Going to war
Introduction
The First World War (1914-18) and Second World War (1939-45) were both all-consuming conflicts. Like all the major countries involved, Britain had to mobilise people and material very quickly for the fighting fronts. London’s transport played a major part in this process in both world wars.
London’s transport rapidly provided posters to aid recruitment, men to fight and vehicles to move and support troops at the front. In the Second World War, London Transport also repurposed its industrial expertise to manufacture aircraft.
Publicising the war effort
Posters were a vital marketing tool for London’s transport system. The network also provided one of the biggest public galleries in London. In times of war, this was largely repurposed to promote the war effort and encourage recruitment.
At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, London’s transport posters were immediately used to urge men to volunteer for the armed forces. Before compulsory conscription was introduced in 1916, posters like this one were everywhere. With conscription used from the very beginning of the Second World War, there was less need for London Transport to encourage recruitment. But posters were still vital in helping reinforce wartime messaging.
Joining up
In the opening months of the First World War, men of London’s transport companies were among the waves of volunteers to join the armed forces. Some enlisted independently, while others did so with their employer’s support. They fulfilled a variety of military roles, with some using their specific driving and mechanical skills. Around 1,400 men of London’s transport services lost their lives in the First World War.
During the Second World War, Britain introduced compulsory conscription from the outset. This meant that many London Transport workers of military age remained in their essential jobs. Even so, 699 staff died in the war when serving with the armed forces.
Buses at war
Among the men to join up in the First World War were bus drivers of the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC), often serving with their buses. Over 1,000 London buses were rapidly repurposed for military use.
The majority of these were used to transport troops and materials to the front line and carry back the wounded, particularly on the Western Front. The B type, the first mass produced motor bus, was particularly well used. Some London buses were converted into mobile pigeon lofts, mobile repair shops or lorries.
Buses at war again
In the Second World War, London Transport buses were again widely adapted. T type coaches, most familiar as Green Line vehicles conveying Londoners to the countryside on the city’s fringes, proved particularly versatile. Many were quickly converted into ambulances and used to evacuate hospital patients and vulnerable civilians away from city centres, in anticipation of the threat of air raids. Others were converted into mobile canteens, serving hot food and drink to military personnel.
From buses to bombers
During the Second World War, London Transport redirected many of its maintenance facilities and staff into making Halifax bomber aircraft. With four other companies, it formed the London Aircraft Production Group (LAPG).
Staff more typically involved in constructing London buses at facilities in White City, Chiswick Works and Aldenham Works instead rapidly used their skills to build four-engine heavy bombers. The components were brought together for assembly at Leavesden airfield near Watford. In total, 710 aircraft were completed, with the last one rolling off the production line on 16 April 1945.
The objects and stories shown here can be seen in the ‘Going to War’ section of the London’s transport at war gallery at the Museum.
