Scarce, Excellent Condition, WW1 Medal Pair For the Army Cyclist Corps

Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicycle unit (the 26th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers) being raised in 1888. Cyclists were employed on an intermittent basis during the South African War - whilst they were not deployed as organised combat formations, the bicycle was found to be invaluable for reconnaissance and communications work, being lighter, quieter, and logistically much easier to support than horses. When the Haldane reforms in 1908 reorganised the volunteers into the Territorial Force, nine battalions of cyclists were formed - one from the 26th Middlesex, five from volunteer infantry battalions, and three newly raised.

10th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Scots
8th (Cyclist) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers; later the Northern Cyclist Battalion
6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment
The Essex and Suffolk Cyclist Battalion
5th (Cyclist) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment
7th (Cyclist) Battalion, Welsh Regiment
8th (Cyclist) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders); later the Highland Cyclist Battalion
6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment); later the Kent Cyclist Battalion
25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment (from the 26th Middlesex)

Cyclists were employed in combat, but in conditions of trench warfare they were generally found to be ineffective. In 1918, however, with the deadlock of the trenches overcome, cyclists once more proved invaluable for reconnaissance.

Two battalions, 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion and the Kent Cyclist Battalion fought in the Third Anglo-Afghan War.
In 'Passchendaele', by Nigel Steel & Peter Hart (pages 217-220), there are a number of quotes from Private V. R. Magill, Cyclist Battalion, XVIII Corps.
Magill is talking about heading out into no-man's-land at night, along with other Cyclists and protected by parties of other infantry units, to 'plant' dummies of British soldiers.
After planting these dummies a number of the Cyclists, including Magill, stayed out in no-man's-land to pull lengths of line attached to the dummies making them appear, to the Germans, as if they were an attacking force.
After a bombardment the lines were pulled, the dummies rose and the Germans fired away at what they thought were attacking troops, then came the next British bombardment hitting the German in their trenches.

Among the regulations from 1907 for the use of bikes in the field of battle and in drilling and ceremonial occasions, we can find:

‘A cyclist standing with his cycle, with rifle attached to it, will salute with the right hand, as laid down in Section 19, returning the hand to the point of the saddle on the completion of the salute. When at ease, a cyclist, whether mounted or leading his bicycle, will salute by coming to attention, and turning his head to the officer he salutes. A party of cyclists on the march will salute on the command Eyes Right, which will be followed by Eyes Front, from the officer or NCO in charge.’

‘The rate of marching, excluding halts, will generally vary from 8 to 10 miles per hour, according to the weather, the nature of the country, and the state of the roads. A column of battalion size should not be expected to cover more than 50 miles in a day under favourable conditions.’

One last photo in the gallery is of the 36 Div. Cycle Corps [Ulster] in France 1918

Code: 24165