LAND AND WATER 
February 6, 191 5 
A NhLh^bll^ ur MODERN WARFARE 
The Austin travelling machine shop 
A VOLUNTEER FOR THE WAR WITH H1S"RUDGE 
/.'v piimi.ii.m of ■■ The Mutur Cyjc 
THE MOTOR CYCLISTS' CORPS 
Member ot the Intelligence Department of the War Office 
THE FAMOUS 12 H.P. ROVHR 
A Car which has done yeoman work in France 
time. That they have done so is already a proven fact. 
Our soldiers are grumbling at the want of exercise — not the 
want of food or clothing. One man writes saying ; " What 
we want is work. I'm getting fat and lazy ; too much grub 
and no exercise." No better compHment to the efficiency of 
our motor transport service could be paid. 
All this, of course, leads us to the most important fact 
of all— that of reliabihty of the modern motor vehicle, for the 
reliability of the individual vehicle is the keystone of the 
service as a whole. I can say quite candidly that in the 
early stages of the war my own observations made me wonder 
hovv on earth either man or motor was going to stand up to 
the ceaseless strain which was demanded of them. Motor 
lorries carry greater loads than they were designed by their 
makers to carry, bucketing along bad roads at a speed which 
they never were built to do. I used to wait and see which 
part would give out first — front or back axle, motor or gear 
box ; but, no, they kejjt on, merrily doing the most hair- 
raising things. There were breakdowns, of course, l)ut not 
nearly so many as I expected, nor so serious, and the drivers 
seemed to have taken to the new condition of affairs like 
ducks to water. 
One of the most impressive sights I have seen was a 
convoy of A.S.C. lorries rushing provisions up to the front 
through a certain town in north-east France. The streets of 
this town are very narrow, and the pave on that particular 
day was in a very " buttery " condition, but neither of these 
things seemed to worry the drivers. Through the winding 
streets they came at a good old fifteen miles per hour, one 
after another, to the number of at least one hundred ; not 
more than twenty-five feet separated one from the other, 
and this distance was kept to such a nicety that it would 
have made a troop leader gnash his teeth with envy. Or 
they went — one long, rumbling, skidding string of huge, 
unwieldy buses, lorries, and wagons. One man said to me ; 
" If one of those things stops suddenly there'll be a devil of 
a smash." And so there would have been- — but that one did 
not stop suddenly, and there was no smash ; and, besides, 
orders must be obeyed, and if it is necessary to deliver certain 
goods at a given place by a specified time, well, then, it's 
simply got to be done. The length of the journey ui this 
particular instance was twenty-five miles, and it is surely a 
huge compliment to modern petrol engineering when one is 
able to record the fjtet that it was accomplished to time 
without a casualty ; also that each vehicle was overloaded 
and over-speeded. 
British-luanufactured vehicles composed 75 per cent. ()f 
this convoy — Straker-Squires, Hallfords, and Albions. The 
Straker-Squire has made a big name for itself out in France, 
and has proved itself capable of standing up to the cruel 
work which is imposed upon any kind of \-ehicle under active 
service conditions. Were it not for the motor lorry the task 
of supplying a force of men with such an extensive front as 
that in the present campaign would be impossible. It is 
ubiquitous ; it transports beef or ammunition, fodder for 
the horses, or boots for the men ; delivers messages or carries 
wounded when necessary ; is quicker than the railway for the 
simple reason that it conveys its load straight from its base 
to the fighting front — it is only a matter of loading up and 
unloading on arrival ; there is no time wastage, no waiting 
for signals, and no waiting at stations. 
A word about the drivers. There is perhaps no cheerier 
body of men in the Service than the A.S.C. drivers. I am 
referring now quite as much to the men who have signed on 
for the " duration of the war " as to the regular soldiers. 
Busmen, draymen, taxi drivers — a fine body of strong men. 
accustomed to regular hours, plenty of work, and a good 
dinner. Gone are the regular hours ; theur work is in some 
cases doubled, and although their food is good and plentiful, 
opportunities for a quiet meal are, I am afraid, very scsirce. 
Still, they do not seem to mind ; they are always cheery and 
seem to have an unHmited capacity for practical joking. 
Some of the names they give their lorries are amusing. 
As can easily be nuagined, they suffer — at least, 
during the present cold weather — principally from cold hands, 
and I am sure any motorist can realise that this is not a very 
pleasant complaint. I believe a fund has been opened for 
the purpose of supplying gloves to these luen, and I can 
assure my readers that the object is a very deserving one. 
Ordinary gloves are no use ; they should be made of stout 
leather, lined with wool, and fitted with big gauntlets. This 
for the benefit of any person who may feel inclined to present 
the actual gloves in preference to contributing in cash to the 
fund. The editor of " The Motor " is, I understand, respon- 
sible for this fund, any contribution to which should be sent 
direct to him. That the transport methods of the Kxpedi 
tionary Force have proved efficient is a fact which I think mi 
one can dispute, and that the enemy transport has never 
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