The training of soldiers was organized by UK President Frank L. McVey as executive head of the operation; Major Justin W. Harding (US Army) commanded the troops and UK Dean F. Paul Anderson (Engineering) was appointed head of technical training. Anderson began on the first contingents' arrival, May 7, 1918. Barracks were constructed on land owned by the Kentucky Trotting Horse Breeders' Association. Soldiers received eight weeks of general training before training for specific assignments. UK professor L. E. Nollau was designated photographer for the training sessions.
At the very beginning of the soldier training in technical subjects there was a well-defined organization effected. There was no encroachment on the time allotted to technical training and to military training. Every man was accounted for every day, and the individual record of each man shows how his time was occupied from the time he reported to this military technical training course until he was sent away. In all branches of the work, the men were put under the instruction of the most expert artisans in their lines.
The blacksmiths were under the supervision of the most expert men in this community. The carpenters were trained by men taken out of recognized contracting organizations in Lexington. The auto mechanics received their instruction in twenty independent shops organized on the campus of the University of Kentucky, under the tutelage of the best garage foremen that could be secured. The demonstration material in the automobile shops consisted of private cars sent for repair. The contingent of auto mechanics shown in these records reconstructed and repaired over one hundred automobiles during the eight weeks they were under instruction. The electricians were placed in charge of electrical contractors who were men of wide experience in house wiring. The telegraphers and wireless operators were taught by experienced telegraph operators taken right out of the active service of railroads and wireless stations.
Lectures were given to various classes every day and great stress was laid upon the theoretical side as well as the practical. These soldiers were well trained and well fed, and when they left the University of Kentucky they were fit for the fighting game.
The University of Kentucky Training and Fighting mechanic records consist of eighteen bound volumes documenting the May-December 1918 vocational training of three contingents of soldiers at the University of Kentucky. As is indicated in Anderson's preface to the manuscript, records detail the training of draftees from their point of arrival until their departure, revealing their schedules, course enrollment, work assignments, etc. Various rosters are included listing individual names on arrival and on assignment to classes. Also included is an organization chart for the camps administration.
Volumes 1 and 2 of the First, Second, and Third Contingents contain the Class Records, which include information relative to the class organizations and work carried out during the training of the contingent of soldiers at the University of Kentucky. It also gives numbers of men and places to which they were sent. The last pages of each volume have menus of what the soldiers ate each day. Volume 1 for each contingent has a booklet voluntarily prepared by enlisted personnel of the particular detachment, describing and depicting soldiers and their activities. Volume 1 of the First Contingent only, has a set of opening pages featuring a photograph of President McVey and his Executive Heads, an organization chart, and opening words by F. Paul Anderson, summarized in the above biography.
Volumes 3-5 of the First, Second, and Third Contingents are the Individual Records. These contain one page of information on each soldier including: a photographic headshot, name, identification number, course, division number and location, home address, place of birth, age, nationality of mother and father, number of years in graded school, high school, other school, college, and whether they graduated or not from each school. It also includes a statement of work done for the past four years, name and address of last employer previous to induction into the army, their duties, remarks, and the date of entry. The second page of each entry has the daily and weekend schedule for all soldiers in early morning and at night - printed at the top of the page. The bottom half of the page and subsequent pages is a written record of the soldier’s activities on each day, from 8:00 to 11:45 am and 1:15 to 5:00 pm.
Volume 6 of the First, Second and Third Contingents contain photographs of events of the Camp and progress in shops and laboratories from the time the men arrived in Lexington until they were sent away to various camps. UK professor L. E. Nollau was designated photographer for the training sessions. The photographs are 5x7 prints and are dated and labeled in all cases. They detail camp administration, training sessions, social activities, athletic competitions, and troop departures from Union Station in Lexington.
This collection is arranged by subject and chronologically in eighteen volumes. In 2009, the volumes were disbound for preservation purposes and the photographs were interleaved with archival tissue.
Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
The intellectual rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections
0000ua209, War Memorial records, University of Kentucky Archives.
0000ua197:[Item Number], University of Kentucky Training of the Fighting Mechanic records, University of Kentucky Special Collections.