British Army Figures on your World War One Trench Railway

No model is complete without figures. They harmonise with the mechanical aspect of the model in a surprising way. A good figurine can draw the eye away from  an indifferent locomotive or hastily constructed wagons. The more there are, the better the effect, and the better the quality of the railway modelling, the better all round! I use the word ‘surprising’ because it doesn’t usually work like this. A good locomotive would, for example, show-up any sloppiness in the rest of the model. An island of lovingly detailed scenery makes its surroundings look even worse. Yet with the human figure, things are different, the difference going deep into our psychology. The eye treats the human as a special case. We are more interested in our fellows as potential friends, foes, source of cooperation or rivalry or as love interest, than in anything else we see. This may be why a convincing figurine has such an interesting effect on a model-scape. It is not so much a distractor as an invitation to the observer to become involved.

This fine figure in contemporary British uniform was snapped at the Apedale Tracks To the Trenches event 2014

 This makes a ‘good’ figurine more important than ever. There are various ways of being good, as any artist will say. A scale figure, adapted from the photograph above, has been used as in two-dimensional cardboard on Malcolm's layouts to great effect. Alternatively, a caricature style, if carried out with conviction can, in turn, convince the eye. A diorama peopled entirely by models with the same face can be as pleasing as one with a ‘realistic’ variety of individuals.   Perhaps the key word is conviction. To convey this, let loose your inner artist, but also inner discipline. For a few instants at least, the figure which is real to the artist is real to the beholder. If the artist can add character and back-story, so much the better.  Let's face it, the model-scape which includes chaps taking a sly fag break or comfort break is really brought to life.

From a contemporary print in 'Illustration' A sketch of infantrymen from an English and a Scottish regiment.

Railway interest:  The British expeditionary force, BEF, started arriving in Boulogne and Le Havre (Calais and Dunkirk to a much lesser extent) from August 12^th 1914. Characters such as the ones above soon became familiar to the French and appeared in their thousands at standard gauge railway stations. Troop trains were marshalled at Amiens and then they were conveyed east to the Belgian border, trains being mainly the responsibility of the Nord Grande Ligne. There are many possibilities for the railway modeller – a total of 339 trains, carrying 115,000 NCOs and private soldiers, 4,500 officers, 45,000 horses, 5,500 guns, 1,300 cars and 2,000 bicycles. Lorries drove themselves to the Front. It was clear that the BEF expected a war of movement with motor vehicles and horses providing motive power.

Though the French welcomed their allies, they were all a bit exotic. To help with the process of integration, French troops were supplied with cards to help them identify friends and foes. Sketches show the typical Tommy from England and Scotland, as seen above. 

These sketch cards also showed cavalry. These, it was hoped, would lead the charge against the enemy.

Also from the identification card reproduced in 'Illustration' are cavalry figures

In 1914, there were a few old fashioned battles as the Germans advanced deep into French territory. Then they retreated somewhat and both sides started ‘digging in’. The long phase of trench warfare had begun. The British were at a disadvantage because they had intended to rely on horses and lorries for battlefield supply. These proved inadequate for the supplies needed – remember, the British had dumped the equivalent of the population of Liverpool into the French countryside, and EVERYTHING was needed, even drinking water. The wounded and soldiers on breaks had, in turn, to be transported away. To supply the British sector alone, the Grande Lignes brought 43,000 tonnes to the railheads in January 1915 and 90,000 tonnes by November of that year. During the build-up to the battle of the Somme, tonnage mounted – 150,000 in August 1916. (My source is Chemins de fer français et la guerre by Le Hénaff)

This drawing by Georges Scott appeared in  'Illustration' at the end of October 1914. A party of French dragoons pull a machine-gun into battle. This was how many expected the war to be fought.

The British were going to use their long-suffering horses and the brave new technology of the internal combustion engine to shift these vast tonnages from the railheads (an average of eight or so miles from the nearest existing railway) to the trenches. According to British Army regulations, a mule can only carry 75kg ie 0.075 of a tonne. A GS wagon or lorry could do better – 2 tonnes. To make matters worse, re-supply had to take place at night, at a slow and cautious walking pace. A ten mile round trip would take around four hours, thus two journeys per night at best; 4 tonnes transported, only another 39,996 to go! There had to be a better way and there was.

This photo by Jim Hawkesworth of a WW1 layout built by Henry Holdsworth shows a Péchot-Bourdon locomotive, typical of a French trench railway, pulling a train of WD wagons, as used in the British sector. A mix such as this was common because all the trench railways used 60cm gauge

Since 1882, Prosper Péchot had been developing a system of portable railways, running on 60cm track. It was officially adopted in 1888 when the Péchot-Bourdon locomotive as shown above was introduced. Between then and 1914, the French lost the lead in development. Soon after the Péchot System had been adopted, the Germans dropped all their existing experiments to concentrate on their own 60cm Feldbahn. By 1914, motive power was supplied by the 0-8-0T D-lokomotiv (The A, B and C locomotives were previous designs). This fine preserved example was photographed at Apedale.

Restoired to the condition of a WW1 German Feldbahn locomotive

Trench railway systems were labour intensive and not without drawbacks, but could reliably deliver the tonnages required, at night and in all weathers. (For more information see Colonel Péchot: Tracks To The Trenches)

Other figures of interest: The so-called British Army did not come just from the British Isles. In fact, some of the  ‘colonials’ showed the Mother Country the way! The divisions of Canadians who started arriving on French soil on November 9^th 1914 would become the best organised of any, certainly when it came to transport. Their 60cm railways (by 1918) required an average staff of 17 per mile. The British came in at 34 staff per mile, and forwarded less freight. (My source is WJK Davies ‘Light Railways of the First World War)

French morale was raised by colonial troops from many places. Here is one of many photographs, showing gallant non-Europeans who had come to the rescue of the Motherland.

From 'Illustration' autumn 1914. These North African troops are wearing their normal costume but the regular 'spahis' of 1914 would have been in red and blue uniforms

The Sikhs who came from British India won French hearts. Contemporary French sources were most impressed. Three divisions of Sikhs came in late September/early October 1914. They disembarked at Marseilles and were carried north, firstly to les Aubrais and Orléans then to Flanders. A further division of cavalry arrived late in December.

From 'Illustration' 1914 The Sikhs were popular figures.

 Khaki as a colour for uniforms, as can be guessed from the name, came from India and Sikh troops were among the first to adopt it; the figure above would have been dressed in khaki shades.  

There are no photographs celebrating Sikhs as mechanics, but they have always had a flair for logistics. Why not have a Sikh figure on your layout coaxing an unwilling engine back to life!