning and drying equipment, including ovens for heating explosives. Within a few months, Light Mobile Laundry Units AAOC were in operation within Australia and on their way to several locations in New Guinea.
The Light Laundry (Aust) was one of the more successful collaborative projects undertaken by Australian industry during the Second World War. From the Army’s articulation of the requirement in late 1942, it took only until mid-1943 to equip, raise and deploy the new units into forward areas. Truly a fantastic effort.
Copyright Michael K Cecil
Biographical Details Michael K Cecil
Michael K. Cecil was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1955. His tertiary studies were at Monash University (Clayton campus) where he graduated with two degrees: a Batchelor of Science with Honours and a Batchelor of Arts. He later studied at Canberra Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a Certificate IV in Museum Practice.
Following graduation from Monash University, he held various positions in both the public service and in private consulting. These included research assistant to the ‘Atlas of Victoria’ project, various tertiary teaching positions, and technical administration appointments.
Always passionate about history, he has been researching Australian military history – particularly the technical history of vehicles and equipment – since the early 1970s. This translated into publication of articles in the late 1980s, and his first book in the early 1990s.
