WWI - A wartime snapshot of men of the British Cyclist Corps negotiating snow covered French roads behind the lines in 1916. Volunteer cyclist units were formed as early the 1880s, with the 26th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers( the first complete bicycle unit) being formed in 1888. The Haldane reforms in 1908 reorganised the volunteers into the Territorial Force, nine battalions of cyclists were formed and others followed. By the First World War the Territorial Force had a strength of fourteen cyclist battalions. All corps were disbanded by 1922 or converted to normal units.

---

Size: 5906px × 3613px
Photo credit: © Colin Waters / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1st, 26th, army, bad, battalion, battalions, brigade, brigades, british, cavalry, corps, country, countryside, cycling, cyclist, cyclists, english, force, forces, france, french, great, handale, infantry, lines, middlesex, military, mounted, recruits, reforms, rifle, rifles, road, roads, snow, soldiers, territorial, troops, volunteers, war, warfare, wartime, weather, world, ww1, wwi