Aviation was
in its infancy during the First World War, so British troops traveled to France via ferry across
the English Channel. Once in France, the troops made their way to the front by train, by car, or
(often) on foot.
The conditions in which the troops travelled varied
depending on their rankofficers tended to travel in better style than enlisted menbut the
conditions generally deteriorated over the course of the war, as more and more strain was put on
transport services by the amount of men and material crossing the Channel.
As
a point of interest, there was an extensive network of railways in Belgium and France which was
heavily used by the French and the Germans; however, the static nature of the railways made them
vulnerable to attack, and they were often sabotaged (by both sides) to disrupt troop transport
and supply lines. The British adapted to this problem by importing large numbers of motor
vehicles and horses, so British troops originally traveled to and around the front by car or
horse-drawn transport. This made the British army more mobile than their French and German
counterparts, but limited the number of men and supplies they could move. Later in the war, the
British decided to build their own light railway systems to augment their transport
capabilities, so troops spent more time traveling by train.
You may find the
Imperial War Museum's article on Transport and Supply useful:
The IWM also has a collection of letters from British troops to their families, which
might give you helpful details about life at the front as the troops experienced it:
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