Royal Engineers - Which Unit?

[richredwood]

Hi there,

I'm hoping for some help please ascertaining what Unit my great grandfather served in during WW1.

His name was Henry Augustus Allen, born in 1886 in Croydon.

I have an entry for him in the Surrey Recruitment Registers, when he volunteered in Jan 1915. His place of attestation is given as Norwood. The regiment is given simply as the Royal Engineers.
His service number was: 63957.
I cannot find his service record, though do have his medal rolls card and his Silver Star, Victory Medal, and British War Medal rolls.

I was told that he was at Passchendaele if maybe that can assist in narrowing the options.

Thanks for any advice or help.

Richard








Richard

[Andy J2022]

As you are  probably aware, the Royal Engineers had a variety of roles and were a huge corps in the First War, numbering nearly 300,000 in around 1917. These roles include a number of specialists which might have been the reason he was with the forward troops at Passchendaele in 1917, including signaller, anti-gas warfare specialist, tunneller and so on. But the RE could also be employed as infantry if required.
The Royal Engineers motto is Ubique*, usually translated as 'everywhere' which is a pretty good description of their activities. Lots more about the Royal Engineers in WW1 here: the Long, Long Trail.


*The Royal Artillery have the same motto, but the standard joke in the Army is that in their case it means 'all over the place', referring to where their shells land.

[Jebber]

 I see he was a carpenter and joiner in civilian life. Unfortunately his service records are almost certainly amongst those lost in a fire in WW2. This is a problem faced by many of trying to research the military service of an ancestor.

[richredwood]

Yes. And as a carpenter/joiner, I'm guessing that with such a universal trade he could have been in any one of the different types of RE units ...