Railway Engineers

[Guest Ian R Wallis]

My grandfather was always believed to have served in The Buffs during the war (WW1) but although I ghave photos of him in their uniform, I have others which seem to show him in the Royal Engineers. As he worked for Southern Railways as a linesman, it seems highly likely he was transferred to the Engineers as some point. Unfortunately his service history was among those documents destroyed and as he survived the war but died before I was born, I've found very little information about him.

Can anyone recommend a source of information on the railway Engineers? Is it worth consulting the Buffs war diary, assuming I could find out his batt., to see if it lists transfers? And would Southern Railway documents help track staff war service? My grandfather lived his entire adult life in Cheriton, near Folkestone and was responsible for the some of the line nearby.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

[Guest Charlton]

There is very little available on the RE units engaged in this kind of work, and one book that was written in the 1960s!! (Mind you, it is good, by Davies a real enthusiast for light railways in particular). On the MIC list you should be able to get a Royal Engineers number, which will probably begin with "WR" which was waterways and railways. It could be that your relative worked in France or Flanders, and if so he might well have been transferred from his previous regiment around early-mid 1917 when there was a general reorganisation associated with the increasing scale of British army warfare.

It could also be that he was working in the ports, either in southern England or perhaps Boulogne or Le Havre. There was also a big training depot in Hampshire at Longmoor army camp. The key might be to see if you can get any info on what type of railway he was involved in, either standard or narrow guage.

Charlton

[Stebie9173]

Have you tried finding him on the Medal Index Cards:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...y=*&queryType=1

Steve.

[KONDOA]

Ian,

It is likely that your man was in the Rail Construction Companies RE rather than driving trains etc. Medal Index Card is a must to ID the right man.

Roop

[Stephen Nulty]

Ian

If you PM me your email address, I can send you a scanned copy of a book on the work done by railway troops in the war.

[Guest Ian R Wallis]

Sorry - in my haste I didn't make myself too clear. I have a copy of the MIC already which relates:

RE Sapper 289012

do WR/280978

Which meant little to me except that he'd had two numbers as an Engineer. I presume from the posts above that the WR in the second number means he was a Railway Engineer (which is what I didn't know so thats good) but the record thus suggests to me that he transferred from the regular Engineers. Here I get a bit out of my depth. I've seen pictures of him at camp in a Buffs uniform, or what I identified from the cap badge as a Buffs uniform. On his arm is a 'marksman' badge which I doubt a sapper would possess. Would that number exist on his MIC and does its absence suggest he was never in the Buffs?

I know from a cousin he spent time at Longmoor but my Mum was adamant he served at the front (which I take to mean France, not necessarily 'the Front') and certainly we have lots of WW1 artefacts which would suggest he was in France.

Thanks for the information about the book, I'll see if the N&M bookshop has any copies.

[Terry_Reeves]

Ian

He could have easily served "at the front" as a member of the Railway Operating Division. There are a number of possibilities: with a standard guage or lihgt railway company, as member of a railway construction unit as mentioned above or even in a wagon erecting company to name but a few.

Most men allocated to Inland Water Transport,, Docks, Railways and a number of road construction units had WR prefixes. There was a renumbering of soldiers in these units in 1917 when the WR prfix was added, hence the reason for two numbers.

Hennikers "Transportation on the Western Front" part of the Official History series, will give you a broad outline of the type of work involved.

Terry Reeves

[Guest Ian R Wallis]

I now at least know that he had service presumably pre-1917 in order to qualify for a number change. Thanks for all the help.