THE BRITISH OVERSEAS RAILWAYS HISTORICAL TRUST   A UK Registered Educational Charity

Reference Sources for Royal Engineers Military Railways

Following on from the earlier reference sources this document is to assist in research on Royal Engineer Military Railways. There will be separate pages for the Commonwealth Engineer Corps. You are encouraged to look at the other research pages for further ideas, as there may be some duplication of material and those pages will also give an overall history of the railway. Also, please look at the general research page as that contains many sources that may be of assistance.

We define research in this field as the construction and/or operation of railways for the field army either by the Royal Engineers or contractors under army supervision in overseas theatres of operations. This research will include the contribution of Dominion and Colonial Forces where appropriate.

The word Sapper derives from the French Sapeur i.e. one who dug trenches. In the Armed forces of the British Commonwealth it has a dual meaning, it is both the lowest rank in the various Engineer Corps and also a family name in the sense that all members of the Corps are Sappers.

Their museum is at Brompton Barracks, Gillingham, Kent Home - Royal Engineers Museum (re-museum.co.uk)

The Sappers produce a Corp History, the Royal Engineers Journal (REJ) from 1870 and Professional Papers from 1837-1918. The Corps History and Journal are available as CDs for both and as hard back books for the Corp history. REJ has published several articles on military railways. The Professional Papers have never been digitised by the Royal Engineers, although the Royal New Zealand Engineers have digitised their copies.

See https://www.nzsappers.org.nz/introduction/heritage-material/

The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Volumes

All have been published by The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham

Both the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum (nam.ac.uk) have collections of interest.

The United Kingdom National Archives and the RE Museum hold War Diaries for WW1 and WW2. They do not always have the same War Diaries, nor do those Diaries always hold the same information. A War Diary records the operational activities of a unit, and seldom mention individuals beyond officers being posted in or out.

Many Sapper officers who were posted to India, in particular, spent their entire careers in the Public Works Department and worked on railways. Many of these men rose to high rank and became Inspecting Officers of Railways or Agents for the various Indian Railways. Other Sapper officers spent much of their career involved in military railway operations and subsequently rose to high rank. These men are little known, and a study of their careers is worthwhile.

The books listed below are included here as it seems the most appropriate place for them. This does include the histories of the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, it should be noted that this Corps is unique in the British Army, it is comprised solely of officers and has no other ranks. Recruitment is by invitation only and comprises of senior professional engineers whose brief is to advise the Royal Engineers on specialist engineering problems.