RE 274th Railway Company

[chriscol]

Hi All,

Does anyone here know anything about the 274th Railway Company? I believe it was involved with the campaign in Egypt and Palestine, and the Sinai military railway, but I don't know much beyond that.

If anyone has any info, or could recommend any good books on the RE and the Sinai, that would be great.

Many thanks.

[michaeldr]

Have a look at 'The Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force ...etc etc' which you can access it in searchable pdf form here http://www.archive.org/details/briefrecordofadv00grearich

There are details of the EEF's railway building on pages 90-92

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Chris, and welcome to the Forum.

The War Diaries of the RE railway units directly attached to GHQ Egypt are all in a single file at Kew:

WO 95/4410 Headquarters Railway Operating Division Royal Engineers 1917 Mar. - 1918 Feb.

WO 95/4410 53 Railway Company Royal Engineers 1916 July - 1917 Mar.

WO 95/4410 115 Railway Company Royal Engineers 1915 Dec. - 1917 Dec.

WO 95/4410 116 Railway Company Royal Engineers 1916 Feb. - 1918 Feb.

WO 95/4410 265 Railway Company Royal Engineers 1917 Sept. - 1918 Feb.

WO 95/4410 266 Railway Company Royal Engineers 1917 July - 1918 Feb.

WO 95/4410 274 Railway Company Royal Engineers 1916 Sept. - 1917 Feb.

WO 95/4410 96 Light Railway Operating Company Royal Engineers 1917 Dec. - 1918 Feb.

You will note that the diary you want only seems to cover six months but the last entry should indicate what happened to it. I don't think these diaries are available online though if you visit the Kew website, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk you may be able to order a copy online. Be sure to specify the unit and dates you want, though, as it can be expensive!

In addition to the book mentioned by Michael, History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Volume VI edited by H L Pritchard and published at Chatham in the early 1950s covers the RE's activities in that theatre.

Good hunting!

Ron

[michaeldr]

WO 95/4410 274 Railway Company Royal Engineers 1916 Sept. - 1917 Feb.

Thanks Ron; that sorts out the problem of why 274 Railway Company RE are not mentioned in 'The Advance etc etc etc'

which only covers the Allenby period ie from July 1917

regards

Michael

[chriscol]

Thanks, both, for the advice and recommendations - they are much appreciated! I'll let you know what I find out.

Many thanks.

[chriscol]

I went to TNA today to look at the war diaries. It seems the 53rd, 274th and 276th Railway Companies were absorbed into the Railway Operating Division EEF, as of 12th March 1917.

The earlier diaries, detailing the 274th's embarkation at Southampton and arrival at Kantara, were pretty interesting - as were the later ROD diaries dealing with demobilisation. Some of the stuff in between, though, was pretty terse! Still, it's all good to know, and should provide a useful framework for trying to find out more.