The Move to Mechanisation

Discussion in 'Prewar' started by Rich Payne, Jul 23, 2014.

  1. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    The British Army during the 1930s put a certain amount of effort into demonstrating how modern and mechanised it was becoming. I thought perhaps we should have a thread where these pre-war propaganda snippets could find a home.

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    This photograph was found by a contact searching in the State Library of Victoria's collections. One of the nicer images of old handing over to new.

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    There is a black beret in the background so presumably a cavalry regiment in the process of change.

    British Pathé filmed the 15th/19th Hussars saying goodbye to their horses in 1939.

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    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/soldiers-farewell/query/soldiers+farewell

    The 11th Hussars were apparently fully mechanised by 1929. They appear to be departing from the same cavalry barracks * different railings, so probably not !) :-

    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-triumph-of-mechanised-warfare/query/soldiers+farewell

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    An undisclosed unit on Salisbury Plain in 1934 :-

    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/mechanised-manoeuvres/query/mechanisation

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    I'll keep looking...
     
    Drew5233 and dbf like this.
  2. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Hope you don't mind Rich,
    some related stats from 1936 which I found and posted on this link
    http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/51832-ww2-remarkable-statistics/?p=629868

    The text which got me searching

    From Major DM Kennedy MC, A Tribute, Jocelyn; page 43:
     
  3. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Diane

    The changeover met with GREAT resistence from the Cavalry as they would sooner have the smelly horses than even more smelly oily Tanks- urgh

    my old unit 16/5th Lancers left their horses in Egypt on their way home from India - in 1940 - they couldn't wait to get in the saddle again in Austria in 1945

    - see my series on Strassburg in the BBC series below - on how we dealt with that…

    Cheers
     

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