58 Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
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58 Field Squadron is currently an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit of the Royal Engineers (RE). In its long history its predecessors have fulfilled the roles of artisans, field engineers, chemical warfare specialists, and road builders. They saw active service on the Western Front in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and in the Battle of France and Burma Campaign during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. On two occasions, the unit's
sappers A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing fie ...
were reputed to have repulsed enemy attacks at the point of the bayonet.


Precursor unit

58th Field Company, Royal Engineers, was one of several new RE units formed in early 1900 during 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 South ...
. The company was formed at Chatham, Kent, in May 1900, moved to Salisbury Plain in February 1901 and back to Chatham in October 1903. In January 1905 it moved to Potchefstroom in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, returning to Chatham in April 1909, where it disbanded the following month.''Monthly Army List'', various dates.


World War I

In April 1917 the vacant number was revived for 58th Artizan Works Company, RE, which was one of the first batch of companies of skilled tradesmen formed for work such as building huts and roads. It went to Calais to work on the
Lines of Communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...
of the British Expeditionary Force. It returned to the UK in 1919 and disbanded in 1920.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 97.


Interwar years

In May 1921 the Experimental Company at the Royal Engineers Experimental Station (later Chemical Defence Experimental Station),
Porton Down Porton Down is a science park in Wiltshire, England, just northeast of the village of Porton, near Salisbury. It is home to two British government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl ...
, was redesignated as 58th (Porton) Company, RE. It carried out a wide range of duties relating to experiments in offensive and defensive chemical warfare, and until 1922 was also for responsible for administering 'The Chemical Roster', a group of civilian technicians, many of whom were former members of the Special Brigade, RE, (CW companies) during World War I. The officer commanding from 1919 to 1924 was
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 colo ...
A.E. Kent, a former member of the Special Brigade. In June 1938 the unit was redesignated as 58th (Chemical Defence) Company, RE, and again the following year as 58th (Chemical Warfare) Company, RE.Watson & Rinaldi pp. 154–5.


World War II

After the outbreak of war, additional chemical warfare (CW) companies were raised, beginning with 61 CW Co in December 1939 and 62 CW Co in April 1940. By April 1940, 1st CW Group RE had been formed from 58, 61 and 62 CW Cos, and it joined the new British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France in May 1940. The companies were equipped with large calibre mortars (
Livens Projector The Livens Projector was a simple mortar-like weapon that could throw large drums filled with flammable or toxic chemicals. In the First World War, the Livens Projector became the standard means of delivering gas attacks by the British Army a ...
s developed during World War I) to launch drums of poison gas or
Thermite Thermite () is a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder and metal oxide. When ignited by heat or chemical reaction, thermite undergoes an exothermic reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction. Most varieties are not explosive, but can create brie ...
.Watson & Rinaldi p. 123. In the event, both sides refrained from employing chemical weapons during World War II, and the CW companies never used their weapons in action.


Battle of France

1st CW Group under Lt-Col R.H. Maclaren joined the BEF shortly before the German offensive in the west opened on 10 May. The BEF immediately advanced into Belgium in accordance with 'Plan D'.Ellis, Chapter III.
/ref> However, the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') broke through the Ardennes to the east, forcing the BEF to withdraw again.Ellis, Chapter IV.
/ref> The threat to the BEF's southern flank led to the creation of several ''ad hoc'' forces to protect the flank, and 1st CW Group first acted as field engineers for 'Petreforce' then for 'Polforce', with Lt-Col Maclaren acting as Commanding Royal Engineer (CRE). The RE duties involved demolishing bridges (for which the CW companies had no training) to create a defensible line along the canal from Carvin to St Pol and Watton, This was often in a race with advancing ''Wehrmacht'' troops. No 3 Section of 58 CW Co arrived at two bridges near Blaringen and found enemy troops already in possession of them. The sappers drove off the Germans, reportedly with the bayonet, and then attempted hasty demolitions. At one of the bridges they simply drove a lorry loaded with explosives onto the bridge and detonated it. Pressure from enemy troops prevented the sappers from determining how successful this expedient had been. On 25 May the Germans had penetrated the canal line at various points, and Polforce was disbanded and its units fell back towards the coast.Ellis, Chapter IX.
/ref> By 26 May the BEF was cut off and the decision was made to evacuate through Dunkirk (
Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
). The following day Lt-Col Maclaren and 1st CW Group were put under the orders of the CRE of 44th (Home Counties) Division. This Territorial Army division had fought doggedly, but with its flanks 'in the air' after neighbouring French formations retreated, the divisional commander decided to prepare a fallback position at
Mont des Cats Mont des Cats is a small hill (alt. 164m) near the town of Godewaersvelde, France. Located in the Nord department, its Flemish name is Katsberg. The hill is seat of the Mont des Cats abbey, famous for its cheese produced by monks since 1890. Ato ...
, to be held by the divisional artillery and some companies of the 44th Divisional RE (11 and 209 Field Cos, with 211 Fd Park Co in reserve). The Mont des Cats position was reinforced by 1st CW Group together with 100 Army Fd Co and 216 ArmyTroops Co. The sappers abandoned their transport and began to dig in at 09.00 on 28 May, then deployed as infantry to defend this position. Only the HQ and scattered elements of 44th (HC) Division managed to join them by dawn on 29 May. This rearguard was subjected to intense mortar fire during the morning, then by dive-bombing, but held its position for 30 hours while the rest of the division withdrew. The units were then ordered to withdraw by stages to Dunkirk for embarkation to England.


Burma

Back in the UK, 1st CW Group formed part of the GHQ Reserve in Home Forces. After the outbreak of war with Japan, it was among the reinforcements sent out to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, leaving GHQ Reserve in February–March 1942 and arriving in India on 11 June. The group was sent to
Deolali transit camp Deolali transit camp was a British Army transit camp in Maharashtra, India. Established in 1861, the camp remained in use throughout the time of the British Raj. It served to house soldiers newly arrived in the country and those awaiting ships ...
, but 58 CW Co was detached under the command of Madras District from 6 October to 15 November. It then moved with 1st CW Group to Chittagong, arriving on 24 January 1943. Because chemical weapons had not been used by either side in the first few years of the war, chemical defence became the responsibility of all units and the RE's specialist CW units were converted into badly-needed field engineers. On 1 May 1943, 1st CW Group became HQ
XV Indian Corps The XV Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Indian Army, which was formed in India during the Second World War. It took part in the Burma Campaign and was disbanded after the end of the war. While part of the British Indian Army, it ...
Troops Engineers, with 58 CW Co redesignated as a Field Company. On 11 June the company moved to Ranchi under the CRE XV Corps. In the spring of 1943 a General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) had been established to carry out engineering works and airfield construction in the areas of
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and
Eastern Bengal Eastern Bengal may refer to: * East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British ...
behind the Army's operational area. 58 Field Co was sent up to
Golaghat Golaghat ( ''Gʊlaɡʱat'' ) one of the largest subdivisions of the Indian state of Assam, later elevated to the position of a full–fledged district headquarter on 5 October 1987, is a city and a municipality and the seat of administrative ...
in Assam on 4 July to join this force. By October 1943 GREF had assembled around
Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the f ...
a large number of RE and
Indian Engineers The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is a combat support arm which provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the borders, besides helping the civil ...
(IE) units, military and civil pioneers, and labourers provided by the
Indian Tea Association The Indian Tea Association is a trade association of Indian tea producers. The head office is in Kolkata (Calcutta). History The Association was founded in 1881 to protect the interests of tea planters in British India The province ...
. Their task, as soon as the
Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
rains ended, was to build a two-way all-weather road from Imphal to
Tamu Tamu may refer to: * Texas A&M University or TAMU * Tamu, Myanmar ** Tamu District, Myanmar ** Tamu Township * Ta'mu, rice cooked in woven coconut leaves from the Philippines * Tamu Massif, an inactive underwater volcano in the Pacific * '' Helio ...
and beyond by 1 May 1944, which was the projected date for Fourteenth Army to begin its offensive on the Central Front. On 19 October 58 Fd Co went to
Pallel Pallel is a town in engnoupal district of Manipur, India. It is the gateway to the Tran-Asian super Highway. It is situated in NH-39, 46 km southeast of the capital Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation ...
at the mid-point of the route to operate the quarries supplying the necessary roadstone.


Lion Box

By March 1944 the road as far as Tamu was virtually complete, but its extension was halted when the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
launched its
U Go Offensive The U Go offensive, or Operation C (ウ号作戦 ''U Gō sakusen''), was the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the northeast Indian regions of Manipur and the Naga Hills (then administered as part ...
. Instead, the non-combatant GREF units that had been preparing for Fourteenth Army's offensive were evacuated, and those remaining were concentrated in self-contained defensive 'boxes' on the Imphal Plain. The largest supply depot at Kanglatongbi was formed into 'Lion Box', almost entirely garrisoned by sappers, and of these only 58 Field Co (which was initially without two of its sections) had ever been under fire. For three days from 4 April this scratch garrison repelled repeated Japanese assaults. On 5 April 58 Fd Co was ordered to send out two scout cars to check the road to the north, where enemy had been seen in an old ordnance depot area just outside the sappers' perimeter. This patrol was ambushed and the company lost one scout car and also a party that was sent out with a lorry to recover it. Later, 54 sappers from 58 Fd Co were withdrawn from the box to build a Hamilton bridge near IV Corps HQ. About 22.00 hours 58 Fd Co reported rustling of bushes and clicking of rifle bolts outside their perimeter, so a heavy defensive fire (DF) programme was called in from the artillery. Japanese patrols continued to operate in the moonlight, and recommenced their attacks at 01.00 on 6 April, but were driven off by fire from the well-sited bunkers of the box. Non-combatant units and stores continued to be withdrawn from the box to Imphal under shellfire, while some reinforcements came in. During the night of 6/7 April mortar bombs began landing in 58 Fd Co's area, but this fire was silenced by DF programmes. Japanese patrols still probed the perimeter, which was in continuous action. One of the attacks temporarily penetrated the perimeter, but was ejected at bayonet point by the reserve platoon of 58 Fd Co before it reached the road. The platoon then formed two bayonet parties to sweep the area clear of infiltrators. After dawn these parties were pinned down by sniper fire until a party of Seaforth Highlanders came up and together they formed a line and charged, clearing a gully. The rest of 58 Fd Co cleared infiltrators and acted as stretcher parties. Tank support had now got through to the box's defenders, but the decision was made to reduce the number of boxes and to evacuate the remaining garrison from Lion Box to the Imphal 'Citadel'. This was carried out in stages, under cover of an airstrike. 58 Field Company had suffered casualties of 14 killed and 22 wounded during the defence of Lion Box, 3–7 April. However, the defence of the Imphal plain slowed down the Japanese offensive and allowed the Allies to redirect troops to hold Imphal before launching a counter-strike. The subsequent Japanese defeat in the battles of
Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the f ...
and
Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...
in May–June 1944 was the turning point of the war in Burma. 58 Field Co was withdrawn to
Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a ...
on 31 May and on 5 October it came under the command of the CRE of 458 GHQ Troops IE. In November 1944 58 Fd Co was converted into 58 Mechanical Equipment Company, RE, absorbing the personnel of 62 Fd Squadron (the former 62 CW Co), which had been roadbuilding in Northern Assam with GREF.


Postwar

After the end of the war against Japan, 58 ME Co returned to Europe and became part of
British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...
, where it was disbanded in 1948.Watson & Rinaldi pp. 256–7.58 Sqn RE at British Army 1945 onwards.
/ref> A new 58 Field Squadron, RE, was formed at
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...
in January 1950 by redesignating 61 Fd Co (itself a redesignation of 561 Army Fd Co, originally raised in 1939 as part of 38th (Welsh) Divisional Engineers). The squadron formed part of 36 Army Engineer Regiment, and moved with it from Maidstone to
Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
in January 1951. However, the squadron was redesignated 20 Sqn in March 1954.Watson & Rinaldi pp. 139, 170.Watson & Rinaldi p. 230. 58 Squadron was reformed in January 1962 at the School of Military Engineering, Chatham, as part of The Depot Regiment, RE. 58 SME Squadron was redesignated 58 RSME Squadron the following year when the school received its 'Royal' designation. The squadron was disbanded in August 1973. The present Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit, 58 EOD Squadron (58 Field Squadron (EOD) since 1993), was reformed in August 1983 at Lodge Hill Camp, Chattenden, as part of
33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD&S) is a regiment of the British Army's Royal Engineers. It is based at Carver Barracks, Essex. Organization Today the regiment consists of: * 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD&S), in Wimbish ** Regimental HQ and HQ Troop **49 ...
. Elements of the regiment served in the Falklands War in 1982 and the
1st Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
in 1990–91.Watson & Rinaldi p. 228.


Insignia

Personnel of CW Groups during World War II wore a distinguishing flash beneath the RE shoulder title: this comprised a rectangle divided into three equal vertical stripes, green–yellow–red. Qualified bomb-disposal personnel of 33 Rgt wear a badge on the left forearm comprising a yellow bomb facing downwards with two blue bands on the nose, all on a red oval background.


Notes


References

* G.B. Carter, ''Porton Down: 75 Years of Chemical and Biological Research'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1992, .
Major L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1954/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004.
* C.D. Johnson, ''The Forgotten Army's Box of Lions: The True Story of the Defence and Evacuation of the Largest Supply Depot on the Imphal Plain'', Norwich: C.D. Johnson, 2001, . * Col L.F. Morling, ''Sussex Sappers: A History of the Sussex Volunteer and Territorial Army Royal Engineer Units from 1890 to 1967'', Seaford: 208th Field Co, RE/Christians–W.J. Offord, 1972. * Maj-Gen R.P. Pakenham-Walsh, ''History of the Corps of Royal Engineers'', Vol VIII, ''1938–1948'', Chatham: Institution of Royal Engineers, 1958. * Maj-Gen R.P. Pakenham-Walsh, ''History of the Corps of Royal Engineers'', Vol IX, ''1938–1948'', Chatham: Institution of Royal Engineers, 1958. * Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, ''The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889–2018'', Tiger Lily Books, 2018, . * Maj-Gen S. Woodburn Kirby, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The War Against Japan'' Vol III, ''The Decisive Battles'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1961/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, {{ISBN, 1-845740-62-9.


External Sources


British Army units from 1945 on

The Long, Long Trail
Squadrons of the Royal Engineers Military units and formations established in 1950