AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

PARADE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. BY THE CHIEF MARSHAL

4th June 1914, Page 13
4th June 1914
Page 13
Page 14
Page 13, 4th June 1914 — PARADE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. BY THE CHIEF MARSHAL
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Marshal

Few, if any of those who went to the Parade last Monday will cavil, if claim be made that there was every cause for satisfaction in respect of the assembly and dispersal of the fleet of 510 machines which took part in the eighth annual parade of the C.M.LT.A. It is a. sine qua non that a great deal of preliminary work is necessary to insure that no unexpected happening; shall disconcert those who have the sorting and stationing of such a fleet to superintend. That very few mistakes indeed were made, that the whole 510 machines were in position in just over an hour and a half, and that 60 per cent, of them left their sections within a quarter of an hour after the bugle had authorized them to do so, showed that lessons of previous Parades had been properly assimilated, and that the new method of marshalling tried this year for the first time was more than justified.

The best of arrangements, and the most carefullyconsidered plans, are worse than useless if the per

sonnel to whom their interpretation is entrusted does not act enthusiastically.

There were 26 marshals engaged in handling the fleet of 510 machines on Monday last : 23 of these were available for the actual sorting and stationing, or an average of just under 23 machines for each man.

With the exception of a few " green " drivers, who woo Id persist in attempting to enter the red, blue and yellow entrances consecutively before trying the corJ'M entrance, all the men assisted the marshals admirably in respect of the assembly. My own personal thseks are due to marshals and drivers alike for ren dering it possible to carry out a concentration of this kind in such a congested and irregular district, unfamiliar to many of the drivers --the whole movement without anything in the nature of rehearsal on the part of driver, marshal or other official. I desire to make particular acknowledgment of the service I was able to obtain from a Oirling parcelcar and a Commercar single-deck bus, which were placed at my disposal. The first proved the ideal of handiness for miscellaneous duties, which were so varied as to include the carting, unspilled, of pails full of whitewash, the delivery of urgent messages and the conveyance of photographers and other officials rapidly from point to point. The bus, especially finished in time for the Parade, was a welcome movable headquarters which conduced

considerably to the marshals' comfort. It fetched them from their hotel at 4 a.m., conveyed them back for cleaning up and breakfast at 7, and again brought them to their point duties at 8, and after the Parade was kept busy transferring them to the R.A.C. and to the Victoria Palace.

Our ambulance precautions were interesting. The Daimler people placed a fine fully-equipped machine at our disposal, and the Edison Company loaned LIs an electric ambulance which was stationed at the red entrance in Vauxhall Bridge Road. -Both machines were in charge of a party from the St. John Ambulance Brigade, to whom our thanks are due. It is satisfactory to record that there were no " cases " in spite of the crowd and of the great number of children who were a disconcerting feature of the live loads ilos year.

Mr. Arthur Ventris, the Assistant Engineer of the City of Westminster, extended to the Association and to me personally his usual courtesy in many ways. We had some difficulty in preparing the official map owing to the extensive recent rebuilding in the district ; we had to survey many roads for ourselves.

My own share of the organization on the Whit Monday was confined solely to assuring that I was on hand in case some breakdown in the arrangements took place ; as a matter of fact, it turned out that I had a singularly pleasant day. This was largely due to the comfort and convenience of a fine 15 h.p. Napier fourseater which was placed at my disposal by Mr. Norris, one of my marshals. It was a revelation to find how suitable a machine of this considerable capacity can be for work of such a nature, where the roads were all crowded, and where the traffic conditions were certainly of the worst. Finally, I wish to convey publicly, by way of Superintendent Wells, my very keen appreciation of the sportsmanlike and cheerful way in which the body of police detailed for duty at the Parade facilitated the work of assembly and dispersal. It was by no means an easy thing to insure that the ordinary constitutional traffic-controlling authority should work amicably and comfortably with a temporary body of aniateurs such as those who were in charge of the gathering. On the whole, therefore, there were "no complaints " : everything in regard to the assembly and dispersal worked like a clock. That was what we all set out to do, and it was what we all accomplished. All those who were associated in that respect undoubtedly have cause to feel satisfied with what was, although a strenuous day, a very happy oneā€”some of the photographs in this issue tell that tale.

Tags

Locations: Westminster

comments powered by Disqus