The 1st Newcastle Engineer Volunteers, later Northumbrian Divisional Engineers, was a Royal Engineer (RE) unit of Britain's Volunteer Force and Territorial Army founded in 1860. Its companies saw action in both World Wars, particularly at the Battle of Rosières and the assault crossing of the River Selle in 1918, and on D-Day in 1944. Its successors continue to serve in today's Army Reserve.
Early history The 1st Newcastle Engineer Volunteers (EV) was raised at company strength in Newcastle upon Tyne during the enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement engendered by the invasion scare of 1859; its first officers' commissions were dated 1 September 1860.Beckett, Appendix IX.Army List. Many early volunteers came from Armstrong's engineering works at Elswick.Short et al., p. 1. The company was attached for administrative purposes to the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne Rifle Volunteer Corps.Westlake, p. 13.
In 1874 the Newcastle company was united with the larger (8 companies) 1st Durham EV at Jarrow on the opposite (County Durham) bank of the River Tyne. This unit had been raised and commanded by Charles Palmer (1822–1907), founder of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company and later the first mayor and Member of Parliament for Jarrow.Burke's. The two units were formed into the 1st Durham Administrative Battalion EV, consolidated in 1880 as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV, with Palmer as commanding officer and an establishment of 1300 men.Westlake, pp. 7 & 13.Short et al., p. 2.
Palmer, by now created Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park, retired from the unit in 1888 with the rank of Colonel. The same year, the 1st Newcastle & Durham EV was split into three separate units: the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne RE (Volunteers), the 1st Durham RE (V),Durham Fortress Engineers at Regiments.org and the Tyne Division RE (V), Submarine Miners, which later became the Tyne Electrical Engineers.Short et al, pp. 4–5.Westlake, p. 15.Tyne Electrical Engineers at Regiments.org Both the 1st Newcastle RE (V) and the Tyne Submarine Miners derived their seniority from the original 1st Newcastle EV established in 1860.
The Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the new 1st Newcastle RE was Sir Charles Palmer's younger brother, Alfred Septimus Palmer (1834–1910), a Newcastle mining engineer who had been a major in the 1st Newcastle & Durham EV. The honorary Colonel was William Henry Allinson (1827–1917), who had been second-in-command of the 1st Newcastle & Durham.William Henry Allinson family tree and biography at The Thompsons, Shipbuilders of Sunderland family website, accessed 5/2/15
The unit sent a detachment of one officer and 25 other ranks to assist the regular REs during the Second Boer War in 1900.Watson, p. 42.
Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the original plan was for the 1st Newcastle RE to provide the 2nd Northumbrian Field Company in the Northumbrian Infantry Division while the remainder of the unit would be merged into the Tyne Electrical Engineers as the Northumberland (Fortress) RE.London Gazette, 20 March 1908. However, by 1910 this plan had been altered, and the 1st Newcastle RE provided the whole of the divisional RE, with its commanding officer becoming Commanding Royal Engineer (CRE). This organisation was in place on the outbreak of World War I:London Gazette, 14 October 1910.Monthly Army List, August 1914.Lord & Watson, pp. 161–2.Wyrall, p. 3 & Appendix B.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 11.
Northumbrian Divisional Engineers HQ: Barras Bridge, Newcastle CRE: Lt-Col Frederick S. Crawford (from 23 May 1907 to 16 April 1915) 1st (The Newcastle) Northumbrian Field Company (Maj G.C. Pollard) 2nd (The Newcastle) Northumbrian Field Company (Maj J.E. McPherson) Northumbrian (The Newcastle) Divisional Telegraph Company – designated Signal Company from 1911 HQ & No 1 Section: Barras Bridge (Capt W.H. Dodds) No 2 (Northumberland) Section – attached to the Northumberland Brigade No 3 (York and Durham) Section – attached to the York and Durham Brigade No 4 (Durham Light Infantry) Section – attached to the Durham Light Infantry Brigade
World War I
Mobilisation On 3 August 1914, the men of the Northumbrian Division came home from their annual training camp. The next day the order to mobilise was received, and they returned to their drill halls. The mobilised division garrisoned the Tyne Defences as part of Central Force of Home Defence, and began training for war.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 93–100.Wyrall, p. 4.
On 31 August the TF was authorised to raise '2nd Line' units, initially for home defence, composed of men who had not volunteered for overseas service, together with new volunteers who were flooding in. Later, the home service men were transferred to home defence units, the 2nd Line were prepared for overseas service, and '3rd Line' units were organised to find drafts for the 1st and 2nd Lines. The units were distinguished by the prefixes '1/', '2/' and '3/', and the 2nd Line units of the Northumbrian Division formed the 2nd Northumbrian Division.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 49–54.63 (2nd Northumbrian) Division at Long, Long TrailWatson & Rinaldi, p. 67.
28th Division 1/1st Northumbrian Field Company left the Northumbrian Division on 26 December 1914 to join 28th Division forming at Winchester. This was a formation of Regular infantry battalions returned from India, with engineers, signals and medical services provided by Territorial companies. The company disembarked at Le Havre on 19 January 1915 and served with 28th Division in France for the first half of the year, including the battles of Gravenstafel Ridge (22–23 April), St Julien (24 April–4 May), Frezenberg Ridge (8–13 May) and Bellewarde Ridge (24–25 May).Watson & Rinaldi, p. 31.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 105–16.
When 1/1st Northumbrian Field Company returned to the 1st Northumbrian Division, it was replaced by 2/1st Northumbrian Field Company from the 2nd Northumbrian Division, which joined 28th Division on 10 July 1915. For the remainder of the war 2/1st Company served with this division in France and Macedonia. In 1917 it was numbered 449th Field Company. It remained with 28th Division after the Armistice with Bulgaria (30 September 1918) and in November 1918 it moved to the Dardanelles with the division. During 1919 it served in Turkey with 28th Division.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 59.Wyrall, pp. 89 & 359.
50th Division Early in April 1915, the Northumbrian Division was informed that it would shortly be sent to France, and on 16 April it began to entrain for the ports of embarkation (Southampton and Folkestone). The division completed its concentration in the vicinity of Steenvoorde on 23 April.Wyrall, p. 5. It was thrown into action the very next day at the Battle of St Julien, taking up positions along the Yser Canal and then counter-attacking. The infantry of the division were involved in bitter fighting.Wyrall, pp. 9–44. Meanwhile, the divisional engineers were left at Steenvorde, but from 26 April they were sent up each night to work on a new defence line near Hill 60, to which the division retired on the night of 2–3 May.Wyrall, pp. 42–8.
The Northumberland Division was now made responsible for holding a section of the line and learnt the techniques of trench warfare in which the engineers were kept busy improving defences. Like the 28th Division, the Northumberland Division also fought through the battles of Frezenberg Ridge and Bellewarde Ridge, and again at Bellewarde on 16 June.Wyrall, pp. 48–86. It was then moved south into quieter sectors for the rest of 1915.Wyrall, pp. 86–100.
Soon after arriving in France, the division received its number, becoming 50th (Northumbrian) Division, the brigades being numbered 149, 150 and 151, and the Signal Company numbered 50. 1/1st Northumbrian Field Company rejoined the division on 2 June 1915, and the divisional engineers were further reinforced on 17 June by 7th Field Company, RE, a Regular unit.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 35. 7th Field Company had landed in France with 4th Division on 22 August 1914, and had served through the Retreat from Mons, and the battles of the Marne, Aisne and Armentières.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 59–62. It had been attached to 48th (South Midland) Division for a few weeks before joining 50th Division.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 41.Becke, Pt 2a, p. 79.
1916 50th Division moved back into the Ypres Salient in December 1915. This meant more intense trench warfare, with the divisional engineers and signallers constantly engaged in repairing defences and communications.Wyrall, pp. 100–134. In August 1916 the division was transferred to the Somme sector, moving into the line at Bazentin-le-Petit by 10 September, where it immediately began digging assembly and jumping-off trenches for a new phase of the Battle of the Somme.Wyrall, pp. 134, 138–42. This attack (the Battle of Flers–Courcelette) opened on 15 September, with 50th Division attacking between High Wood and Martinpiuch. 7th Field Company with part of the pioneer battalion set to repairing the road towards Martinpuich, while 1/1st and 1/2nd Northumrian Field Companies were held in reserve around Railway Trench.Wyrall, p. 143. As the attack developed, by the afternoon of 15 September they were engaged in digging communication trenches, repairing roads and building gun emplacements under fire. This continued throughout the seven days of the battle, and casualties among the sappers were heavy.Wyrall, p. 160.
The fighting was renewed on 25 September (the Battle of Morval) and 50th Division continued in action throughout October and into November (the battles of Le Transloy and Butte de Warlencourt). The division's last action on the Somme before being relieved was an attack on Gird Trench and Hook Sap on 14 November, which gained no ground. The division was withdrawn on the night of 17–18 November and went into Corps Reserve.Wyrall, pp. 161–91.
1917' When the TF engineer companies were numbered on 3 February 1917, 1/1st Northumbrian became 446th (1st Northumbrian) and 1/2nd became 447th (2nd Northumbrian).
In mid-February, the division moved south to take over a section of the line from the French Army. The trenches were in poor condition, and had to be repaired by working parties directed by the field companies.Wyrall, p. 198. In late March, the division moved north again, to take part in the Arras offensive. It consolidated ground captured in the First Battle of the Scarpe (9–14 April) and then attacked at the Second Battle of the Scarpe (23–24 April), when it suffered heavy losses. The engineers were engaged in road repair, clearing dugouts, digging and wiring trenches, and laying and repairing telephone lines, all under shellfire, and their casualties were numerous.Wyrall, pp. 205–25.
After a spell in Army Reserve, 50th Division returned to the line, and the summer of 1917 was spent in vigorous trench warfare, with constant patrols, raids, and constructing or repairing defences.Wyrall, pp. 228–37. It then moved to join the last phase of the Third Ypres Offensive, known as the Second Battle of Passchendaele. Because of the waterlogged nature of the ground, the German defences were based on concrete pillboxes and shell-holes rather than dugouts and trenches. 149th Brigade attacked on 26 October, with 446 Field Company in support. The attack was a failure and the attacking companies were virtually wiped out. Over succeeding days the rest of the division made small gains, at heavy cost. The division was relieved on 9 November.Wyrall, pp. 237–49.
1918