Corps of Royal Engineers

Known as the Royal Engineers (RE) or commonly as the Sappers.

Chronology

• 1716 Corps of Engineers consisting of officers only formed by the Board of Ordnance
• 1772 Soldier Artificer Company comprising other ranks raised in Gibraltar
• 1787 officer corps became the Royal Corps of Engineers. Corps of Royal Military Artificers comprising NCOs and private raised
• 1797 Gibraltar company absorbed by the Corps of Royal Military Artificers
• 1812 Corps of Royal Military Artificers became Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners
• 1856 Royal Engineers and Royal Sappers and Miners became a unified corps as the Corps of Royal Engineers
• 1862 absorbed the British officers and men of the engineer corps of the East India Company

The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia

The Inland Water Transport and Docks Section of the Royal Engineers was originally formed in December of 1914 to deal with and to develop transport on canals and waterways of France and Belgium. The Section at first operated under the Director of Railways, but, owing to the rapid development of Inland Water Transport, a special directorate was formed in October of 1915. In the summer of 1916 all non-transport work in Mesopotamia became a part of the Inland Water Transport Directorate’s responsibilities, and during 1917 its scope was extended to cover Inland Water Transport and Dock Working in Egypt, in Salonika, and in other theatres of war. The European personnel in Mesopotamia were supplemented by over 42,000 native personnel from India, Egypt, West Africa and China.

The British Library has the book The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia compiled by Lieut.-Col. L. J. Hall under the direction of Brigadier-General R. H. W. Hughes. [With plates.] published London 1921. Also available as a reprint through Amazon.co.uk from the FIBIS Shop

Mesopotamian Transport Commission. Report of the Commission appointed by the Government of India... to enquire into questions connected with the organisation and administration of the Railway and River Transport in Mesopotamia 1918 is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website. Table of Contents is computer page 6. Refer Online books-Digital Library of India for more details about this site.

External Links

Royal Engineers Wikipedia
Corps of Royal Engineers regiments.org

Historical Books Online

• History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol I by Maj-Gen Whitworth Porter 1889
  

Vol II 2nd Afghan War and Egyptian Campaign 1882

• Kandahar in 1879: The Diary of Major Le Messurier R.E., Brigade Major R. E. with the Quetta Column 1880 Archive.org