Drivers
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by
Stork
What does a Driver do? Considering the number of them in this Battery, I assume that they do more than just drive.
If you got a kick out of Major Major in Catch-22, this page has Driver Driver.
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Information re Drivers in ww1 Articles on following links.
Driver (Dvr) was a military rank used in the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth countries. It was equivalent to the rank of private. The rank was initially used in the Royal Artillery for the men who drove the teams of horses which pulled the guns. It was phased out after the First World War (when all Royal Artillerymen of the lowest rank were redesignated as gunners). It was also used in the Royal Australian Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery. It was also used by all the private-equivalents of the Royal Army Service Corps and later the Royal Corps of Transport, no matter what their trade. When the RCT amalgamated to form the Royal Logistic Corps in 1993 the rank finally disappeared from the British Army.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_(rank)'Driver' during WW1 was associated with horses or mules (very few motorised vehicles at the time). The 'Driver' would usually ride the horse / mule pulling a wagon (or in an Artillery section, a field gun). Link: http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/forum/topic7267.html
Ambulance drivers during World War I
A remarkable number—writers especially—volunteered as ambulancedrivers for the Allied Powers. In many cases, they sympathized strongly with the ideals of the Allied Powers, but did not want, or were too young or old, to participate in a combat role. For women, combat was not an option at the time. Several of the Americans on the list volunteered before the United States' 1917 entry into the war. Many of the American writers would later be associated with the Lost Generation.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambulance_drivers_during_World_War_IPosted
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by
cyngast
moderator
in response to Stork's comment.
That's funny about Driver Driver!
As Marie's post above indicates, the drivers for an artillery unit drove, or rode, the horses or mules that pulled the guns and wagons for the batteries. The wagons carried ammunition and other gun-related equipment, as well as rations for both men and horses and any other items they needed.
I've looked about a bit on Google and it seems that a driver was generally responsible for two horses, including the horses' care (feeding, grooming, etc.) Three teams pulled a gun, so that involved three drivers. You can check out some of this information here http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/100361-driver-royal-field-artillery/ The Invision Zone is a forum that was originally part of The Long, Long Trail website and covers a multitude of topics. Its participants seem to be very knowledgeable.
Hope this helps. I can't find any one definitive answer to your question.
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Concerning the comment Driver Driver. Regarding the list of men I can only see Gunners from Ward to Wain, then alphabetically. Drivers from Ackroyd to Whitehead.
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by
cyngast
moderator
in response to marie.eklidvirginmedia.com's comment.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Driver R. Driver, No. 889535, is the 24th name in the list of drivers.
Stork's comment is a reference to the book Catch 22, by Joseph Heller, in which one of the main characters is named Major (his rank) Major (his surname). His first name is also Major, thus his entire name is Major Major Major. The novel takes place at an American Army Air Corps base in the Mediterranean somewhere during World War II.
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I see what you mean Cynthia, did not read the names in the lists. Jut the headings for them.
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