20 October/November 2021 – WW1 / Remembrance
Open to members and non-members. See details below and book your place.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER – WW1 / Remembrance Theme
Wednesday 20th October Col (Retd) Glyn Taylor “RE support to the 5thArmy Defence Scheme, March 1918”
On Wednesday 20th October, Glyn Taylor will examine the background to the Fifth Army defence scheme and the support given by the Royal Engineers. Much of the historical literature records that Fifth Army suffered one of the biggest defeats in British military history in March 1918. Its defence scheme, and the time to prepare defences, is often quoted as one of the major reasons.
Monday 25th October Maj Will MacGill RE “Sappers on Horseback – The mounted units of the Royal Engineers in the Great War”
On Monday 25th October Will MacGill will present a talk on the little know subject of RE Mounted Units in the First World War.
Wednesday 27th October Terry Reeves ““The Special Brigade – A different sort of War. The Royal Engineers and Chemical Warfare in WW1.”
On Wednesday 27th October Terry Reeves will talk about the Special Brigade, formed in 1916 and placed under the command of Col C.Foulkes, RE.
Wednesday 3rd November Simon Jones “Underground Warfare 1914-1918. Mining, infantry tunnels and dug-outs.”
On Wednesday 3rd November Simon Jones will talk about the effectiveness of the various forms of underground warfare on the Western Front during the First World War. The siege warfare conditions of trench warfare of the First World War saw the revival of the ancient and almost forgotten science of military mining to an extent never seen before or since. In an attempt to break the deadlock, hundreds of miles of underground galleries were excavated beneath no man’s land and explosive charges of up to 50 tonnes fired beneath enemy positions. The Corps adapted to, and drove forward, these revolutionary changes in underground warfare and, through Tunnelling Companies RE, successfully incorporated civilian expertise and technology. No less significant were the development of extensive underground shelters, allowing the safe accommodation of many thousands of troops, and the construction of infantry subways to conduct troops secretly to the point of assault. Finally, this talk will assess the contribution that underground warfare made to the ultimate Allied victory on the Western Front. Simon Jones is the author of ‘Underground Warfare 1914-1918’ a subject which he has studied for several decades. He is currently writing a book which examines in detail British Tunnellers on the Somme in 1915-16.
Thu 11 November – Dr Jim Beach “GHQ’s Intelligence Officers, 1914 to 1918”
Except for a fortnight in January 1918, from the start of the war until the late summer of 1918 the senior intelligence officer at GHQ in France was always a Sapper. Dr Jim Beach (University of Northampton) looks at the three very different Royal Engineers officers who held this post, and their impact upon the intelligence system.
Contact Sean Scullion for more information. You can also book via the events page
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