Lieutenant later General Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton —99 , Madras Engineers, was responsible for the design and construction of the great irrigation works on the river Cauvery , which watered the rice crops of Tanjore and Trichinopoly districts in the late s.
In he designed and built sea defences for Vizagapatam. He masterminded the Godavery Delta project where , acres 2, km 2 of land were irrigated and miles km of land to the port of Cocanada was made navigable in the s.
Such regard for his lasting legacy was shown when in , the Indian Government erected a statue in his memory at Dowleswaram. Other irrigation and canal projects included the Ganges Canal , where Colonel Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff — acted as the Chief Engineer and made modifications to the original work. The construction of the Rideau Canal was proposed shortly after the War of , when there remained a persistent threat of attack by the United States on the British colony of Upper Canada. The initial purpose of the Rideau Canal was military, as it was intended to provide a secure supply and communications route between Montreal and the British naval base in Kingston, Ontario.
Westward from Montreal, travel would proceed along the Ottawa River to Bytown now Ottawa , then southwest via the canal to Kingston and out into Lake Ontario. The objective was to bypass the stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering New York State, a route which would have left British supply ships vulnerable to attack or a blockade of the St. The Rideau Canal was recognized as the best preserved example of a slack water canal in North America demonstrating the use of European slackwater technology in North America on a large scale.
Denison was one of the junior Royal Engineers who worked under Lt. Of note, Denison carried out experiments under the direction of Lt. By to determine the strength, for construction purposes of the old growth timber in the vicinity of Bytown. His findings were published by the Institution of Civil Engineers in England who bestowed upon him the prestigious Telford Medal.
The Western Heights of Dover are one of the most impressive fortifications in Britain. They comprise a series of forts, strong points and ditches, designed to protect the United Kingdom from invasion. They were created to augment the existing defences and protect the key port of Dover from both seaward and landward attack.
First given earthworks in against the planned invasion that year , the high ground west of Dover, England, now called Dover Western Heights, was properly fortified in when Lieutenant-Colonel William Twiss was instructed to modernise the existing defences. This was part of a huge programme of fortification in response to Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom.
To assist with the movement of troops between Dover Castle and the town defences Twiss made his case for building the Grand Shaft in the cliff:. I am therefore induced to recommend the construction of a shaft, with a triple staircase Twiss's plan was approved and building went ahead.
The shaft was to be 26 feet 7. The plan entailed building two brick-lined shafts, one inside the other. In the outer would be built a triple staircase, the inner acting as a light well with "windows" cut in its outer wall to illuminate the staircases. Apparently, by March only 40 feet 12 m of the connecting gallery was left to dig and it is probable that the project was completed by Two Acts of Parliament allowed for the building of Pentonville Prison for the detention of convicts sentenced to imprisonment or awaiting transportation.
Construction started on 10 April and was completed in Captain later Major General Sir Joshua Jebb designed Pentonville Prison , introducing new concepts such as single cells with good heating, ventilation and sanitation.
Although mapping by what became the Ordnance Survey was born out of military necessity it was soon realised that accurate maps could be also used for civil purposes. The lessons learnt from this first boundary commission were put to good use around the world where members of the Corps have determined boundaries on behalf of the British as well as foreign governments; some notable boundary commissions include: [27]. Much of this work continues to this day.
The reform of the voting franchise brought about by the Reform Act , demanded that boundary commissions were set up. Lieutenants Dawson and Thomas Drummond — , Royal Engineers, were employed to gather the statistical information upon which the Bill was founded, as well as determining the boundaries and districts of boroughs. It was said that the fate of numerous boroughs fell victim to the heliostat and the Drummond light, the instrument that Drummond invented whilst surveying in Ireland.
An Abney level is an instrument used in surveying which consists of a fixed sighting tube, a movable spirit level that is connected to a pointing arm, and a protractor scale. The Abney level is an easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and when used correctly an accurate surveying tool. The Abney level was invented by Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney — who was a Royal Engineer , an English astronomer and chemist best known for his pioneering of colour photography and colour vision.
Abney invented this instrument under the employment of the Royal School of Military Engineering in Chatham, England, in the s. Following this appointment many Royal Engineer officers superintended engineering works at Royal Navy Dockyards in various parts of the world, including the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda. Slip 7 at Chatham Dockyard , designed by Col. Greene RE. Slip 3 at Chatham Dockyard , designed and built by the Corps.
Chatham, being the home of the Corps, meant that the Royal Engineers and the Dockyard had a close relationship since Captain Brandreth's appointment. All members of the Royal Engineers are trained combat engineers and all sappers privates and non-commissioned officers also have another trade.
Women are eligible for all Royal Engineer specialities. There is also a higher engineer formation :. The Royal Engineers, Ports Section, operated harbours and ports for the army and used mainly specialised vessels such as tugs and dredgers. Rochester Castle from across the Medway. Engraving from image by G.
Sargent c His talent for architecture had been spotted by King William I and was put to good use in Rochester, where he was sent as bishop in Almost immediately the King appointed him to supervise the construction of the White Tower , now part of the Tower of London in Under William Rufus he also undertook building work on Rochester Castle.
Having served three kings of England and earning "the favour of them all", Gundulf is accepted as the first "King's Engineer". The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers is currently in its 12th volume. The field company provided the pool of trained engineers or sappers to undertake tasks as directed by the Headquarters, Divisional Royal Engineers, or by the brigade with which they were operating, with the field park company and later the bridging platoon providing additional and specialised equipment.
The changes introduced in March amounted only to a 3 ton 4 x 4 lorry general service being replaced by one equipped as a mobile office; two 4 x 2 15 cwt lorries being replaced by 4 x 4 versions, and one of the Army Catering Corps cooks being promoted to corporal. A Major commanded each field company, with a Captain as his second-in-command.
There was a small company headquarters, including the company serjeant major and company quarter-master-serjeant. Each company or squadron comprised three platoons; each platoon consisting of a headquarters and four sections commanded by a subaltern. Each section had a corporal or lance serjeant as the commander, and eleven other sappers.
The nature of the trades held by the sappers within each section was variable and determined according to the tasks to which they were allocated. Each section was issued with one Bren gun, one Sten gun usually carried by the section commander , and ten Lee-Enfield rifles. The Field Park Company provided the workshop and stores elements of the engineer provision for an infantry division during the Second World War, with its equivalent in an armoured division being a field park squadron.
He was born in Brighton in and died in in Chichester. He was promoted to Lt Surveyor of Works in Oct and eventually became a major. He lived in York for a while in the late 's to the mid fifties, I think.
In civilian life he was a quantity surveyor. My husband was adopted as a baby - Henry J Ewer was his father. We know very little about him so would really appreciate any memories that would help us get to know him a bit. Messines WW1 The battle commenced on the 7 June Search for a name in our archive First Name:. Please enter a surname. Search this unit only. Search Now. Small Medium Large Landscape Portrait. Free Account Registration. First Name:. Create Your Free Account Now. By creating an account you agree to us emailing you with newsletters and discounts, which you can switch off in your account at any time.
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