Poem ~ Cycling to War - Wednesday, 25 November 1914

Source: File: British Army cyclists recruiting poster WWI.jpg, 2014. From Wikipedia Army Cyclist Corps. [online] (updated 1 October 2014)  Available at: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Cyclist_Corps> [Accessed: 25 November 2014].

Beginning as the Bicycle Union,

In 1878, formed by the purpose

Of regulating races -

And in the defence of cyclists -

Merged from 1882,

With the Tricycle Association.

This Nationalist Cyclist Union,

Gained a new purpose in 1914.

With enough cyclists

To form a company of its own,

Members of the Union, formed

The name of the 6^th Royal Sussex

Territorial Cyclist Battalion -

With additional cycling men,

To create an almost complete,

Additional Battalion.

Also comes the call,

For home defence cyclists,

Within the Kent Cyclist Battalion.

In Chancery Lane are the offices,

Of Nationalist Cyclist Union,

Where on the 26 November,

From 11 to 4 pm an officer,

From Canterbury Headquarters,

Attended - to welcome,

Kentish men and others

To cycle forth,

And join this battalion.

Such wheeled forces,

Had already made war experience,

In South African campaigns -

Quieter and lighter than horses.

Found their uses in communications

And reconnaissance -

At start of the 1914 conflict,

Were 14 territorial cyclist battalions -

Regular infantry numbered ten,

While 4 remained independent,

Of any regimental affiliation.

Their first purpose of defence

of the coast on the home isles -

Poster recruitment called out,

Asking if ‘YOU’ are fond

Of cycling – if so

‘Why not cycle for the king?’

As on one poster for

48^th South Midland Divisional

Cyclist Company.

An appeal to join, might be for

Provisions given, of uniform

And very own army cycles.

No fitness requirements

Are expressed - only to say,

‘Bad Teeth, No Bar.’

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1914. Cyclist Companies. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 25 Nov. p.2. Col.3. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11251495/Daily-Telegraph-November-25-1914.html [Accessed: 25 November 2014].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cyclists'_Union

Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 25 November 2014). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11251495/Daily-Telegraph-November-25-1914.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered

Poem ~ Russian escapes Austrian Capture -Tuesday, 1 September 1914

A Russian, by the name of Kusminsky,

Having gained something of a reputation

As a pilot of daring, peace-time flights,

Was soon invited to join the forces. 

Interviewed for ‘Russkoye Slovo,’

He told the press of his narrow escape.

Kusminsky, without military experience,

And mixed emotions about the forces

Embarked in a flight, upon a mission,

With an officer of the General Staff.

Taking off alongside two other planes -

They flew along the lines of their army

For a distance, but then turning

Into enemy territory, their escorts

Separated - banking in other directions

Each to embark on a separate mission.

With the Commander's instructions,

They were to fly in sight of highway.

Climbing high they saw the barograph

State their height of 13,00-1350 meters.

At times they flew higher, so the air

Became so cold, they almost froze.

With good, clear visibility for there

Scouting mission, Kusminsky

Employed binoculars to identify

The army of the enemy -

The day being so good

He could even make out supply carts.

Remaining close to the Russian Frontier,

They were flying at a great height

When an explosion rocked the craft,

Making it judder-it was not enemy shell,

But suction valve of the motor had burst.

The General Staff officer remained calm,

As Kusminsky shut off the Benzine

And opened up the contact -

With very little choice, they descended

In a ‘volplane,’ prolonging the flight

To avoid any capture on enemy ground.

Despite their excellent map,

Kusminsky could not tell where they were

Finally they steadily touched ground.

Seeing in the field close by a group

Of ‘peasants’ the officer ordered

To drench Benzine on the plane

And be armed with matches,

In case the peasants were Austrian,

In fact they were Russian.

by Jamie Mann

Anon.,1914. Daring Flight of a Russian Aviator - Mishap in Mid-air - Escape from Austrians. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 01 Sept. p.7. Col.3. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11064407/Daily-Telegraph-September-1-1914.html [Accessed: 01st September 2014].

Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 01 September 2014). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11064407/Daily-Telegraph-September-1-1914.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

#WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1 #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered