Barry Hayter Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 Can anybody explain what this word means in military terms and why it appears associated to the Royal Engineers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 It means 'Everywhere' and reflects the fact that the RE are always present in any conflict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 It is the motto of both the Royal Artillery and Engineers and means "Everywhere" Andy Curses, Terry got there before me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Hayter Posted 17 February , 2006 Author Share Posted 17 February , 2006 Excellent ... thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob B Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 And from the Infantry angle, Ubique for the Royal Artillery can mean: Every where but the target, or in the case of the Royal Field Artillery " Miss one Field hit another" Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Jones Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 The single word Ubique replaces battle honours for the Artillery and Engineers. The full motto is ‘Ubique Quo fas et Gloria ducunt’ although over time it has been separated into two. ‘Quo fas et Gloria ducunt’ is usually translated as ‘Where right and glory lead’ but I have heard it interpreted by Sappers as ‘Anytime, anyplace, anywhere.’ Regards Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domsim Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 I like Kipling's explanation (strictly RA): Ubique Royal Artillery By Rudyard Kipling There is a word you often see, pronounce it as you may-- "You bike,""you bykwee," "ubbikwe"--alludin' to R.A. It serves 'Orse, Field, an' Garrison as motto for a crest; An' when you've found out all it means I'll tell you 'alf the rest. Ubique means the long-range Krupp be'ind the low-range 'ill-- Ubique means you'll pick it up an', while you do, stand still. Ubique means you've caught the flash an' timed it by the sound. Ubique means five gunners' 'ash before you've loosed a round. Ubique means Blue Fuse, an' make the 'ole to sink the trail. Ubique means stand up an' take the Mauser's 'alf-mile 'ail. Ubique means the crazy team not God nor man can 'old. Ubique means that 'orse's scream which turns your innards cold! Ubique means "Bank, 'Olborn, Bank - a penny all the way" - The soothin', jingle-bump-an'-clank from day to peaceful day. Ubique means "They've caught De Wet, an' now we shan't be long." Ubique means "I much regret, the beggar's goin' strong!" Ubique means the tearin' drift where, breech-blocks jammed with mud, The khaki muzzles duck an' lift across the khaki flood. Ubique means the dancing plain that changes rocks to Boers. Ubique means mirage again an' shellin' all outdoors. Ubique means "Entrain at once for Grootdefeatfontein." Ubique means "Off-load your guns" - at midnight in the rain! Ubique means "More mounted men. Return all guns to store." Ubique means the R.A.M.R. Infantillery Corps. Ubique means that warnin' grunt the perished linesman knows, When o'er 'is strung an' sufferin' front the shrapnel sprays 'is foes; An' as their firin' dies away the 'usky whisper runs From lips that 'aven't drunk all day: "The Guns! Thank Gawd, the Guns!" Extreme, depressed, point-blank or short, end-first or any'ow, From Colesberg Kop to Quagga's Poort - from Ninety-Nine till now - By what I've 'eard the others tell an' I in spots 'ave seen, There's nothin' this side 'Eaven or 'Ell Ubique doesn't mean! Cracking! Cheers Dominic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 Out of interest, both the RE and RA were awarded the motto at the same time, in July 1832. Until 1868, the RE Corps badge used to contain a cannon to show its association with the Board of Ordnance which both originaly came under. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 Whereas the motto of the Royal Artillery is "Ubique" followed by "Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt", surely the Royal Engineers also had "Ubique", but followed by "Hoi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense"?? Graham. Oop's ignore did have the same motto as the artillery, instituted in 1832. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pte1643 Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 It means 'Everywhere' and reflects the fact that the RE are always present in any conflict. Or the Light Hearted version, for "Everywhere" read... "All Over the Bleedin' Place". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest C729LEE Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 As in: UBIQUITOUS - TO BE FOUND EVERYWHERE. There was an acronym for Ubique when I was in the RA/RHA - but it slips my mind. Just as well really, because it was a tad on the rude side. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 17 February , 2006 Share Posted 17 February , 2006 I like Kipling's explanation (strictly RA): Cracking! So it is, Dominic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roy litchfield Posted 18 February , 2006 Share Posted 18 February , 2006 I have an old Burma Star chum, ex. Royal Signals who always affectionally refers to his Royal Artillery friends as "Nine mile snipers." BW Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeppoSapone Posted 18 February , 2006 Share Posted 18 February , 2006 I have an old Burma Star chum, ex. Royal Signals who always affectionally refers to his Royal Artillery friends as "Nine mile snipers." BW Roy Reminds me of something I read years ago, when reading up on Imphal and Kohima, trying to find an incident that I mentioned in another thread. Members of heavier units of the Royal Artillery trying to upset members of the same Corps armed with lighter cannon: "You call that a gun? It's a bloody cap badge!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Hayter Posted 18 February , 2006 Author Share Posted 18 February , 2006 Thanks all, that makes perfect sense. GGFather was said to have been involved in setting up the Ubique Coach Company after WW1 and as an ex Royal Engineer that would all add up. No I just need to find some info on the Coach Company!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeppoSapone Posted 18 February , 2006 Share Posted 18 February , 2006 Thanks all, that makes perfect sense. GGFather was said to have been involved in setting up the Ubique Coach Company after WW1 and as an ex Royal Engineer that would all add up. No I just need to find some info on the Coach Company!!! Believe it or not, last night I was reading about what it was like to grow up in the 1950s and 1960s. I came across a passing reference to the 'Ubique Coach Company'. This stuck in my mind. Luckily I bookmarked the site to send to my sister, as I remember a lot of what he is writing about. The site is: http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/memories/.../snippets32.htm Search the site and you will find: "We lived very close to the 'Ubique Coach Company' and every Sunday my parents (who knew one of the coach drivers) would take me to the seaside. Sometimes Southend, Margate, Seasalter or Brighton and sometimes a 'Mystery Tour' - usually to one of the aforementioned places!" Interestingly enough, soon after WW1 some former members of 4th Royal Sussex started up a cinema in Horsham. They named it after a cloth badge they had worn whilst in the army. IIRC it was the "Blue Flash Cinema". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Hayter Posted 18 February , 2006 Author Share Posted 18 February , 2006 Won't believe it ... but I was reading the very same site \ account only the other day too! Frustratingly it didn't give any further information. I'll have a trawl around the www and see if their is a "bus enthusiasts" site and post a question there Doubt they'll be as helpful and friendly as this site but we'll see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeppoSapone Posted 18 February , 2006 Share Posted 18 February , 2006 Won't believe it ... but I was reading the very same site \ account only the other day too! Frustratingly it didn't give any further information. I'll have a trawl around the www and see if their is a "bus enthusiasts" site and post a question there Doubt they'll be as helpful and friendly as this site but we'll see! Well, you know that the author lived in Paddington in the 1950s, so the firm lasted thirty odd years, at least. You also know where to start looking in terms of geography. Try ringing the local reference library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahoehler Posted 27 March , 2006 Share Posted 27 March , 2006 Guys King William IV had in 1833, awarded "Ubique" and “Quo fas et gloria ducunt” only to the artillery as a substitute for all past and future battle honours (the whole badge bearing BOTH of these as the battle honour). As an ex-sapper I am naturally pained that "Ubique" means only that ie "everywhere" and is not a Battle Honour. Thanks Carl Hoehler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 1 April , 2006 Share Posted 1 April , 2006 For the same reason the Royal Marines were given the Globe in place of Battle Honours in 1827. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 1 April , 2006 Share Posted 1 April , 2006 Having been to the RE Museum Ubique = been there, done that, who needs a tee shirt? After Firepower Ubique = dedicated to a bigger bang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 1 April , 2006 Share Posted 1 April , 2006 Guys As an ex-sapper I am naturally pained that "Ubique" means only that ie "everywhere" and is not a Battle Honour. Thanks Carl Hoehler But if you could put just one on a RE capbadge (as most regiments do) which one would you choose? Phil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen7 Posted 6 April , 2006 Share Posted 6 April , 2006 As in: UBIQUITOUS - TO BE FOUND EVERYWHERE. There was an acronym for Ubique when I was in the RA/RHA - but it slips my mind. Just as well really, because it was a tad on the rude side. Lee deep in my mind i seem to remember an acronym from my ra days, but like you said not for public publication. steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lone piper Posted 22 May , 2006 Share Posted 22 May , 2006 Can anybody explain what this word means in military terms and why it appears associated to the Royal Engineers? EVERYWHERE Yes that describes The Royal Engineers to a tee. November 2003 found this 70 year old ex Royal Marine stranded on the Iraq/Kuwait border. Despite more than a bit of diplomatic wrangling by the Foreign Office, I managed to by pass the paperwork and there I was. No visa and my only weapon my bagpipes. What next? How could I get me and my pipes to The Basra Memorial for Remebrance Sunday. After the initial shock of finding a geriatric Scouse sitting having a coke on the border, the RE listening to my story they told me thay could not 'help'. I was told that I could not sit in the extra seat that had been put in the Landrover. I was later told that the RE could not supply me with accomodation - not even the spare bunk in the canteen. The young officer who passed asked me if I minded him leaving his sleeping bag on the bottom of my bunk until morning. The following morning a nice young lady soldier asked me if I could carry her bag to the canteen. It did not look heavy but I got the hint. Before the convoy set off for The Basra Memorial I was asked to help load some supplies into a wagon then told to make sure they did not fall off when the truck got moving. I was a wee bit suprised when the occupants of the truck (including me) were instructed to get out and carry out a 'vehicle evacuation drill'. It had been over 50 years since I last did that. It hadn't changed. 500 troops stood at The Basra Memorial and I was 'nudged' to a position beside 'the brass'. I placed my wreath with the rest and stood by whilst the parade dismissed. I was a bit reluctant to speak to anyone although several of 'the brass' gave me a bit of a nod. My fears at getting anyone into trouble were solved when a civvy engineer took over and we joined a convoy back to the border. Yes the word IBIQUE described the actions of the RE to a tee. Thanks p.s When I shook hands with 'Mr Foster' it was the best pint I ever had but that's another story .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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