Keeping the Guns Supplied: The Ammunition Carriers of the Great War
When we think of artillery in the First World War, we often picture the guns firing: crews working around the breech, the recoil of a barrel and the smoke of a bombardment. What we don't always think about is that every round fired had first to reach the gun.
Behind the firing positions was the work of moving ammunition, negotiating difficult ground and carrying heavy loads. Among the men undertaking that work were ammunition carriers — soldiers whose task was to help keep the guns supplied. Our memorial figure, The Loader, represents that contribution. The unusual equipment hanging beside his legs tells part of the story.
What are shell panniers?
At first glance, the cylindrical objects beside the figure’s legs might look like an unfamiliar part of his uniform. They represent shell panniers, carrying equipment for artillery ammunition.
The term appears in the National Army Museum’s description of the ammunition carrier on the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner. That bronze figure is equipped with shell panniers, providing a historical example of the distinctive equipment represented by The Loader.
Getting ammunition to the guns
There was no single method of supplying every gun position. Terrain and conditions affected what transport could reach a particular place. A British official photograph, preserved by the Australian War Memorial, shows a British soldier in France around 1917 riding one mule and leading another loaded with field-gun ammunition. The museum’s description explains that the muddy country was unsuitable for normal transport.
That photograph captures an important part of the story. A gun position could be supplied only if someone found a way to get its ammunition there. Where ordinary transport could not travel, other methods had to take its place. Both animals and men helped carry the load.
A photograph taken at Gallipoli in 1915 shows Australian soldiers carrying 18-pounder ammunition towards the guns in pouches suspended from their backs and shoulders. The Australian War Memorial records that the hilly ground prevented vehicles from being used, leaving much of the transport work to carrying parties. It describes the resulting physical strain as severe.
These photographs show different carrying arrangements, rather than one universal set of equipment. What they share is the same practical task: moving ammunition across ground that made the work difficult.
The physical work behind the firepower
It is easy to discuss artillery in terms of weapons, ranges and bombardments. The supply photographs bring the story back to people. They show men carrying ammunition on their bodies and soldiers guiding loaded animals through difficult country. The machinery depended on that effort.
The ammunition carrier’s contribution was therefore part of the operation of the guns themselves. However capable the weapon or experienced its crew, it still needed a supply of ammunition. Looking at the carrying equipment gives us a different way to understand artillery service. We can see the load, consider the journey and recognise the work required before a round ever reached the breech.
The loads could be considerable. Six 18-pounder shells alone would weigh nearly 49 kg (108 lb) — roughly the weight of two large 25 kg bags of cement or a full-size dishwasher. That is before adding the carrying equipment and the soldier’s own kit. Moving such a load over difficult ground helps explain the severe physical strain recorded among ammunition-carrying parties. Nor was it necessarily a single journey with a heavy load. A Gallipoli diary records ammunition-carrying work lasting all morning. How often men had to return for another load depended on the distance, terrain and demand at the guns, but supplying ammunition could occupy hours of their day. The scale of demand is telling: before the Somme attack, British artillery fired approximately 1.5 million shells during a seven-day bombardment and all those shells had to be supplied to the guns.
Remembered at Hyde Park Corner
The ammunition carrier has a place on one of Britain’s most significant military memorials.
The Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, designed by sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger with architect Lionel Pearson, was unveiled on 18 October 1925. Its dedication commemorates the 49,076 members of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who gave their lives in the Great War.
A large stone howitzer stands above four bronze figures: an officer, an ammunition carrier, a driver and a dead gunner. Together, they bring different aspects of artillery service into the memorial.
Historic England identifies the carrier’s equipment as shell panniers and recognises the monument’s detailed portrayal of wartime service. The memorial is listed at Grade I.
The carrier’s inclusion is particularly meaningful when considering this role. Alongside the gun and the other artillerymen stands a man equipped to carry ammunition. His work is given a visible place in remembrance.
The Loader: a tribute to those who carried the burden
Our Loader memorial figure represents a helmeted Great War soldier equipped with shell panniers hanging beside his legs.The name is our title for the piece; ammunition carrier or shell carrier describes the role it commemorates more precisely.
Around 20cm high and carefully 3D printed and hand-finished in the UK by veterans, the figure offers a tribute to the men who helped keep the guns supplied. Its equipment encourages a closer look and a question: what was this soldier carrying, and why?
That question leads beyond the figure to the physical work behind wartime artillery — the carrying parties, the loaded animals and the men moving ammunition towards the guns.
Remembering their contribution helps us see military service more fully. Every gun needed ammunition, and someone had to carry the load.
The Loader is available as part of our Memorial Poppy range from Oaths of Allegiance as a commemorative display figure honouring the ammunition carriers of the Great War.
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