Wednesday 5 August 2014

Douglas Motorcycles in Bristol received a telegram from the War Office on the afternoon 5 August and machines were dispatched to locations around the country; other machines supplied included Zenith, Premier, Rudge and Triumph

Yesterday the Army had 15 motorcycles, by the end of the war they would have 34,000 in active service. Nobody knows the total including those destroyed.

Army Officers, Metropolitan Police Officers and some civilians that had already been identified as suitable candidates for the Intelligence Corps were contacted by telegram on 5 August for mobilisation. This embryo Corps included a motorcycle section riding War Office supplied Black 3½ hp Rudge Multis.

Friday 3 July 1914

The Intelligence Department at the War Office was under-funded. However, as events developed it was thought a good idea to have a list of names of reliable people with the skills needed to develop an Intelligence Corps. These men consisting of Army Officers and Metropolitan Police could be called up at short notice. These men would need to be mobile and Motorcycles would turn out to be the preferred method of transport.

A small Counter Intelligence Service (MI5) was already in existence in 1914 and we will hear more about their work later in the month.