Corps History - Part 15
The Corps between the wars (1919-39)

In the aftermath of the First World War (1914-18), the 'Great War', the Army Council established several committees to determine the future organisation of the army.

Corps Developments - 1919-39

Rawlinson Committee - 1919

A committee, under the presidency of General Sir Henry Rawlinson (1864-1925), was set up in 1919 to examine the future organisation of the Corps. In light of the experiences of the recent war it made numerous recommendations, but only a few were actually implemented, namely:

• Divisional engineers to include a Field Park Company on their war establishment and that they carried the bridging equipment (folding boat sets and small box-girder bridges) of the field company. Pontoon and trestle equipment was to be held by the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) in the rear.
• Officers were sent up to Cambridge University to study engineering.
• Suitable non commissioned officers (NCOs) of the Corps were to be given an opportunity to attend Royal Military College, Sandhurst and to be commissioned into the infantry (many gained such commissions).
• Suitable Military Foremen of Works were to be commissioned into the Corps as Surveyors of Works (many did so).

Royal Engineers Signals Service to Corps of Signals - 1920

The Royal Engineers Signal Service expanded considerably during the First World War (1914-18) to provide a communication service for the Army and it was recognised that such an organisation should become a specialist corps in its own right.

On the 28 June 1920 a Royal Warrant authorised the formation of the Corps of Signals formed from the Signal Branch of the Royal Engineers. Six weeks later George V conferred the honour of the title of Royal to the newly founded Corps. Thus the 'Royal Corps of Signals' was born.

Army School of Apprenticed Tradesmen - 1923

The mass slaughter of the First World War (1914-18) produced a shortage of skilled tradesmen from which most of the technical corps of the army recruited, as a measure to address this short-fall it was decided to establish a school to train and prepare teenage boys for service in those corps.

The Army School of Apprenticed Tradesmen opened in 1923 on the Beachley peninsula, between the rivers Severn and Wye. It took boys aged 15 for three years and trained them in technical skills. On the successful completion of their course they were enlisted into the either the Royal Engineers, Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) or Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) for a period of 7 years in the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve.

At the same time RE Electric Lighting Schools were established at Gosport and Plymouth.

Chief Royal Engineer - 1936

The title of 'Chief Engineer' first appeared in the Restoration era (1660's) when Colonel Sir Charles Lloyd, who was appointed to the post in September 1660. It was confirmed by Royal Warrant (26 May 1716) when the Corps of Engineers was formed. The title changed to that of 'Engineer-in-Chief' in 1782, and remained in used until 21 April 1802, when Lieutenant General Robert Morse was appointed head of the Corps with the new title of 'Inspector General of Fortifications' (IGF). The post of Inspector General of Fortifications (IGF) was abolished in 1904 and replaced by the post of 'Director of Fortifications and Works'.

In October 1936, the post of Chief Royal Engineer was re-created by George V. General Sir Bindon Blood (1842-1940) was selected to fill this honourable post. The post still exists today.

The Chief Royal Engineer is invariably a distinguished officer of the Corps and Head of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Tenure is normally for a period of 5 years. He is responsible for seeing that the traditions and customs are preserved and the continuity of important matters of Corps policy. He keeps the Colonel-in-Chief informed on Corps matters and maintains contact with engineer units in the Commonwealth.

Royal Engineer Board and Equipment Development - 1920-1939

In 1920 the Royal Engineer Board replaced the Royal Engineer Committee, The RE Board was responsible for the establishment of research institutions, some of which still exist today, and the development of some of the engineer equipment that served the Corps so well during the Second World War (1939-45) and its immediate aftermath. The Board was comprised of 8 members; five of whom were chairmen of sub-committees each responsible for a specific area of development.

'A' Committee - dealt with: bridging, demolitions and engineer field unit equipment. It was served by the Experimental Bridging Company, Royal Engineers, based at Christchurch, Dorset but was later converted into a civilian establishment - the Experimental Bridging Establishment (EBE). The committee produced:

• 1923 - Infantry Assault Bridge equipment.
• 1927 - Small Box Girder bridge.
• 1928 - Folding Bridge equipment.
• 1931 - Large Box Girder bridge.
• 1934 - Pressure mine.
• 1936 - Mackie pattern exploder (Plastic HE).
• 1942 - Bailey Bridge
• 1942 - Mine detector

• 1920 - 120cm searchlight projector with a paraboloid reflector
• 1924 - 90cm mobile projector for field units.
• 1925 - 150cm searchlight projector, but did not come into service until the late1930's.
• Much research was done on Acoustic and Sound Locators.
• 1930 - self contained internal combustion pile driver.
• 1933 - Compressor, which became the general power unit for field companies.
• Mobile derrick lorry with a 2-ton crane and hauling gear.
• 1934 - Mobile water boring rig.
• 1938 - Mobile water purification set (developed in co-operation with the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) College).
• Self-supporting canvas water tank.

'C' Committee - dealt with signal matters and on the formation of the Royal Corps of Signals in 1920 the development of communications equipment ceased to be the direct concern of the Royal Engineers.

'D' Committee - formed in 1937 took over work on army radar from 'C' Committee.

'E' Committee - formed in 1939 to take over work on camouflage from 'A' Committee. - An important development was the use of steel wool which gave effective concealment at both long and short ranges.

Tank development

After the First World War (1914-18) the enthusiasm for tanks continued and in the immediate post-war period developments included:

• 1919 - RE Tank developed with a short stiff derrick in front worked by an hydraulic ram.
• 1926 - Experiments with armoured mechanised formations began. 17th Field Company (Major G Martel) as a non-armoured mechanised unit participated.

Unfortunately during the late 1920's there was a down-turn in the global economy which, after the Wall Street Crash (1929), led to an international economic slump, known as the Great Depression, the effects of which were the imposition of financial constraints that brought these promising developments in engineer tank development to an end. They were only resurrected after the beginning of the Second World War (1939-45).

Another factor that curbed equipment development in the inter-war years was the disarmament policy pursued by successive British governments due to the influence of the League of Nations (founded in 1920). This policy was reversed in 1933 after the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) came to power in Germany.

Fortifications and Works - 1919-39

Barracks

During the inter-war years Royal Engineers Works staff were involved in several much needed major barrack building, conversion and improvement projects:

• Barrack improvements included: building of dining halls (cook houses), replacement of gas by electric light, inclusion within the barrack block of wash rooms and WCs, provision of playing fields, installation of central heating, enlargement of non commissioned officers (NCOs) messes, improvements to and building of married quarters.
• 1924 - the Government approved the building of a camp at Catterick, North Yorkshire to replace the portion of accommodation abandoned in southern Ireland.
• 1927 onwards - As the mechanization of the army increased stables were converted for uses more appropriate to a mechanized army.
• Chilwell, Nottingham a First World War munitions factory was converted as a central depot for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC).

Naval Base at Singapore

In 1921 the British Government decided to establish a first-class naval base at Singapore for the repair of the largest battleships, but due to several changes of Government it was not until 1927 that a (Gillman) Commission was formed and sent to Singapore to investigate. Their report provided the basis of the scheme for the construction of the naval base and associated coastal defence fortifications, barracks and depots.

• 1929 - Work began with Colonel L N Malan as Chief Engineer.
• 1930 - Colonel RFA Butterworth appointed Chief Engineer.
• 1933 - Colonel AC Dobson (Chief Engineer) with 14 more Royal Engineers officers and 36 other ranks arrive in Singapore to accelerate the programme, which had to be completed in 3½ years instead of the planned 5 years.
• 1935 - Colonel W Cave-Browne appointed Chief Engineer
• 1937 - 41st Company operate the 2ft gauge railway in the base complex carrying 4,000 tons of stores per month.
• 1938 - main coast defence scheme practically completed.

In 1935 the engineer Major General (later Lieutenant General Sir) William GS Dobbie (1879-1964) was appointed GOC of Malaya with the remit to improve the defences of the command.

By 1938 Royal Engineer Fortress units responsible for operating the defences were:

• 30th and 34th Fortress Companies (Anti-Aircraft) at Singapore.
• 35th and 41st Fortress Companies (Coast Defence) at Singapore.
• 36th Fortress Company at Penang, Malaya

British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) - 1919-29

After the Armistice of 1918 the British Army began an 11 year occupation of the Rhineland which ended in December 1929. Initially the British were concentrated in the Cologne (Koln) area but in 1926 were moved to the Wiesbaden area. The British forces in Germany were referred to as the 'British Army of the Rhine' (BAOR).

The tasks of the engineers during this occupation were to coordinate the rail services used to carry troops and supplies from Boulogne and later Antwerp. They also had the works responsibilities of supervising the up-keep and maintenance of the military accommodation.

Field companies were attached to their respective formations and were occupied with a normal peace-time training routine. The Field companies were:

• 5th Field Company - Dec 1918-Apr 1919
• 7th Field Company - Apr 1920-1929
• 9th Field Company - 1918-24
• 12th Field Company - Dec 1918-Jun 1919
• 23rd Field Company - Dec 1918-May 1919

Royal Engineers were also responsible for the maintenance of telephone and telegraph communications until the Signals broke away from the Corps to form the Corps of Royal Signals in 1920. Much of the work was done in conjunction with the German Post Office.

A Postal section was deployed throughout the occupation. In 1919 they pioneered, in conjunction with the Royal Air Force, a scheduled air mail service between Folkstone and Cologne. In the same year they also set up an Army Courier Service to carry the confidential material generated by the Foreign Office with regards to the peace negotiations and reparations demanded from Germany by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919).

Inter-war operations - 1919-39

Irish Rebellion and civil war - 1916-22

In Ireland the Sinn Fein movement for independence from Britain was growing and they saw Britain's preoccupation with the war as an opportunity for armed rebellion. On Good Friday 1916 they seized the General Post Office building in Dublin and the so called 'Easter Rising' began only to be put down with great vigour by the British Army. There followed a temporary peace which fell apart in 1918 as the country escalated into civil war. During the 'troubles' that followed Royal Engineers were involved in repairing roads and bridges, fortifying police barracks and billets, and carrying out demolition of buildings.

Two temporary searchlight units, containing both regular and territorial soldiers were formed for service in Ireland and a Postal unit was also deployed.

Russia 1918-1919

An expeditionary force was sent to North Russia to assist the White Russians in their struggle against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. Sections from Survey and Postal accompanied this force.

In South Russia another British force was deployed in support of the White Russians. The engineer units were:

• 27th Division
  • 17th, 99th, 500th, and 501st (Wessex) Field Companies
• 39th Brigade
  • 72nd Field Company
• Workshop Company
• Postal unit

Shanghai Defence Force - 1927-40

In the 1920's the commercial activities of the Western businesses based in China were beginning to be affected by the feuding of the Chinese warlords during their civil war. The largest international community was based in Shanghai and they were getting increasingly alarmed by these developments, so requested that military protection be provided. The British Government sent a force of three brigades, one Indian and two British, that arrived in Shanghai during February 1927.

The engineers accompanying this force were:

• Lieutenant Colonel EAH James, as Commanding Royal Engineer, and a very small staff of Royal Engineers officers.
• 10th Field Company, QVO Madras Sappers and Miners (Captain GR Gilpin RE)
• a Litho-printing Section.
• a Postal unit.

Their tasks were to devise a defence scheme for the International Settlement, construct it and provide billeting for the force.

Palestine - 1929 and 1936

In 1917 the British made a declaration (Balfour Declaration) in support of the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This led, in 1922, to the League of Nations entrusting the United Kingdom with the implemention of the Palestine Mandate. Thereafter as land was made over to Jewish settlers from Europe, the displaced Palestine Arabs felt very aggrieved and began to take violent action against the Jews and British alike.

In 1929 there was no British Army garrison in Palestine so the commander of the Cairo Brigade, the engineer Brigadier (later Lieutenant General Sir) William GS Dobbie, despatched a force accompanied by a section of 42nd Field Company to Palestine to help restore order.

Trouble flared up again in 1936, this time the 5th Division (less artillery) was sent from Egypt to quell the situation. In early September it was decided to send an additional division, the 1st Division, from Britain. The problems that confronted the divisional engineers were:

• Keeping open the railway and roads which were constantly mined and ambushed - a task undertaken by the field companies and 8th Railway Company.
• The immediate problem of providing accommodation for two divisions.
• The long term problem of providing accommodation for two divisions before winter set in.

A Postal unit was also deployed and a Searchlight unit was used for illuminating stretches of railway and pipe-line to prevent sabotage.

Abyssinian Crisis - 1935

In 1935 the Italians invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). In response the British Government sent a force to Alexandria, Egypt with 2nd Field Company providing engineer support. Two companies of the 1st Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers were also deployed for the defence of Alexandria.

By December a force had been redeployed to Mersa Matruh to protect the eastern flank of Egypt. There the main engineer problem was the supply of water. It was solved by drilling water bore holes and opening up the old Roman aqueducts - this was to later to play an important role in the Desert war of the Second World War (1939-45).

History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol VII. (Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 1952)

The Occupation of the Rhineland 1918-1929 Compiled by Brig Gen Sir James Edmonds (HMSO, London, 1987)

A Short History. The Royal Engineers Compiled by Maj DP Aston RE (Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 1993)

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

Royal Engineers Corps Memoranda (CD-ROM version, Chatham, 2003)

Links to further reading:

Article - Assault Bridging and Equipment

Article - Military Bridging