Page 16 - PBCOctober2015

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 12 No.2 October 2015 "16

The 25th City of London Cyclist Battalion

We think they were intended for
reconnaissance work but would
have had limited use in the French
mud with the extension of the
field telephone. Probably the
majority of them were re-trained.
Their equipment was interesting -
with taut rifle slings the 303s
must have been attached to the
bikes. The chap in the middle has
a marksman badge on his left
sleeve, with three ‘pips’ on the
other. Perhaps he was a Captain?
The pouches probably carried
40rounds in all, while the ‘bods (a
polite term for Squad members or
erks, muckers, sort etc)’ probably
had capes, food, small repair items
and spare kit. The bike in the
middle has a pump, carbide lamp,
and a rolled blanket. The ‘Captain’
has a bayonet, and the medals are
probably from the Boer War.

Following on with the theme of cyclists during the Great War,I received a letter
about the above courtesy of Mr Smithie & Friends.