Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Third Supplement.djvu/155

 enormous expansion in the necessary services.

At the outbreak of war, barrack accommodation existed for only 262,000 men, so that every expedient had to be adopted in order to meet the rush of recruits and the mobilization of the Territorial force. Troops were quartered under canvas, in public institutions, but largely in billets. As men joined the army, houses were left solely in the occupation of women, and to avoid the billeting of troops in such houses, large hutted camps were built. The arrival of Dominion and Allied troops, of Belgian and Russian refugees, and of German prisoners, the creation of tank units, and the formation of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, continually increased the strain. In 1917, exclusive of volunteers, there were one and three quarter million troops billeted throughout Great Britain. In addition, storage had to be found for munitions and supplies, and ever-increasing hospital accommodation. In 1917 there were 1,090 hospitals with 820,000 beds, but these were only just enough, since at the time of the greatest strain, in October 1918, when the average number of wounded arriving daily was 6,000, there were at one time only 3,697 available beds.

Cowans, who was promoted lieutenant-general in 1915, recognized from the first that the War would last a long time. During 1914 he had established supply-depots all over England, and from the earliest moment he made every effort to achieve economy, as, for instance, by making changes in the items of the ration according to the state of market prices. So far as practicable, supplies which otherwise would have gone to Germany—such as Norwegian fish—were purchased for the army; and, in order to save shipping, stores were bought locally, and cultivation encouraged in the areas occupied by British troops overseas. The meat imported was all frozen; at first it came to England, but later it went direct to stores at Havre and Boulogne. In the provision of forage great difficulty was found owing to the lack of shipping, but practically all the hay required was provided from England and France. In dealing with the transportation of supplies Cowans showed equal ingenuity in order to ensure that they should reach the right place at the right time. He strongly advocated the scheme for utilizing Richborough harbour.

One important feature of the War was the use of motor transport. In August 1914 250,000 gallons of petrol were being used per month; this rose to 10,500,000 per month in 1918. In 1914 the army owned only 80 motor vehicles, but subsidized vehicles were called up in order to equip the Expeditionary Force. Large contracts for construction were placed both in England and America, and steps were taken on a large scale to train drivers and mechanics. In 1918 the personnel numbered 178,570, the four-wheeled vehicles 85,138, and the cycles 34,711; in addition the War Office provided motor transport for the Ministry of Munitions, the General Post Office, and other bodies. In order to regulate everything Cowans established a motor transport board under his own chairmanship, with three committees dealing respectively with technical questions, land and buildings, and general purposes.

In 1914 the army owned 25,000 horses, to which were added 140,000 from the reserve created by Cowans, and 115,000 were impressed. In 1918 the total numbered 735,409, most of the remounts having been imported from America. Great difficulty was found in breaking in horses owing to the want of fit men. The supply of veterinary surgeons was heavily taxed, but it just lasted out, and assistance was rendered by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the training of farriers. Glanders fortunately were kept under, and over two and a half million doses of mallein were supplied for the purpose. In 1914 there was accommodation in hospital for 2,000 animals; in 1918 for 64,450.

The supply of clothing and general stores also devolved on the quartermaster-general’s department, and the expansion was as rapid as it was extensive. In a normal peace year, for instance, the requirements were 45,000 water-bottles, 2,500 spades, 57,000 ground-sheets, and 123 miles of rope. During the War 12,500,000 water-bottles, 10,500,000 spades, 15,750,000 ground-sheets, and 45,000 miles of rope were supplied. Every effort was made to economize material. Thus in all the back areas overseas boot-repair shops on a large scale were instituted, for which nearly all the tallow wanted was derived from mutton cloths, and the cloths themselves were used for cleaning rags. Moreover, sudden demands were often made for special needs. Thus when the British troops went to Italy, ropes, ice-axes, and mountaineering gear had to be supplied immediately. Newly devised articles were constantly needed for trench warfare; and on one 129