The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Yeomanry (The Hampshire Carabineers) dismounted on the 25th August 1917 and trained as infantry. While they had done valuable service in the first part of the War, when the Western Front got bogged down in static trench warfare, mounted cavalry were not abled to be used as a mobile arm. As a Corporal, Thomas Attrill was part of the escort party that shipped the Yeomanry's horses to Alexandria and then on to Mesopotamia.