The 1st Gloucestershire Engineer Volunteer Corps was a

Volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

unit of Britain's

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, serving from 1861 to 1908. A detachment of the unit served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Although the unit itself did not transfer to the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

in 1908, several descendant units did so, deriving their seniority from the 1st Gloucesters.

History

The enthusiasm for the

Volunteer movement The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

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 The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in time of need. Two such units were the 1st Gloucestershire Engineer Volunteer Corps (EVC) formed at

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

on 28 January 1861, and the 2nd Gloucestershire EVC formed at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

on 10 April 1861 by employees of the

Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with ...

. Administratively, the 1st Gloucester EVC was attached to the

1st Administrative Battalion, Gloucestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

(later the

5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash th ...

) and the 2nd EVC was attached to the 1st Gloucestershire Artillery Volunteers. However, in July 1867 they were both included in a new 1st Administrative Battalion of Gloucestershire Engineer Volunteers, with its headquarters at Bristol. The Administrative Battalion also included the 1st Somersetshire EVC when that was formed the following year, and the 1st Devonshire EVC joined in 1869.Westlake, pp. 7–8, 13, 15–6.

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

James Henry Dowling of the Royal Glamorgan Militia was appointed to command the 1st Gloucester EVC on 11 July 1861, and was promoted to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

to command the 1st Admin Bn on 28 May 1870. With the reorganisation of the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

in 1880, the Gloucestershire Admin Bn was consolidated as the 1st Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Somerset and Devon) EVC, with the 1st Devon providing E Company at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

and F Company at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, and the 1st Somerset providing G and H Companies at

Nailsea Nailsea is a town in Somerset, England, southwest of Bristol, and northeast of Weston-super-Mare. The nearest village is Backwell, which lies south of Nailsea on the opposite side of the Bristol to Exeter railway line. Nailsea had a populatio ...

and I Company at

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

. However, in 1881 the 2nd Gloucestershire left the battalion and became an independent unit once more, as the 2nd Gloucestershire (The Bristol) EVC. When

Lt-Gen Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star rank, three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in ...

Sir Andrew Clarke, Inspector-General of Fortifications 1882–6, did not have enough Regular

(RE) to man the fixed mines being installed to defend British seaports, he utilised the

Engineers for this task. After successful trials the system was rolled out to ports around the country. In 1885 the 1st Gloucestershire Engineers formed a submarine mining company at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

to cover the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...

. The EVC titles were abandoned in 1888, when the unit's title became 1st Gloucestershire (The Western Counties) Engineer Volunteers, Royal Engineers.Westlake, p. 3.''Army List'', various dates. ''London Gazette'', 13 July 1888.
/ref> At the same time the submarine miners were constituted into a separate branch of the RE Volunteers, and the Cardiff company became independent as the Severn Division Submarine Miners.Glamorgan Fortress Engineers at Regiments.org.
/ref> In July 1889 the 1st Gloucesters moved their HQ to

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, and at the same time the Devon and Somerset companies were removed and constituted as a separate 1st Devonshire and Somersetshire Engineer Volunteers, with its HQ at

. All the Engineer Volunteers' titles were changed to simply 'Royal Engineers (Volunteers)' in 1896. The

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

Cadet Corps was attached to the unit. The 1st Gloucestershire RE (V) sent a detachment to assist the regular REs during the

in 1901.

Territorial Force

When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new

(TF) in 1908, only F Company of the 1st Gloucester RE (V) transferred to the new organisation, becoming the Gloucester and Worcester Brigade Company of the Army Service Corps in the South Midland Division Transport and Supply Column.

Post 1947

Two units of the post-1947 Territorial Army derived their seniority from the formation of the 1st Gloucestershire EVC in 1861: 108 Field Engineer Regiment at

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and 109 Construction Regiment, RE, at Cardiff, both descended in part from the Severn Division Submarine Miners.

Honorary Colonel

The following officers served as Honorary Colonel of the unit: * Lt-Col

Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort KG, PC, DL (1 February 1824 – 30 April 1899), styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1835 and Marquess of Worcester from 1835 to 1853, was a British peer, soldier, and Conservative Party politic ...

, of the Gloucestershire Yeomanry, appointed (to 1st Admin Battalion) 20 November 1867, resigned 2 January 1888 *

Gen Gen may refer to: * ''Gen'' (film), 2006 Turkish horror film directed by Togan Gökbakar * Gen (Street Fighter), a video game character from the ''Street Fighter'' series * Gen Fu, a video game character from the ''Dead or Alive'' series * Gen l ...

Sir John Lintorn Simmons, GCB,

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

, appointed 14 July 1888''London Gazette'', 13 July 1888.
/ref> * Gen Sir

Charles Warren General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...

, GCMG, KCB, RE, appointed 23 November 1901

Notes

{{reflist, 2

References

* Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0 85936 271 X. * Col Sir Charles M. Watson, ''History of the Corps of Royal Engineers'', Vol III, Chatham: Institution of Royal Engineers, reprint 1954. * R.A. Westlake, ''Royal Engineers (Volunteers) 1859–1908'', Wembley: R.A. Westlake, 1983, ISBN 0-9508530-0-3. * Lt-Col Michael Young, ''Army Service Corps 1902–1918'', Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 2000, ISBN 0-85052-730-9.

External sources

British Army units from 1945 on

Engineer Volunteer Corps of the British Army Military units and formations in Gloucestershire Military units and formations in Gloucester Military units and formations in Cheltenham Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1908