II. Duties at the Depot
The depot of the Buffs is at Canterbury, which is also the headquarters of the 4th (Territorial) Battalion. During peace the headquarters and the permanent elements of the 3rd or Special Reserve Battalion occupied the depot. As Special Reserve officers only gave a small portion of their time to the profession of soldiering they were reinforced, so to speak, by a few regular officers and other ranks who administered the depot. When war broke out, Lt.-Colonel H. D. Hirst commanded the 3rd Battalion, but as he, like all Special Reserve officers and as the Militia before them, lived at his home, the depot was commanded by Major W. A. Eaton, an experienced regular major of the regiment.
Directly mobilization was ordered, it was the duty of the depot and 3rd Battalion staff to call up, clothe and equip all Army Reservists and to despatch all who were passed fit for general service to join the 1st Battalion at Fermoy. This work began early on the morning of the 5th August and was completed during the night of the 6th, having been carried through without a moment’s break. In all about 850 Army Reservists were called up, and of these some 700 were sent, in three trains, to Ireland.
On Saturday, 8th August, the 3rd Special Reserve Battalion was mobilized, about 500 strong; and the men gave good proof of their fitness by marching that same night from the barracks at Canterbury to the Citadel Barracks at Dover, a good eighteen miles.
Although very few of the people in authority seemed to expect a great war, still minute preparations had been made beforehand for a sudden mobilization, and amongst these it had been arranged that the officers on the Reserve of Officers list (not to be confused with Special Reserve) should each be told off in peace time to the job they would have to do in war. These officers were, practically speaking, all those who had retired and were still under the age of fifty-seven. Of them, some had been detailed to join at Canterbury on mobilization to take over the depot, Colonel G. V. Dauglish, a late commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, being appointed to command. On the departure of the 3rd Battalion for Dover, the depot, with its staff of reserve officers and a few details, proceeded to deal with the recruits who were already coming in fast.
Recruits for the New Army were at first trained at the depot, though in practice they were trained by regular officers, lent for the purpose. As the strength of a company was raised, it was sent with the officers as a complete unit to its battalion; but this system did not last, recruits being afterwards sent direct to their battalions. Other training and the preparation of drafts for the front was carried out by the 3rd Battalion and, later, by the 9th as well.
The Officer Commanding the depot was also in charge of the East Kent Recruiting Area. The barracks were very soon crowded by the number of recruits, and, as new recruiting conditions developed, a large staff of men and women were employed in the recruiting offices, making it necessary for extra accommodation to be provided in the town. The Territorial battalions had their separate recruiting arrangements. It is interesting to recall the helpfulness of the recruits in the early days in making the best of a difficult and only partially organized job, and of old Buffs, non-commissioned officers and men, who re-enlisted for the depot and active service. It may be noted that while special efforts were made to get stout fellows for the Buffs, these efforts had to be co-ordinated with the duty of the Recruiting Area to obtain recruits for the Army generally.
The depot gradually acquired many and varied duties both towards the regiment and the Service generally. To mention a few: the storage and cataloguing of the heavy baggage of the regular battalions and of innumerable kits; the supply of clothing and necessaries during the early months by direct purchase from dealers; the charge of the 2nd Battalion band boys; and—a difficult task for the adjutant—the responsibility for all invalids of the regiment from overseas. These, taken on the strength of the depot, had to be traced in the various hospitals and touch kept with them till passed to the 3rd or 9th Battalion on discharge from hospital. Convalescents were for a long period sent to the depot for hardening before rejoining for service. A novel feature was the Agricultural Company, under a special officer, comprising men of different regiments from overseas or on home service. These men were employed in large numbers on farms, the depot being responsible for their general supervision and for arrangements with the farmers as to employment, pay, board and lodging.
Among old Buffs and others serving at different times during the war at the depot and in the Recruiting Area were: Majors F. Bradley Dyne, R. G. A. Marriott, D.S.O., G. A. Porter, A. H. Tylden-Pattenson, D.S.O. (Adjutant), and Captain H. H. C. Baird, D.S.O.; Major W. Tufnell, M.B.E., and Captain V. T. Dampier Palmer, O.B.E. (Recruiting Officer), late 3rd Battalion The Buffs; Captain S. Kelsey Burge (Agricultural Officer), late 4th Battalion; Major H. Paine, late Cheshire Regiment; Major G. Croft (Quartermaster), late Royal Sussex Regiment; R.S.M. J. W. Harris, C.S.M. G. Holmes, Col.-Sgts. F. H. Wright and F. H. Sheppard, Orderly Room Clerk F. Freeman.