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Remembered Today:

Engineer & Railway Volunteer Staff Corps


geordie809

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I am currently researching the early history of Movement Control, which can trace its roots back to the Railway Transport Establishment (RTE) and previous to that the Engineer & Railway Volunteer Staff Corps, Some pals have passed on some info on the RTE and I have obtained some references in the PROCAT but have drawn a blank on the Engineer & Railway Staff Co, can anyone poit me in the right direction or seen any references to them

many thanks

Mick

p.s

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Hi Mick

Did you get a copy of All Rank & No File, the history of the Engineer & Railway Staff Corps? Abebooks has a few copies.

Regards

Simon

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There are about 6-8 pages dedicated to the Canadian Railway Troops in the following online document ... pp 458-464

Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War

- Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919, Colonel G. W. L. Nicholson, C.D., Army Historical Section

This is the classic reference text [the Bible] for any student of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The original text is very difficult to obtain, however, the document is now available in .pdf format directly from the historical section of the Canadian Armed Forces website. [Note: The pagination in the online document is different than the original document - therefore citations with page number references cannot be used.]

http://www.forces.gc.ca/hr/dhh/downloads/O...ories/CEF_e.PDF

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Mick

I have a copy of "All Rank and No File." You may also be interested in "Citizen Soldiers of The Royal Engineers Transport and Movements and The Royal Army Service Corps, 1859 to 1965." Colonel G Williams. Published by The Institution of The Royal Corps of Transport.

Terry Reeves

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Thanks All, that is fantastic, im off to the PRO on thursday so Ill nip into the library and dig out all rank and no file, as for the citizen soldier, im awaitng a copy any day now, so i now have plenty of reading matter and I will down load the ref to the Canuks railways.

You have all helped me no end once again, I only hope I will be able to repay you all

Mick

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Sir Sam Fay, who rose during the war to become the Director General Movements and Railways with a seat on the Army Council, was a pre-1914 member of the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps and makes mention of his time in it in his The War Office at War (Hutchinson, London, 1937).

Charles M

PS Having tried to remain innocent and fresh faced I fear that I have now become an Old Sweat through this post.

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Mick, The prewar strength of the Engineer & Railway Staff Corps is given in WO 114/114, the TF strength returns for 1 July 1908 to 1 July 1914. The only two quarters for which I have the returns for this unit are as follows:

1 Oct 1912 - est 60, strength 53

1 July 1914 - est 60, strength 64

Charles

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Hello Mick,

Please find a short lineage of the Engineer and Railway Volunteer Staff Corps here:

The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps RE (V)

Founded 1865, first commissions 21 Jan. 1865, as Engineer and Railway Volunteer Staff Corps (Engineer and Railway Transport Volunteers) as a volunteer officer corps consisting of railway managers and civil engineers to plan and coordinate railway movement of troops for domestic defence; the corps' HQ was at Westminster. Assigned 1 Apr. 1908 to TF in Royal Engineers as Engineer and Railway Staff Corps; establishment in 1908 was 110 officers, reduced later to 60 officers; specialists in road, railway or port design and construction added later. Assigned to TAVR IV 1 Apr. 1967. In 1972 trades expanded to include experts in the fields of airport design and construction, electrical and mechanical services, petrol and oil engineering, geology and soil mechanics, water and sewerage. Redes 1984 as Engineer and Transport Staff Corps RE (V). Redes 1993 as The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps RE (V).

To add to Charles' statistics:

1 November 1907: est 110, strength 49

1 Oct. 1909: est 60, strength 54

1 Oct. 1910: est 60, strenth 53

1 OCt. 1911: est 60, strenth 55

1 Oct. 1913: est 60, strenth 55

regards to all

Wienand

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Mick,

you might also want to track down

AUTHOR..... Sinclair, G. B.

TITLE...... The Staff Corps: the history of the Engineer and Logistic

Staff Corps RE / G B Sinclair

PUBLISHER.. Chatham: Royal Engineers Museum

PUBL DATE.. 2001

Jock

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Once again thanks for that extra information, I am due to fly to the falklands in the next week so I have plenty to keep me busy during the flight, you have all been very helpful

Cheers all

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