General Sir Charles William PASLEY
(1780-1861)

Charles William Pasley was born in Eskdalemuir, Dumfries, on 8th September 1780 and soon displayed the impetuosity and courage which distinguished him throughout his life. He learned Latin, Greek and French at an early age and when he asked to be taught "counting" he was told that he must wait until he was old enough to understand it. Joining the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in 1796, he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in the following year, but transferred to the Royal Engineers in 1798.

Between 1799 and 1807 he served in Minorca, Malta, Italy and Sicily, while continuing his studies of mathematics and languages and, after taking part in the siege of Copenhagen in 1807, was posted to Spain in 1808. Here, his knowledge of Spanish led to his appointment as ADC to Sir John Moore, prior to the actions at Corunna.

His next task, in 1809, was to accompany the expedition to Walcheren, in Holland where, after reconnoitring the coast, he took part in the siege of Flushing. Despite his primary role as an engineer, he led a storming party against a French battery but was seriously wounded. This rendered him incapable of normal duty for more than a year and at times he doubted his ability to continue his military career.

The actions of the preceding ten years had given Pasley great experience, not only in military engineering, such as it was at that stage, but also in general military strategy and tactics.

In 1810 he published his "Essay on the Military Policy and Institutions of the British Empire". This advocated "greater energy and perseverance in prosecuting the war with France, judicious offensive action in its conduct and a more vigorous policy in Spain". This, he claimed, would demonstrate that Great Britain had sufficient force and a favourable opportunity for destroying the French Empire. This document, despite opposition from some quarters, was highly regarded by many on account of the manly and patriotic spirit which it displayed.

In 1811, now a Captain, Pasley was appointed to command the Plymouth Company of the Royal Military Artificers and he immediately began to consider how improvements could best be made in the practice of military engineering. His active service overseas had illustrated the serious disadvantages under which the Royal Engineer officers laboured by having no technically trained troops at their disposal and no good system for regulating their operations.

This led to a training programme for teaching his NCOs practical geometry, enabling them to interpret plans and sections. The non Commissioned Officers (NCOs), in turn, then taught their men, without the need for mathematical masters.

The system developed in Plymouth was so successful that in March 1812 it was put before a Committee of the Royal Engineers, who reported favourably on it to the Inspector General of Fortifications. With additional backing from the Duke of Wellington, who had reported on the "defective condition of the Engineering Department in the field", The Royal Engineer Establishment was created in Chatham in June 1812.

Its brief - "Instruction of the Corps of Royal Military Artificers, or Sappers and Miners, and the junior officers of the Royal Engineers in the duties of sapping and mining and other military fieldworks".

Pasley was appointed its first director, with the rank of Major, and although the title of Military Artificer was dropped in 1813, the anomalous situation still existed where officers were Royal Engineers whereas troops under their command were Royal Sappers and Miners. This continued until 1856 when both groups were integrated into the Corps of Royal Engineers.

Prior to 1812, Royal Engineers officers had little or no engineering training while at the Royal Military Academy and the artificers under their command were little more than un-skilled labourers. Following up his training theme, Pasley completed "Military Instruction" in three volumes, the first covering practical geometry and the others a complete treatise on fortification, including the principles of science and rules for construction.

During his time at Chatham, Pasley improved systems for telegraphing, sapping, mining, pontooning and the use of explosives both on land and in water. All these subjects were supported by pamphlets and courses of instruction.

By 1815, shortly before the battle of Waterloo, results started to be seen. In carrying out the Duke of Wellington's order to strengthen the frontier defences of the Netherlands, some 18,000 civilians were employed, under the direction of the Royal Engineers. Such a large number required considerable delegation of command and NCOs and experienced Sappers were placed in charge of working parties.

Initially, instruction at Chatham was limited to fieldworks, pontooning, escalading, fortification and practical geometry, but in 1826 young officers started to receive training in practical architecture. This was followed by the addition of surveying in 1833. Gradually the syllabus was widened to include electricity, photography and chemistry, printing, estimating, building construction and ballooning.

His experiments with the underwater use of gunpowder led him to undertake the removal of the wrecks of two sunken vessels near Gravesend in 1838. Encouraged by the success of these operations, he moved onto larger vessels, including the Royal George in Spithead, where the value of materials recovered was more than equal to the cost of the demolition. Throughout all his work at Chatham, he always saw trained engineers as an integral part of a military force and he continued to comment on overall military strategy.

Pasley remained at Chatham until 1841 when, after almost 30 years, he was appointed Inspector General of Railways. During this long period as head of the Royal Engineer Establishment, there was hardly a single subject connected with his profession as a military man and an engineer which did not benefit from his attention. He was made a KCB in 1846.

He also held the appointment of Public Examiner at the East India Company's Military Academy in Addiscombe, near Croydon, for 16 years and he had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society as far back as 1816. He was associated with astronomical, geological, geographical, statistical and other societies, and lost no opportunity of contributing to the advancement of practical science.

He held no public office after 1855, but maintained an active interest in everything in which he had been involved for more than half a century. Promoted to the rank of General in 1860, he died on 19th April 1861, at the age of 80.

Throughout his life, he never ceased to strive for better opportunities for younger men to develop their engineering skills than he had had himself. Even at the end of his career he was still helping to launch young men while at the same time receiving expressions of gratitude for similar favours from men who were themselves retiring at the end of their service and who did not hesitate to acknowledge that they owed their success in life to his timely assistance and generosity.

In 1869, the title of the Royal Engineer Establishment was changed to The School of Military Engineering and the Director became Commandant. In 1962, it was granted Royal status and became the Royal School of Military Engineering.