Corps History - Part 11
Militia, Volunteers and Territorials (1865-1979)

The other source of auxiliary troops was the Volunteer movements of 1790's and 1860, where individuals volunteered their services for home defence. They were raised in an atmosphere of fear of invasion from France. These Volunteers, which ran in parallel with the Militia, cost the Government little for their members provided their own arms and covered all their personal expenses except for when they were on active service.

Engineer and Railway Volunteer Corps - 1865-1993

The Engineer and Railway Volunteer Corps was raised in 1865 as one of the Volunteer units. It consisted of entirely Volunteer officers drawn from the managers and engineers of the principal railways of the day.

By 1914 their title had changed to 'Engineer and Railway Staff Corps'. During both the First and Second World War their contribution in the coordinating the movement of troops and materiel on the railway systems was inestimable.

In 1943 their function was amended "to provide a body of skilled engineers and transportation experts to advise the War Office on such engineering and transportation matters as may be put before it".

Their title was changed again in 1984 to the 'Engineer and Transport Staff Corps (V)' recognising their links with the then Royal Transport Corps and since 1993 the Royal Logistics Corps.

Royal Monmouthshire and Royal Anglesey - 1877

Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia)

One of the first militia units to become part of the Corps of Royal Engineers was The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia), which traces it history back to 1539 when it was an infantry unit. In 1877 it converted to an engineer role with opportunities for overseas service.

At the beginning of the Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902) the Regiment was embodied and sent three companies to South Africa to carry out building, bridging and railway work. Railway transport had become an important role, so after the war a short section of track, with a locomotive, was added to the training equipment already in Monmouth.

In 1947, after the Second World War (1939-45), the unit did not form part of the reconstituted Territorial Army, but was reformed as a Supplementary Reserve early in 1948 with 100, 101 and 111 Field Squadrons, it became part of the Territorial Army in 1953, but retained the title 'Militia'.

It is the senior unit of the Reserve Army, a precedence recognised in Queens Regulations.

Royal Anglesey Royal Engineers (Militia)

A little after the Royal Monmouthshire Militia had become a Royal Engineers unit another Welsh militia unit, the Royal Anglesey joined the Corps (1877). The unit was first raised as the Anglesey Militia in 1762. During the the Napoleonic Wars (1809-15) it was titled 'Royal Anglesey Light Infantry Militia' (1810).

In 1860 as part of the resurgence of the Rifle Volunteer movement it amalgamated with the Carnarvon Militia to become the 'Royal Carnarvon and Anglesey Rifles Militia'.

As an engineer unit it saw service in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the First and Second World Wars. It was last embodied in 1945 and finally disbanded in 1953.

Submarine Miners Militia and Volunteers - 1880's

During the 1880's the defence of the ports in the British Isles and the Empire became a priority. The responsibility for their defence fell jointly upon the Royal Navy and Royal Engineers, the Corps' contribution was the Submarine Mining Service. After 1885 the service was expanded rapidly, and that expansion was met by the formation of Militia and Volunteer Submarine Mining units both at home and abroad.

Telegraph and Postal - 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps - 1870

After the nationalisation of the private Telegraph Companies in 1870, the Royal Engineers provided two companies to assist the General Post Office (GPO) in telegraphy work. This event gave rise to the formation of a Telegraph company raised from the Telegraph branch of the GPO as part of the 49th (later 24th) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps. In 1880 the 49th was renumbered 24th. Sanction was given in 1883 to increase the strength of the company to 200 and that branch of the 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps thereafter appeared separately in the Army List as 'Telegraph Companies'.

By 1882 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps had two subsidiary corps which were drawn upon in time of war.

• Corps of Trained Telegraphists - were for administrative purposes named 'L' (or 'I') Company 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps, but were trained by the Royal Engineers and were eventually absorbed into the Royal Engineers in 1908.
• Army Post Office Corps - were raised in 1882 and for administrative and training purposes was regarded as 'M' Company 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps. The company as the Army Post Office Corps was formed into the Royal Engineers (Postal Section) in 1913.

In 1885 the Trained Telegraphists volunteered for service in Sudan with engineer General Sir Gerald Graham's (1833-1913) expedition force. On the same campaign the Field Telegraph Corps was accompanied by its sister company 'M' company (Army Post Office Corps).

The 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps, was redesignated 8th Battalion City of London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) in 1908. During the First World War (1914-18) it fought with distinction on the Western Front as an infantry unit having among its number a Victoria Cross winner (Sergeant AJ Knight VC). In the reorganisations that took place between the wars the unit was formed, in 1935, into a Royal Engineers Territorial Anti-Aircraft Searchlight unit - 36th (Middlesex) Battalion of the 28th (Thames and Medway) Anti-Aircraft Group.

Engineer Auxiliary Establishment - 1886

In 1886 the establishment for the Auxiliary Forces of the Royal Engineers in Britain stood as follows:

One company of each of the 1st Gloucestershire, Lanarkshire, 1st Lancashire and Newcastle-on-Tyne battalions were Submarine Miners for the defence of the rivers Severn, Clyde, Mersey and Tyne respectively.

• 2nd Cheshire - formed from a Rifle Volunteer unit for work on military railways. It became known as the Crewe Volunteers.
• Devon and Somerset
• 1st Durham
• 1st Flint
• 1st Sussex

Corps of Electrical Engineers - 1897

In 1897 a new volunteer corps was organised to assist the Submarine Mining Service. They provided search lighting. The officers of the Corps of Electrical Engineers were recruited from men of science and leading members of the electrical profession; the rank and file were practical electricians or students of electrical engineering.

The Corps of Electrical Engineers provided the 2nd Searchlight section for service during the Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902).

When the Submarine Mining Service was finally disbanded, six of the seven Volunteer Submarine Mining Divisions were converted into Electrical Engineers in 1907. The Corps of Electrical Engineers was converted into the London Division of the Electrical Engineers Volunteers.

Anglo-Boer War - 1899-1902

During the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) engineer Militia and Volunteers units were deployed in the Lines of Communication (L of C) areas, carrying out building, bridging, telegraph, electrical and railway work.

Their deployment figures for the period December 1899 to January 1990 were:

In May 1901 the figures were:

Haldane Reforms - 1907-08

Richard Burton Haldane (1856-1928), was appointed Secretary of State for War in 1906. The following year he introduced his Territorial and Reserves Forces Bill (1907) a far reaching reorganisation of the auxiliary forces.

The Scheme arranged for:

• Militia units - to change to 'Special Reserve' units, whose primary duty in the case of the Royal Engineers was to form companies, where required, to supplement the regular Royal Engineer units.



• Volunteer units - to become part of a 'part-time' field army, the Territorial Force. This new army consisted of 14 infantry divisions and 14 cavalry brigades, raised, administered and financed by local bodies know as County Associations but called out for annual training under the direction of the War Office, and organised throughout on Regular Army lines complete for war service. The Engineers Volunteers joined their respective divisions.

Engineer Special Reserve units

• Royal Anglesey - was organised into a Headquarters and Depot company, one Siege company and one Railway company.
• Royal Monmouthshire - was organised into a Headquarters and Depot company, one Siege company and two Railway companies.
• 2 x Corps of Electrical Engineers (London and Tyne)
• Engineer and Railway Staff Corps
• Other Special Reserve units included:
  • 5 x Telegraph companies.
  • 1 x Postal Section (formed in 1913).

Engineer Territorial Army units

To meet the needs of the new Territorial Force (TF) the following Engineer units were required, their manpower was drawn from the original Engineer Volunteer Battalions:

• 28 x Field companies (1 per Division and 1 per Brigade)
• 14 x Divisional Telegraph companies (1 per Division)
• 23 x Works companies and 19 Electric-Light companies for Defence work.
• 1 x Army Postal Services (Home) (formed in 1914).

Royal Engineers Kent Volunteers - 1908 (Artist: Richard Caton Woodwille)

Cheshire Railway Battalion, Royal Engineers - 1911 (Artist: unknown)

The engineer Lieutenant General (later Lord) Sir William Nicholson (1845-1918) was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1908 and played a significant role in pushing Haldane's reforms through - see Corps History Part 13

First World War - 1914-18

The First World War brought about a massive expansion of the Corps through its Special Reserve and Territorial units.

Special Reserve Units

The Royal Anglesey and the Royal Monmouthshire were expanded from four to ten companies each.

In the assault on 25 September 1915, of the salient of Sanctuary Wood, near Hooge, Acting Lance Corporal Barker, 1st Cheshire Field Company Royal Engineers (T.F.) was separated from his party. He however, at once assisted and superintended a party of the Royal Scots Fusiliers to dig himself in, and, afterwards on his own initiative, collected a party of infantry. With them he opened up under heavy shell and machine gun fire a communication trench from the British line to the captured position. He was the last man to leave the work when it became impossible to continue. For his conspicuous gallantry and initiative, Lance-Corporal Barker was awarded the D.C.M.
(Artist impression)

Territorial Force (TF) Units

(Note: the source of the above tables is The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol V page 40. Some of the figures may not tally with other official sources.)

Between the Wars - 1919-39

The Territorial Force changed their name to 'Territorial Army' in the 1920's and a new category of terms of service was introduced called the 'Supplementary Reserve'. It was brought in to provide a railway transportation force that could be mobilised more easily than the ordinary Territorial Army. It provided almost all the Army troops workshops and stores units at the start of the Second World War in 1939.

In 1932 full responsibility for coast defence at home was handed over to the Territorial Army. Territorial fortress units were re-organised, works sections and in most cases anti-aircraft searchlights were added. The Suffolk (Fortress) RE was formed for defences at Felixstowe. The various units of the Tyne Electrical Engineers, on reorganisation, regained their old names.

During the Irish Civil War (1920) elements of the Royal Engineer Territorial Army searchlights units were deployed to Ireland as were members of the Royal Engineers (Postal section), who also served in Germany and China.

The searchlight units were handed over to the Royal Artillery in 1938, so that they may be better coordinated with the anti-aircraft guns with which they worked.

Second World War - 1939-45

In March 1939, the same month Hitler invaded Czecho-Slovakia, the Territorial Army was doubled in strength, fourteen new divisions (each with its own divisional engineer unit), but no corps or army troops were formed, so at the outbreak of the Second World War the Royal Engineers Territorial Army strength stood at 76,000 against the regular cadre of 13,000.

The rapid expansion of the Territorial Army led to problems with unit efficiency due to the lack of training. This was resolved by having the Royal Engineer Territorial Army units integrated with regular units. This also meant that the regular units could take advantage of the knowledge possessed by some very highly qualified and experienced civil engineers and tradesmen who were amongst the membership of the Territorial Army units.

Post-1945

Supplementary Reserve (SR) to Army Emergency Reserve (AER) - 1947-1967

In 1947 the Army Council approved the raising of 'Supplementary Reserve' (SR) units. These units were raised for specific tasks such as railway operations, consequently their recruits came from the nationalised railway industry as well as large firms (the 83 Inland Water Transport Regiment was manned almost entirely from Tate and Lyle lightermen). From 1949 onwards other special SR units were formed for Bomb Disposal, Survey and Postal, but none were initially included in the Reserve Army.

In 1952 the term 'Supplementary Reserve' was changed to 'Army Emergency Reserve' (AER). This reserve was regimentally senior to the Territorial Army.

Further reorganisation to the AER took place in 1961 when it was organised into three categories:

• Category I - Units and individuals willing to be called out for Service with the Regular Army on the authority of the Secretary of State for war before a royal Proclamation was issued.
• Category II - Units which could not be raised in the Territorial Army but were required on General Mobilization.
• Category III - A small number of highly skilled technicians required on General Mobilization.

Territorial Army (TA) - 1947-1967

After the war in January 1947 the Territorial Army (TA) was reconstituted - this new organisation consisted of two armoured, six infantry and one airborne divisions which together with several infantry and one beach brigade, were grouped into three corps. Thirty-four engineer regiments were required to support this new organisation.

From 1955 onwards the role of the TA was re-examined in the light of possible nuclear war. This resulted in the disbandment of some units and the forming of others, to deal with the devastation that might follow a nuclear strike, it was clear that the Sappers role was becoming more important.

On 22 June 1958 as part of the TA Golden Jubilee there was a Royal Review held at Hyde Park . Representatives of the Royal Engineer TA units marched past in their command and formation contingents. Elsewhere in the British Isles other Royal Reviews were held:

• Scotland - 124 Field Engineer Regiment provided the largest engineer contingent.
• Northern Ireland - 146 Field Engineer Regiment and 591 Independent Field Squadron took part.

By 1960 Royal Engineer TA units were grouped by specialisation into:

• Field and Works - in 1961 the regiments were amalgamated to form one large regiment (111 Engineer Regiment). Cove became the Central Volunteer Headquarters RE for (Field, Works and Resources) in 1967, but moved to Minley in 1971.
• Resources
• Bomb Disposal
• Survey
• Transportation and Movement Control - which in 1965 were transferred to the newly formed Royal Corps of Transport.
• Postal Courier and Communications
• Bomb Disposal
• Bulk Petroleum

Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) - 1967-1979

In 1967 the Territorial Army and the Army Emergency Reserve were both replaced by a new organisation called the 'Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve' (TAVR) with its main role of reinforcing the regular formations and units of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR).

The engineers were reorganised as follows:

• Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) (the Royal Mons) - In 1960 consisted of 100, 101, and 111 Field Squadron, but in 1961 was reduced by one (111) squdaron and became a corps engineer regiment and along with 125 Regiment formed 23 Engineer Group (TA).
  
  
• 71 (Scottish) Engineer Regiment - formed from the four disbanded TA Engineer Regiments based in the Scottish Lowlands with its headquarters in Glasgow. Many of the original staff of the headquarters previously served in 80 (Scottish) Port Regiment whose forbears had operated the Mulberry harbours during Operation Overlord in 1944. It consisted of 104 (City of Edinburgh) Field Squadron and 124 (Lowland) Field Squadron. It had its own Pipes and Drums which in 1978 became affiliated with those of the Queens Gurhka Engineers.



• 72 (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Engineer Regiment - formed from 103 Field Squadron (Newcastle), 118 Field Squadron (Hartlepool) and 129 Field Squadron (Hull). In 1973 118 Field Squadron participated in the annual RE demonstration at Chatham, the first Reserve Army unit to do so. The regiment was tasked with responsibility for support to the Harrier Force in 1975 the same year that 105 (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Plant Squadron came under command. In 1977 129 Field Squadron transferred to 73 Engineer Regiment.


As the regimental title suggests its foundations can be traced back to 1859 when a company of men from the Armstrong factories at Elswick formed the nucleus of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Engineers volunteers operating search lights for the Submarine Mining Service. They became the Tyne Electrical Engineers in 1911.


• 73 Engineer Regiment - formed in 1969 from personnel from 350 (Robin Hood) Field Squadron. It was constituted: 272 Field Squadron, 217 (London) Field Squadron, and 575 Field Squadron and was joined in May 1977 by 129 (East Riding) Field Squadron from 72 Regiment. 873 Movement Light Squadron, the only remaining searchlight unit in the British Army was also part of the regiment.



• 74 (Antrim Artillery) Engineer Regiment - formed from an amalgamation of 146 Corps Engineer Regiment and 591 Field Squadron and consisted of 112 (Antrim Fortress) Field Squadron and 114 (Antrim Artillery) Field Squadron.
At the start of the 'Troubles' several troops (Ballymena, Bangor, Carrickfergus and Antrim) were formed from the two Squadrons. In 1977 272 (West Riding Artillery) Field Support Squadron RE (V), based in Bradford, joined the Regiment. The Regimental Pipes and Drums were first formed in 1950 and were the only Pipes and Drums on parade at the Freedom of the City of Hameln, West Germany in 1977.


• 75 Engineer Regiment (V) - formed from elements of 42 Division Engineers (Manchester), 113 Assault Regiment (Cheshire), 107 (West Lancs) Corps Engineer Regiment (Liverpool) and
49 Armoured Division Engineers (Sheffield). It consisted of 106 Field Squadron in Sheffield and 107 Field Squadron in Liverpool, a third squadron, 202 (DLOY) Field Squadron formed from the residue of 42 Divisional Engineers and the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry was added in 1969.


• 131 Independent Parachute Squadron RE (V) - formed from the reduction of 131 Airborne Engineer Regiment to a single squadron.



• Engineer and Railway Staff Corps



• Specialist units - Bomb Disposal, Survey and Postal

The Shapland Committee studied the terms of service, manning, training and pay conditions of the TAVR and made recommendations to change them in 1979 and at the same time the title was changed back to the 'Territorial Army'.

History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vols I-IX. (Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham)

Follow the Sapper. Napier G (Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 2005)

Links to further reading:

Specialist Engineering - Royal Engineers Transportation Service

Specialist Engineering - Searchlights

Specialist Engineering - Submarine Mining