History Section - Welfare and Sports

It has been recognised since Victorian times that looking after the welfare of soldiers and their families along with encouraging the soldier to participate in sports helps to create a sense of esprit de corps and maintains high levels of morale, both of which are essential to sustain unit operational effectiveness. This page contains information of how historically the Corps of Royal Engineers has gone about maintaining morale and esprit de corps through its administration, social, sporting and welfare activities.

Royal Engineers Association

1906 - A dinner organised by a few serving and retired Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) was held in London.

1912 - 'Royal Engineers Old Comrades Association' (REOCA) is formed.

1913 - Lord Kitchener of Khartoum became President of the Association.

1914 - Finding employment for members of the REOCA was added to the objectives of the Association.

1918 - George V becomes Patron of the Association. Membership, which had been confined to Royal Engineers of the Regular Army, was extended to any branch of the Corps including Auxiliary (TA) units.

1950 - Badge of merit introduced.

1952 - The REOCA was renamed the 'Royal Engineers Association' (REA).

1968 - The REA and Royal Engineers Benevolent Fund merged under the name Royal Engineers Association.

Brief history of Royal Engineers Association

External Link

Royal Engineers Association at www.reahq.org.uk/

Royal Engineers Charities

Royal Engineers Widows Fund - 1783

In 1783 a small group of officers started to subscribe to a fund designed to be a combination of a benevolent fund and an insurance for married officers. The object was to prevent the necessity of raising a special subscription for any officer's widow who might be left in financial difficulty after the demise of her husband.

Two years later (1785) rules for the fund were crystallized in a 'Deed of Settlement'. An annual subscription was raised from both married and unmarried officers participating in the scheme, the payment began within the first six month's of their joining the Corps and continued until their death. To assist junior officers the rates of subscription varied according to rank.

The same rate of pensions was paid to widows regardless of their husband's rank on death. Rates were:

• 1785 - £ 30 per annum
• 1812 - £ 40 per annum
• 1827 - £ 60 per annum
• 1832 - £ 50 per annum
• 1864 - £ 60 per annum

In 1880 the payments were extended to include the orphan families. The Fund still exists today.

Royal Engineers Charitable (now Benevolent) Fund - 1869

The Corps of Royal Engineers was an exclusive officer corps until 1856 when the soldiers of the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners were amalgamated into the Corps. Ten years later (1866) a proposal was made by the officers that an orphanage be established for daughters of non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and soldiers at Chatham, however, nothing came of this proposal because after some discussion and further investigation it was decided that the families of NCOs and soldiers would benefit more from a fund that financed a variety of charitable facilities.

The Royal Engineers Charitable Fund was set up in 1869, its functions were:

• To assist widows and children of deceased NCOs and soldiers, or cripples, or incurables.
• To help NCOs and soldiers to obtain employment.
• To assist in the expenses of the move of families on change of station.
• To subscribe to, or take advantage of existing institutions on behalf of the members of the Corps.

An annual subscription to fund the charity was raised from the officers and units:

• Major and above - £ 2
• Captain - £ 1.10s
• Subaltern - £ 1
• Troop or Company - £ 5 (this was to give the NCO's and soldiers an interest in the charity).

In 1943 the Fund was renamed 'Royal Engineers Benevolent Fund' and in 1952 it was formed into a limited company so that it could invest contributions to the best advantage of the Corps. The Fund and its functions was amalgamated into the Royal Engineers Association in 1968.

External Links

Institution of the Royal Engineers at www.instre.org

Royal Engineers Association at www.reahq.org.uk/

Institute of Royal Engineers

In 1837 the Corps began to publish a technical journal called the Professional Papers to this was added the Journal (now the Royal Engineers Journal) in 1870 and to the Journal a Supplement was added in 1873. But by the early 1870's the administration of these publications and other Corps matters, as well as, the desire for further opportunities of studying technical issues was placing considerable strain on the officers who did this work voluntarily so in 1875 it was suggested that a 'Royal Engineer Institute' be formed along the lines of the 'Royal Artillery Institute' to administer the publications, museum, library and other Corps matters.

1837 - Publication of Professional Papers begins.

1870 - Publication of Journal (now the Royal Engineers Journal) begins.

1873 - 'Institute Building', at Chatham completed.

1876 - 'Royal Engineer Institute' formed.

1877 - Institute takes over control of the Corps Library - which include HQ Library at Horse Guards, London and 31 branches at various stations at home and aboard.

1881 - An 's' was added to the name 'Engineer' for all of the Corps Associations, so the Institute becomes the 'Royal Engineers Institute'.

1889 - Institute publish the first two volumes of the History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.

1895 - Publication of The Sapper, an all ranks magazine begins.

1923 - Institute renamed 'Institute of Royal Engineers' on its granting of a Royal Charter. The idea of a Charter was first proposed in 1886.

1939 - HQ Library (now Corps Library) moved from London to Chatham.

Information Sheets

Brief history of Institution of the Royal Engineers

External Link

Institution of the Royal Engineers at www.instre.org

Royal Engineers Sports

From the 18th century onwards the notion that military skills could be learnt from the pursuit of games and field sports was strongly held by the officer corps of the British Army. Victorian army officers at the highest levels believed that participation in games and field sports gave young officers the essential traits required to lead British soldiers (i.e. moral and physical courage, physical fitness and mental agility, loyalty and team spirit), therefore the history of sport in the Army, including that of the Royal Engineers, begins with the officers.

The men recruited from the industrial cities and towns during the Crimean War (1854-56) proved to be physically incapable of enduring the hardships of army life which inturn highlighted their poor physical and moral state. These observations coupled with the general need to improve the health, living conditions and morals of the British soldier led to an investigation known as the Army Sanitary Commission (1858). Its recommendations resulted in improvements in barrack accommodation, diet and the institution of mandatory gymnastics and voluntary regimental sports for the soldier. (Note: In a professional capacity the Royal Engineers were involved in designing and constructing barrack accommodation, gymnasiums and sports fields as recommended by the Army Sanitary Commission - see the Engineering page). By getting soldiers out of the barracks, canteens and whorehouses and into the gymnasium and onto the games field, officers believed that they could improve the fighting capabilities of their men while also improving their minds, morale and moral fibre. A gymnasium was constructed in Chatham in 1864 and in the following year Queen's Regulations (1865) detailed instructions for gymnastic training and outlined the minimum programme for all ranks. So it was after such measures that encouraged soldiers to participate in sporting activities that very slowly the segregation between officers and men on the sports field began to break down and the fielding of mixed rank teams began to be the norm.

Owing to the fact that units of the Corps were based at a number of stations, both at home and abroad, the first sports clubs were formed by the officers on a station basis, but during the 1860's as Chatham developed as the principal centre of Corps life, the various Chatham based clubs began to be looked upon as the representative clubs of the Corps and the principal matches they played were called 'Corps Matches'. This was especially true in the case of matches played against the Royal Artillery (RA).

At most stations the Royal Engineers' Regimental teams were drawn from all ranks, but inspite of this only occasionally were 'other ranks' chosen to be members of the the Corps team at Corps Matches, generally this remained the case until after the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). During the 1880's several of the non-commissioned officers and members of the RE Band played football for RE team. Between 1890 and 1894 Corporal Bayfield played cricket for the Corps and School of Military Engineering (SME) teams, including matches against the Royal Artillery (RA), until, in 1895, it was agreed that the teams for the RA v RE match should be officers only. The Bridging Battalion based at Aldershot built a reputation for Tug of War and in 1899 won ten championships in London, three in Aldershot.

Watermanship being one of the many skills required of the sapper led to the formation of a sailing club in 1812 and later to the development of cutter rowing teams. In 1899 the General Officer Commanding Thames and Medway, the engineer General Sir Charles Warren (1840-1927) presented a challenge shield for a championship cutter race on the River Medway against the Royal Navy. The RE teams were drawn from members of the Submarine Mining School, but when the service was disbanded in 1905, the tradition of cutter rowing was continued by the fieldwork squads. The sailing club continues to this day and is one of the oldest sports clubs in the British Army.

After the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) all RE sports teams were drawn from all ranks as they are today. In the aftermath of the Second World War (1939-45) new sports reflecting the new arms (e.g. Airborne - parachuting, and Commando - mountaineering) were added to an already long list of sports in which a soldier could participate and a new form of physical activity was introduced, namely; adventure training which is a modern twist on the notion of sports being a preparation for war.

1812 Sailing - A yacht club started at Chatham.

• 1846 - RE Yacht Club (REYC) formed.
• 1865 - REYC enrolled into the Royal Yacht Club (RYC) with permission to fly the blue ensign.
• 1926 - REYC Ilex wins the Fastnet Race.
• 1930 - REYC Ilex wins the Plymouth-Santander Race.
• 1935 - George V became Patron of the REYC.

1862 Cricket - The playing of Cricket by officers of the Corps begins.

• 1864 - RA v RE cricket matches begin.
• 1874 - RE Cricket Club formed

1869 Football - RE Football Club formed.

• 1872-1889 - RE Football team enters FA Challenge Cup (now the FA Cup).
• 1874 - Major Francis Marindin RE appointed Chairman of the Football Association.
• 1875 - Win the FA Challenge Cup (now the FA Cup).
• 1908 - Win the FA Amateur Cup.

1873 Billiards and Rackets - RE Billiards and Rackets club formed.

• 1873 - RA v RE billiards and rackets matches begin.
• 1923, 1934, 1936, 1937 - Depot Battalion win Army Championships

1875 Sports Funding - A fund was set up to finance the entertainment at club matches, subscriptions were paid into the fund by officers of the Corps.

• 1879 - The fund called the 'Royal Engineers Game Fund'

1880 Tennis - Tennis is played by Royal Engineers officers.

• 1928 - RE Lawn Tennis Club formed

1881 Rifle - RE Inter-Company Rifle competition starts.

1886 Golf - RE Golf Club started by the Submarine Mining Service officers.

• 1895 - RA v RE matches start
• 1929 - RE Aldershot win Army Golf Challenge Cup
• 1935 - RE Chatham win Army Golf Challenge Cup

1886 Rugby - RE Rugby Club formed.

• 1878 - RE play against Royal Military Academy, Woolwich - the subsequent matches between these teams (until 1885) were the only football matches played under Rugby Union rules.
• 1887 - RA v RE matches start
• 1907 - Training Battalion loses 5-0 to the 2nd Bn West Riding Regiment DWR in the first Army Cup final.
• 1983 - 21 Engineer Regiment wins Army Cup

1890's Athletics - Athletics introduced.

• 1899 - RE Aldershot tug-of-war team win ten championships.
• 1921 - Training Battalion tug-of-war team win Army Championship.
• 1924, 1925 - Training Battalion tug-of-war team win AAA Championship.

1906 Beagling - RE Beagling Club formed at Chatham.

1912 Hockey - RE Hockey Club formed at Chatham.

1920's Boxing - Boxing introduced.

1920's Swimming and Water Polo - Swimming and Water Polo introduced.

• 1927 - Training Battalion swimming team set new record in the Army Team Relay event
• 1969 - RE Swimming and Water Polo Clubs formed.

1921 Fencing - RE Officers' Fencing and Small Arms Club formed by the merger of the Fencing and Revolver Clubs.

1925 Brake - RE Brake Club formed which operated until 1939.

1928 Drag Hunt - RE Drag Hunt Club formed.

1928 Squash Racket - RE Squash Racket Club formed.

• 1930 - RA v RE matches start

1935 Flying - RE Officers' Flying Club formed.

1948 Ski & Mountaineering - RE Ski & Mountaineering Club formed.

1950 Rowing - RE Rowing Club formed.

1967 Badminton - RE Badminton Club formed.

1969 - RE Canoe Club, RE Cycling Club, RE Orienteering Club and RE Free Fall Parachuting Club formed.

Corps History Part 12 - Engineers in a Civic role

Article - When the Sappers won the FA Cup

External Links

RE Sports at www.army.mod.uk/royalengineers/sport/

RE Rugby Union Football Club at www.sapperrugby.com

Wives and families

The official Corps history contains extracts from Mrs Green's Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83) diary which are used to illustrate conditions during that siege (Mrs Green was the wife of Lieutenant Colonel (later General Sir) William Green's (?-1811) - her diaries are held by the Museum). But thereafter the history only makes very fleeting references to the wives of the Corps, nevertheless, their contribution in terms of support of their husbands and their husbands' careers cannot be ignored for in their silent way they too have contributed to the history of the Corps.

Capt & Mrs CJ Merriman RE 1860

Since the Crimean War (1854-56), and probably before, the wives of officers and non-commissioned officers have attended to the welfare of the wives of the soldiers in their husbands' units. They have arranged social gatherings, nurtured children and acted as hostess. In most units a wives club exists to provide a point of social gathering for the wives of all ranks. Some units arrange family days for all ranks. The purpose of which is to build esprit de corps within the unit.