There’s no indication of which Regiment these men were heading for but they were en route from Snow Hill to a camp at Devises. Viv.
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New recruits WW2
- Thread starter Vivienne14
- Start date
Birmingham men signing up at Corporation Street in June 1939. Viv.
Radiorails
master brummie
The mention of Devizes suggests an army connection though in July it was probably an outdoor tented camp and illustrated in the lower Oswestry photo. I get the feeling, from the crowd in the Snow Hill photo that some might be Territorial soldiers but there are quite a few women in the photo, maybe nurses or auxiliary nurses. Territorials were active before conscription.
maypolebaz
master brummie
lnteresting to see the old Soyez cookers in the middle photo, in my time in the Army they were used to provide us with shaving water on exercise in the sub-zero German winter but I think they cooked stew from the Boer War onwards .
The photo of men registering reminds me that my Dad was one of the first to rush to volunteer in 1939. He told me that he was turned away, being told "with your trade you'll be needed for work at home". He was crushed, he was an automobile electrician and was needed for aircraft construction.
I don't think he ever got over that.
maypolebaz
master brummie
Sorry, I missed the Oswestry reference in the caption. Oswestry, probably Park Hall camp, was a Royal Artillery training camp, into the 60s. The marquees and the duckboards in the picture, suggest a temporary camp at that time.
In the Sniw Hill departure photo there are a few children, so maybe the females are wives and their children ? Viv.