Engineers, Royal

Military engineers in one form or another, and under various names, have existed in England since the eleventh century. In those early days men of some education—often monks—were appointed as In gen i a to res Regis to undertake the manufacture of the king's engines of war, and to build his castles. In later years they became known as At til a tors, and when, with the gradual introduction of gunpowder for military purposes, a combined train was formed, are considered to have given their name to what we now call artillery. In the early seventeenth century this train, composed of engineers and artillery, was merely a temporary corps raised for a particular war and disbanded on its conclusion; but in 1698, when the expediency of maintaining a standing army had been to some extent recognized, the first permanent train was raised. In 1716 a separate body of engineers was formed, but without military rank, and it was not till 1782 that 239 military titles were conferred on the officers of engineers. In 1787 the Corps of Engineers became by Royal Warrant the Corps of Royal Engineers, with the mottoes Ubique and Quo fas et gloria ducunt , which are also borne by the Royal Regiment of Artillery. For a considerable period the rank and file of the corps were known as the 'Royal Sappers and Pioneers', and the term 'Sapper' is still used to denote a private of the corps. Among the present-day peace-time duties of the Royal Engineers are the construction and maintenance of barracks and military works generally, while for war purposes the corps is organized into mobile units known as field squadrons and companies for general field-work, and into more highly specialized units for mining, heavy bridging, and railway work. The corps is recruited almost entirely from among artisans and tradesmen, and a field company of a total strength of 184 all ranks has representatives of no fewer than nineteen trades in it. IMG:3349192321007894546_v04image132.png:England and Wales, Surface Features