The Army Mechanical Demonstraton Column.

[leigh kitchen]

Shortly after the end of WWII, the British army held a recruiting drive, the Army Mechanical Demonstration Column was formed as part of this drive to recruit personnel for the modern army.

[Hugh]

Shortly after the end of WWII, the British army held a recruiting drive, the Army Mechanical Demonstration Column was formed as part of this drive to recruit personnel for the modern army.

Can you tell us more about what they did for demonsrations?

Hugh

[Tony]

Were they something to do with REME?

I remember the RCT have a demo team, only saw them once on Corps Day (think it was called that) in Aldershot and can't even remember what they did.

Tony

Edited October 19, 2009 by Tony

[leigh kitchen]

A bit (I was interrupted mid-post).

When I first got this badge twelve years ago it puzzled me, I thought that it was probably American.

I think that I identified it from one of the Guido Rosigneli books, either that or this edition of "The War Illustrated".

WWII having ended, the army had resumed its peacetime role of policing the empire. Although the empire reduced with the independence of India in 1947 so did the army in that it lost Indian manpower, there were insufficient volunteers to meet the requirements of empire & the looming cold war & conscription was re-introduced in the form of "National Service", which lasted until 1960.

The AMDC was formed in the immediate post war period to stimulate recruitng by touring the country & staging displays, which all sounds fairly routine by todays standards.

The Column was only in existence for a year - eighteen months.

The caption to this cover photo of The War Illustrated of October 26, 1946:

"INTERESTING THE RISING GENERATION, a member of the Royal Army Service Corps with the aid of a model cargo-ship explains the wide activities of his Corps in the army of today. The occasion was the visit to Hounslow, Middlesex, on September 17, 1946, of the Army Mechanical Demonstration Column on a three-week tour of the London District. The Column formed part of a nation-wide campaign to secure 100,000 recruits for the new Army by the end of March 1947."

[leigh kitchen]

Were they something to do with REME?

I remember the RCT have a demo team, only saw them once on Corps Day (think it was called that) in Aldershot and can't even remember what they did.

Tony

I don't think so, but I don't know much about the formation, it was presumably all arms, manpower being required for rifles & bayonets & for the technical arms to meet both the old army commitments of empire & the new of cold war.

[leigh kitchen]

I'm wondering if the full inscription on that lifebelt hanging in the background of the photo is "War Department Fleet", which was manned by the RASC.

[Tony]

I don't think so, but I don't know much about the formation, it was presumably all arms, manpower being required for rifles & bayonets & for the technical arms to meet both the old army commitments of empire & the new of cold war.

It may have been just a thing put on for the days activities but I do remember them doing things with some vehicles.