Haywired Posted 21 June , 2019 Share Posted 21 June , 2019 I'm sure that this topic will have been raised before, but I have not been able to pin it down. I have been looking at some Royal Engineer Road Construction Companies on the Western Front. In some cases, men are ranked as Pioneers, while others are ranked as Sappers. Can anybody enlighten me on this distinction, please? Additionally, while many of the men towards the end of the war have the standard six digit service number, others have a 'WR' prefix to a five digit number - any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 22 June , 2019 Share Posted 22 June , 2019 (edited) To be given the rank and higher pay of Sapper, the man must pass a test of his proficiency in a required trade skill (examples being carpentry, brick laying, electric work, machine shop, telegraphy). The WR prefix was given to men serving in the RE's Waterways and Railways departments. Not sure if this will be of any help to you, but I have a page on the Road Construction Companies that I add to whenever come across a snippet of detail. https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-corps-of-royal-engineers-in-the-first-world-war/road-construction-companies-of-the-royal-engineers/ Edited 22 June , 2019 by Chris_Baker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 22 June , 2019 Share Posted 22 June , 2019 (edited) On 21/06/2019 at 22:06, Haywired said: I'm sure that this topic will have been raised before, but I have not been able to pin it down. I have been looking at some Royal Engineer Road Construction Companies on the Western Front. In some cases, men are ranked as Pioneers, while others are ranked as Sappers. Can anybody enlighten me on this distinction, please? Additionally, while many of the men towards the end of the war have the standard six digit service number, others have a 'WR' prefix to a five digit number - any thoughts? The change to WR pre-fixes came about as part of the the Geddes reforms of 1917. As part of these reforms railway, inland water transport and road construction personnel were grouped together under the title Transportation Troops. It was this group of men who received had their numbers changed to WR pre-fixed numbers, men joining this group after March 1918 also received them. TR Edited 23 June , 2019 by Terry_Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywired Posted 25 June , 2019 Author Share Posted 25 June , 2019 Chris/Terry, Thank you for your informative replies. In passing, was there any particular reason for identifying the men in these units in this way? Chris, thank you for the Link. I had already looked at it. Needless to say, my man was in 342 Road Construction Company, for which you have no info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted 25 June , 2019 Share Posted 25 June , 2019 Hi, 1 hour ago, Haywired said: ...my man was in 342 Road Construction Company... The RE Museum has a 'summary' diary for a short period. It may have very little detail though. Image sourced from the RE Museum Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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