The Tower Hamlets Engineers was a Volunteer unit of the British Royal Engineers (RE) based in East London. Raised in 1868, it provided engineers for two London infantry divisions of the Territorial Force during World War I. In World War II, it operated as an RE headquarters, particularly on D-Day and at the Rhine Crossing, while its subordinate companies served in a number of campaigns, including the Siege of Tobruk and with the Chindits. Its successor unit continues to serve in today's Army Reserve.
The unit took its name from the historic Tower Hamlets (or Tower Division), rather than the smaller modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets created in 1965.
Origin The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett. One such unit was the 1st Tower Hamlets Engineer Volunteer Corps (EVC) formed at Cannon Street Road, Whitechapel, in the Tower Hamlets district of East London. The first officers' commissions were issued on 20 June 1861.Beckett, Appendix IX.Westlake, p. 14.1st London Engineers at Regiments.org Administratively, the unit was attached to the 1st Middlesex EVC in 1863. In 1865, it moved to a new HQ at Gretton Place, Victoria Park Square, in Bethnal Green. However, the London Gazette for 9 October 1868 announced the disbandment of the 1st Tower Hamlets EVC and simultaneously the formation of a new 2nd Tower Hamlets (East London) Engineer Volunteers. The officers' commissions for the new unit had been issued on 3 October, and by November the former members of the 1st Corps had been absorbed into the new unit, which also used the Gretton Place headquarters.London Gazette, 9 October 1868.Quarterly Army List.
By 1872, the unit consisted of six companies. It was also administratively responsible for the 1st Hampshire (1870–81) and 1st Northamptonshire (1872–1901) EVCs and for the Cadet Corps at Bedford Grammar School (1888–1900). By 1876, it had moved its HQ the short distance to the barracks of the Queen's Own Royal Tower Hamlets Militia Light Infantry (later 5th Battalion, Rifle Brigade) in Victoria Park Square.Barnes, Appendices II & III.Victoria County History at British History Online.
The EVC titles were abandoned in 1888, when the units became 'Engineer Volunteers, Royal Engineers', proclaiming their affiliation to the Regular Royal Engineers (RE), and then simply 'Royal Engineers (Volunteers)' in 1896. The Tower Hamlets unit was renamed the East London (Tower Hamlets) RE (V) in September 1900.Westlake, pp. 3 & 14. From 1890 until his death in 1903, the commanding officer was Colonel William Whetherly, VD.Whetherly's VD was awarded in 1901 (London Gazette, 5 March 1901). He built a house at 31 Egerton Gardens, Kensington (Survey of London) and when he died in 1903, he was buried at Brompton Cemetery .
In 1896, the unit built a new drill hall at Victoria Park Square, next door to the Tower Hamlets Militia Barracks. It became a popular venue for boxing matches in the 1930s. The unit continued to occupy the drill hall into the 1960s. Today ,the site is occupied by a police station built in 1997.Bethnal Green Drill Hall at Greater London Volunteer TributeLondon Ex-Boxers Association.Boxing History.Cherry, O'Brien & Pevsner, p. 369.
The unit sent a detachment of one officer and 25 other ranks to South Africa in 1900 to assist the regular REs during the Second Boer War; a second detachment went out the following year. Seven of the volunteers died on campaign (see Memorials below).Watson, pp. 42–3.
The eminent surgeon John Thomson-Walker (later knighted) was Surgeon-Lieutenant in the East London (Tower Hamlets) RE (V) from 1902.London Gazette, 15 April 1902.
Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force in 1908 under the Haldane Reforms, the East London (Tower Hamlets) formed the 1st and 2nd London Field Companies RE in 1st London Division, while the 1st Middlesex RE (V) formed the 3rd and 4th London Field Companies for 2nd London Division. (The infantry of the two London divisions were entirely composed of battalions of the London Regiment.)Watson & Rinaldi, p. 11.Westlake, pp. 11 & 14.London Gazette, 20 March 1908.Corps of Royal Engineers at Stepping Forward. In 1908, the plan had been for the London Electrical Engineers to provide the 1st London Divisional Telegraph Company, RE, but this arrangement was changed by 1910, and the Tower Hamlets RE provided this company as well.London Gazette, 14 October 1910.Lord & Watson, pp. 168–9.Lord & Watson, p. 184.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 141–7. The commanding officer became the Commanding Royal Engineer (CRE) of 1st London Division. By the outbreak of World War I, the divisional engineers had the following organisation:Monthly Army List, August 1914.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 36 & 66.
1st London Divisional Engineers CRE: Lt-Col G.W. Walters, TD 1st London Field Company, RE, Bethnal Green 2nd London Field Company, RE, Bethnal Green 1st London Signal Company, RE HQ and No 1 Section, Bethnal Green No 2 (1st London) Section, attached 1st London Brigade No 3 (2nd London) Section, attached 2nd London Brigade No 4 (3rd London) Section, attached 3rd London Brigade
World War I
Mobilisation The 1st London Division left by railway from Waterloo station on Sunday 2 August for its annual training camp, which was to be held at Wareham, Dorset. No sooner had it reached camp than it received orders to return to London for mobilisation. This process had been carefully planned so that, before war was declared on 4 August, the units were already at their war stations, such as guarding vital railway lines, while the rear details at the drill halls completed mobilisation and began recruiting.Grey, pp. 1–6.Grimwade, pp. 2–5.Keeson, pp. 1–4.London Rgt at Long, Long Trail
On 15 August, the TF was ordered to separate men who had volunteered for overseas service from the Home Service men, and on 31 August it was authorised to begin forming Reserve or 2nd Line units composed of Home Service men and recruits. These were distinguished by the prefix '2/'. Later, the 2nd Line were made ready for overseas service and new Reserve or 3rd Line units were formed to continue to process of training.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6. The 1st London Reserve Field Company was later numbered 516th Company before being absorbed into the central training organisation.Discussion of RE TF units at Great War Forum. An additional 1st Line company, the 1/5th, was also raised in September 1914, and joined the 2nd Line companies in 2/1st London Division on 16 November 1915.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 62.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 9–15.
On 4 September, the 1st London Bde, with its attached Signal Section, embarked for Malta, to relieve the Regular Army Garrison there. These were the first TF units to go on service overseas.Grey, pp. 6–7.Grimwade, pp. 5–7, 14. During the autumn of 1914, 1st London Division was progressively broken up to provide reinforcements for formations serving overseas.
1/1st London Field Company
1/1st London Field Company joined the Regular 6th Division in France on 23 December 1914 and remained with that formation throughout the war. When RE field companies were renumbered on 1 February 1917, it became 509th (London) Field Company.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 73–9.
1/2nd London Field Company In January 1915, 1/2nd London Field Company, followed in February by the Signal section from Malta, joined the 29th Division, formed from Regular troops returned from the Empire. They remained with it throughout the war, serving at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. The field company became 510th (London) Field Company in February 1917.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 117–24.
When the Germans counter-attacked at Cambrai on 30 November 1917 and threatened to break through, capturing one of 29th Division's field companies, the divisional Commander, RE, Lt-Col H. Biddulph, organised the others to support the infantry. He gathered 510th Fd Co and the divisional pioneers (1/2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment) to form an improvised defence line, brought up ammunition for them, and finally handed them over to an infantry brigadier. 29th Division was finally relieved on the night of 3 December.Anon RE History, Vol V pp. 331–2.Miles, 1917, Vol III, pp. 187, 192.
56th Divisional Engineers 2/1st and 2/2nd London Field Companies and 2/1st London Signal Company served at home with 58th (2/1st London) Division until February 1916, when they left to join 1st London Division (now numbered 56th (1/1st London) Division), which was reforming in France. The signal company was numbered 56th (1st London) Divisional Signals and, from February 1917, the field companies were numbered 512th and 513th (London) Field Companies.Ward, Appendix.Martin, Appendix 1. Once in France, they were joined by 1/1st Edinburgh Field Company (later 416th (Edinburgh) Field Company), just returned from Egypt, which was attached to 169th (1/3rd London) Brigade.Edmonds, p. 462.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 58 & 69.
Gommecourt 56th Division's first major operation was the attack on the Gommecourt Salient on 1 July 1916. This was a diversionary attack to support the start of the main offensive on the Somme. The obvious problem was the width of No man's land in front of the division: the troops would have to cross 700 yards to reach the enemy front line. The divisional commander decided to dig a new jumping-off trench 400 yards closer to the enemy. This was done at night under conditions of extreme secrecy, with half of 2/2nd London Field Co engaged in marking out the new line on 25/26 May, and it was dug under their supervision by 167th (1st London) Bde and the pioneer battalion (1/5th Battalion Cheshire Regiment) the following night.Ward, pp. 19–24.MacDonald, pp. 92–107.Middlebrook, p. 82.
The night before the attack, battalion scouts from 1/14th Londons (the London Scottish), the right-hand battalion, found that the wire in their front had not been adequately cut by the British bombardment. With the help of two men from 2/1st Field Co, the London Scottish successfully exploded two Bangalore torpedoes to clear lanes through the wire.MacDonald, p. 252.Edmonds, pp. 462–4.
For the attack on 1 July, 56th Divisional Engineers had No 2 Company of 5th Battalion, Special Brigade, RE, attached to provide a smokescreen using 4 inch Stokes Mortars and smoke candles. E Section with 12 mortars was attached to 169th (3rd London) Bde, G Section with 8 mortars supported 168th (2nd London) Bde. The company began firing smoke bombs into the German line and lit its candles at 07.20, which provided a smokescreen across the division's attacking front before the artillery barrage lifted and the infantry went 'over the top' at 07.30.MacDonald, p. 262.Ward, pp. 37–9. The smoke cloud slowly thinned, but it lingered for 45 minutes in the hollow in front of Gommecourt village and Nameless Farm, and on the far right No 20 Sub-section continued firing smoke bombs for 65 minutes. But the mortar positions at the heads of the British communication trenches were prime targets for the German artillery, and several mortar crews became casualties. No 15 Sub-section was supposed to have taken two mortars over to help 169th Bde, but all but two of the 22-man carrying party were hit in the communication trenches and the sub-section was never able to cross No-man's land.MacDonald, p. 290.
168th Brigade was ordered to capture the first three line of German trenches and establish strongpoints on the flanks and at Nameless Farm; 169th Bde was to capture three lines of trenches, establish strongpoints, and then move on to capture the Quadrilateral strongpoint and meet up with 46th (North Midland) Division on the far side of Gommecourt village. Each attacking brigade had a section of an RE field company and a company of pioneers attached to it.