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Cyclist Battalions in The First World War.

102 years ago, on 11 November 1918, the First World War officially ended. A war in which bicycles were to play an important role of both sides of the conflict.At the turn of the century bicycles revolutionised the way people moved about. They were light, safe and cheap. The motor-car was in its infancy, even in 1914. The British Army still used many horses for heavy transport and troop movement.The first complete bicycle unit (26th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers) was raised in 1888; the same year Worcester St Johns Cycling Club was formed. There were 14 cyclists’ battalions on the eve of World War 1. Most were Territorial Army Units.The Army Cyclists’ Corps was formed in 1914 and fought throughout the First World War. All of the new army divisions raised under Lord Kitchener's instructions included a cyclist company.Pay was to be the same as that of the infantry. Proficiency pay was given to men who qualified as a proficient cyclist and had the necessary physical endurance. The primary roles of the cyclists were reconnaissance and communications. They were armed with rifles and fought as infantry.The very first British fatality of the war was 16 year old John Parr, a military cyclist. He joined the Middlesex Regiment under age in the hope that The Army would give him a better life than struggling in poverty in London. He was killed near Mons in one of the first skirmishes of the War.