Difference between revisions of "Corps of Royal Engineers"

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* ''Volume V: The Home Front, France Flanders and Italy in the First World War''. ''Volume VI: Gallipoli, Macedonia, Egypt and Palestine 1914-18''. ''Volume VII: Campaigns in Mesopotamia and East Africa, and the inter-war period, 1918-38''.  Volumes 5-7 edited by H.L. Pritchard, published 1952. Note: Volume VI does not include information about  Signals as "The history of their work is being produced by the Royal Corps of Signals themselves"<ref>michaeldr. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/251301-royal-engineers-soldier-abandoned-in-gallipoli/?do=findComment&comment=2538402 Royal Engineers soldier abandoned in Gallipoli] ''Great War Forum'' 29 June 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2018.</ref>, so it is likely the other volumes for the WW1 period similarly do not include information about Signals.
 
* ''Volume V: The Home Front, France Flanders and Italy in the First World War''. ''Volume VI: Gallipoli, Macedonia, Egypt and Palestine 1914-18''. ''Volume VII: Campaigns in Mesopotamia and East Africa, and the inter-war period, 1918-38''.  Volumes 5-7 edited by H.L. Pritchard, published 1952. Note: Volume VI does not include information about  Signals as "The history of their work is being produced by the Royal Corps of Signals themselves"<ref>michaeldr. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/251301-royal-engineers-soldier-abandoned-in-gallipoli/?do=findComment&comment=2538402 Royal Engineers soldier abandoned in Gallipoli] ''Great War Forum'' 29 June 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2018.</ref>, so it is likely the other volumes for the WW1 period similarly do not include information about Signals.
 
*''Volume VIII: Campaigns in France and Belgium, 1939-40; Norway, Middle East, East Africa, Western Desert, North West Africa, and activities in the U.K''. by Major-General R. P. Pakenham-Walsh.  
 
*''Volume VIII: Campaigns in France and Belgium, 1939-40; Norway, Middle East, East Africa, Western Desert, North West Africa, and activities in the U.K''. by Major-General R. P. Pakenham-Walsh.  
:''Volume IX: Campaigns in Sicily and Italy; the War Against Japan; North-west Europe, 1944-45; minor and non-operational areas; post-war, 1945-48''  by Major-General R. P. Pakenham-Walsh. Both published 1958.  Note: ''War Against Japan'' includes c 200 pages regarding India, Burma, Hong Kong and Malaya. <ref>idler.  [http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/59890-book-content-question-r-e-history/?p=692731 Book content question: R E History] ''WW2Talk Forum'' 13 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2105</ref>
+
:''Volume IX: Campaigns in Sicily and Italy; the War Against Japan; North-west Europe, 1944-45; minor and non-operational areas; post-war, 1945-48''  by Major-General R. P. Pakenham-Walsh. Both published 1958.  Note: ''War Against Japan'' includes c 200 pages regarding India, Burma, Hong Kong and Malaya. <ref>idler.  [//ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/book-content-question-r-e-history.59890/#post-692731 Book content question: R E History] ''WW2Talk Forum'' 13 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2018.</ref>
 
*'' Volume X: 1945-1960''. ''Volume XI: 1960 to 1980''. ''Volume XII: 1980-2000''.
 
*'' Volume X: 1945-1960''. ''Volume XI: 1960 to 1980''. ''Volume XII: 1980-2000''.
  
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The flash, also known as a pagri (puggaree) badge, was  generally affixed to the pagri on the sun helmet. The Royal Engineers had three styles of flashes. The first was a rectangular one with blue and red in equal halves - blue to the front. This was introduced in 1884 during the Sudan Campaign. During the 2nd Boer War they adopted a plain yellow flash to better distinguish them from the RA and then in 1902 changed to a red rectangular flash with two narrow royal blue lines near the outer edges i.e. red/blue/red/blue/red.<ref>Stuart_Bates. [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3962&start=15#p17411 helmet flashes] ''Victorian Wars Forum'' 15 November 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2016</ref>
 
The flash, also known as a pagri (puggaree) badge, was  generally affixed to the pagri on the sun helmet. The Royal Engineers had three styles of flashes. The first was a rectangular one with blue and red in equal halves - blue to the front. This was introduced in 1884 during the Sudan Campaign. During the 2nd Boer War they adopted a plain yellow flash to better distinguish them from the RA and then in 1902 changed to a red rectangular flash with two narrow royal blue lines near the outer edges i.e. red/blue/red/blue/red.<ref>Stuart_Bates. [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3962&start=15#p17411 helmet flashes] ''Victorian Wars Forum'' 15 November 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2016</ref>
  
It is difficult to identify Foreign Service (Wolseley Pattern) helmet flashes because the type of black & white film used at that time distorted coloration. <ref>FROGSMILE. [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=164297&p=1597197 Help needed ID-ing unit flash on pith helmet] ''Great War Forum''  30 May 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2016.</ref>
+
It is difficult to identify Foreign Service (Wolseley Pattern) helmet flashes because the type of black & white film used at that time distorted coloration. <ref>FROGSMILE. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/164297-help-needed-id-ing-unit-flash-on-pith-helmet/?do=findComment&comment=1597197 Help needed ID-ing unit flash on pith helmet] ''Great War Forum''  30 May 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2018.</ref>
  
 
== External Links ==
 
== External Links ==
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*[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/bdoceigbai.58347.626 Brigadier-General Sir William Danvers Waghorn (1867-1936)]. Commissioned as a Royal Engineer 1887, joined the Public Works Department, Railways in India. Served in the Boer War as Deputy Assistant Director of Railways, and the Western Front, WW1 as Chief Engineer of XVII Corps. Retired 1924 India. Sample page from ''Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 3: 1890–1920''.  ICE Publishing 2014. icevirtuallibrary.com
 
*[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/bdoceigbai.58347.626 Brigadier-General Sir William Danvers Waghorn (1867-1936)]. Commissioned as a Royal Engineer 1887, joined the Public Works Department, Railways in India. Served in the Boer War as Deputy Assistant Director of Railways, and the Western Front, WW1 as Chief Engineer of XVII Corps. Retired 1924 India. Sample page from ''Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 3: 1890–1920''.  ICE Publishing 2014. icevirtuallibrary.com
 
*From the [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/  Main Index of  "A Newman Family Tree"], select H E M  Newman. He was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers on 19 December 1919 and posted to India  in 1924 as an officer of the Madras Sappers and Miners. He was in India until 1929 and again in India and Burma 1936-1943. The site includes his [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/H.E.M.Newman-memoirs%202c.pdf Memoirs] (152 pages pdf), the article [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/RE_Journal_1984.pdf  Waziristan 1937-1939] ( 9 page pdf) by Lieut Colonel H E M Newman ''The Royal Engineer Journal Volume 95, number 2, 1984'' and this [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/Missing-Years.html  html extract] which covers parts of the period 1918-1946. The two latter links are included in the Memoirs.
 
*From the [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/  Main Index of  "A Newman Family Tree"], select H E M  Newman. He was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers on 19 December 1919 and posted to India  in 1924 as an officer of the Madras Sappers and Miners. He was in India until 1929 and again in India and Burma 1936-1943. The site includes his [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/H.E.M.Newman-memoirs%202c.pdf Memoirs] (152 pages pdf), the article [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/RE_Journal_1984.pdf  Waziristan 1937-1939] ( 9 page pdf) by Lieut Colonel H E M Newman ''The Royal Engineer Journal Volume 95, number 2, 1984'' and this [http://www.newman-family-tree.net/Missing-Years.html  html extract] which covers parts of the period 1918-1946. The two latter links are included in the Memoirs.
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7325117.stm Why Britons walked warily in Waziristan] by Alastair Lawson 21 April 2008 news.bbc.co.uk with [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7325243.stm photographs] In 1919, a young British army officer, Francis Stockdale, was deployed to Waziristan. He was a temporary R. E. officer and served late 1919 to Dec 1921<ref>[http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=96799&#entry907698 Great War Forum]</ref>
+
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7325117.stm "Why Britons walked warily in Waziristan"] by Alastair Lawson 21 April 2008 news.bbc.co.uk with [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7325243.stm photographs] In 1919, a young British army officer, Francis Stockdale, was deployed to Waziristan. He was a temporary R. E. officer and served late 1919 to Dec 1921.<ref>Matthew B.
 +
[https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/96799-walk-warily-in-waziristan/?do=findComment&comment=907698 Walk Warily in Waziristan] ''Great War Forum''  23 April  2008. Retrieved 13 December 2018.</ref>
 
*"Marching on to Laffan's Plain"  by Alan Shaw , the experiences as an officer of the Corps of Royal Engineers `"The Sappers", first in the UK, then for nearly four years with the imperial Indian Army in Central India, Ceylon and the Burma campaign. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/64/a3198864.shtml Chapter 3] At the very end of this chapter, the author received orders to proceed to India or Burma. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/00/a3209500.shtml  Ch 4] Arrived in India May 1942, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/38/a3220138.shtml  Ch 5], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/15/a3222415.shtml  Ch  6], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/50/a3224350.shtml Ch 7], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/29/a3225629.shtml Ch 8], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/34/a3260134.shtml  Ch 9] , [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/60/a3260260.shtml  Ch 10], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/30/a3260530.shtml  Ch 11], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/11/a3264211.shtml  Ch 12], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/15/a3269315.shtml  Ch 13], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/67/a3269667.shtml  Ch 14] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/categories/ BBC's WW2 People’s War]
 
*"Marching on to Laffan's Plain"  by Alan Shaw , the experiences as an officer of the Corps of Royal Engineers `"The Sappers", first in the UK, then for nearly four years with the imperial Indian Army in Central India, Ceylon and the Burma campaign. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/64/a3198864.shtml Chapter 3] At the very end of this chapter, the author received orders to proceed to India or Burma. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/00/a3209500.shtml  Ch 4] Arrived in India May 1942, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/38/a3220138.shtml  Ch 5], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/15/a3222415.shtml  Ch  6], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/50/a3224350.shtml Ch 7], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/29/a3225629.shtml Ch 8], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/34/a3260134.shtml  Ch 9] , [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/60/a3260260.shtml  Ch 10], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/30/a3260530.shtml  Ch 11], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/11/a3264211.shtml  Ch 12], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/15/a3269315.shtml  Ch 13], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/67/a3269667.shtml  Ch 14] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/categories/ BBC's WW2 People’s War]
 
*"The War Diary Of A Royal Engineer With The Forgotten Army".  Staff-Sergeant George Philip Benbow (Phil) Vaughan in India and Burma. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/15/a6955815.shtml Part 1: 13 March 1943 to 31 July 1944], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/69/a6990069.shtml Part 2: 1 August 1944 to 1 June 1946]  BBC’s WW2 People’s War
 
*"The War Diary Of A Royal Engineer With The Forgotten Army".  Staff-Sergeant George Philip Benbow (Phil) Vaughan in India and Burma. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/15/a6955815.shtml Part 1: 13 March 1943 to 31 July 1944], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/69/a6990069.shtml Part 2: 1 August 1944 to 1 June 1946]  BBC’s WW2 People’s War

Revision as of 07:43, 13 December 2018

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

The Signals Service was part of the Royal Engineers up until the time of the creation of the separate Royal Corps of Signals in June 1920.

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 1 April, the three engineer corps of the East India Company:- Bengal Engineers, Bombay Engineers and the Madras Engineers were amalgamated into the Corps of Royal Engineers absorbing the British officers and men [1].

Also see

Regimental History

History of the Corps of Royal Engineers has been published in twelve volumes, the first two being available online, refer below. The other volumes are

  • Volume III: Covers the Sudan Campaigns and Boer War 1899-1902, by Colonel Sir Charles Watson, published 1915. Volume IV: 1885-1914. by Brigadier-General W. Baker Brown. published 1952.
  • Volume V: The Home Front, France Flanders and Italy in the First World War. Volume VI: Gallipoli, Macedonia, Egypt and Palestine 1914-18. Volume VII: Campaigns in Mesopotamia and East Africa, and the inter-war period, 1918-38. Volumes 5-7 edited by H.L. Pritchard, published 1952. Note: Volume VI does not include information about Signals as "The history of their work is being produced by the Royal Corps of Signals themselves"[2], so it is likely the other volumes for the WW1 period similarly do not include information about Signals.
  • Volume VIII: Campaigns in France and Belgium, 1939-40; Norway, Middle East, East Africa, Western Desert, North West Africa, and activities in the U.K. by Major-General R. P. Pakenham-Walsh.
Volume IX: Campaigns in Sicily and Italy; the War Against Japan; North-west Europe, 1944-45; minor and non-operational areas; post-war, 1945-48 by Major-General R. P. Pakenham-Walsh. Both published 1958. Note: War Against Japan includes c 200 pages regarding India, Burma, Hong Kong and Malaya. [3]
  • Volume X: 1945-1960. Volume XI: 1960 to 1980. Volume XII: 1980-2000.

Available at the British Library. Also available from the Institution of Royal Engineers (InstRE), as books or a CD-ROM.[4]

Regimental flash

The flash, also known as a pagri (puggaree) badge, was generally affixed to the pagri on the sun helmet. The Royal Engineers had three styles of flashes. The first was a rectangular one with blue and red in equal halves - blue to the front. This was introduced in 1884 during the Sudan Campaign. During the 2nd Boer War they adopted a plain yellow flash to better distinguish them from the RA and then in 1902 changed to a red rectangular flash with two narrow royal blue lines near the outer edges i.e. red/blue/red/blue/red.[5]

It is difficult to identify Foreign Service (Wolseley Pattern) helmet flashes because the type of black & white film used at that time distorted coloration. [6]

External Links

Historical books online

  • History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol I by Maj-Gen Whitworth Porter 1889 Archive.org
    Military History to 1860 (Note: catalogued as Volume III, but is Volume I) Archive.org
  • History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol II by Maj-Gen Whitworth Porter 1889 Archive.org. Military History 1867- 1885, together with Part II Organization, Part III Departmental and Civil Work.
  • History of the Royal Sappers and Miners: from the formation of the Corps in March 1772, to the date when its designation was changed to that of Royal Engineers, in October 1856 by T W J Connolly, QuarterMaster of the Royal Engineers. 2nd edtion, with considerable additions 1857 (first edition 1855) With coloured plates
Volume I, Volune II Google Books
Same digital files HathiTrust Digital Library, where images may be rotated. Volume I, Voolume II
Volume 1 1837 Volume 2 1838 Volume 3 1839 Volume 4 1840 Volume 5 1842 Volume 7 1845 Volume 8 1845 Volume 10 1849
Note that the volumes which are digitised specifically for Archive.org may have better plans and maps compared with those that are, or are copied from, Google Books. An example is the books from the University of Toronto
For some papers from these volumes, see 1st Afghan War, Battle of Meeanee, 1st Sikh War, 2nd China War and Abyssinian Campaign. Other papers include
  • "Geographical Surveying In India" by Colonel Sir T H Holdich 1898 Paper XI, Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal Engineers: Occassional Papers Volume XXIV 1898 pages 289-305 Archive.org
The Indian Borderland, 1880-1900 by Colonel Sir T Hungerford Holdich 1901 edition, Second and cheaper edition 1909 Archive.org
India by Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich 1904 Archive.org
The Gates of India, being an Historical Narrative by Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich 1910
Political Frontiers and Boundary Making by Col. Sir Thomas H Holdich 1916
Indian Engineers
An earlier book is The Indian Sappers and Miners by E. W. C Sandes [Edward Warren Caulfeild] 1948. (726p). Covers the period from the pioneers in 1759 to the prelude to the Second World War. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01011278725

References

  1. The Royal Engineers Museum and Library “Corps History Part 10 – Engineers of the Honourable East India Company Army 1750-1862”; Retrieved 17 Aug 2016
  2. michaeldr. Royal Engineers soldier abandoned in Gallipoli Great War Forum 29 June 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  3. idler. Book content question: R E History WW2Talk Forum 13 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  4. Corps History and Corps History CD-ROM The Institution of Royal Engineers (InstRE)
  5. Stuart_Bates. helmet flashes Victorian Wars Forum 15 November 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2016
  6. FROGSMILE. Help needed ID-ing unit flash on pith helmet Great War Forum 30 May 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  7. Matthew B. Walk Warily in Waziristan Great War Forum 23 April 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2018.