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27557 Sapper
ARCHIBALD LINDSAY
Royal Engineers

 by

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, MSCE, PE, MInstRE  

Figure 1.  Lindsay as He Might have Appeared as a Submarine Miner.
NOTE: This is an unverified photograph of Sapper Lindsay, c. 1894.
(Photograph from the author’s collection)  

1.  INTRODUCTION  

            Unless otherwise noted, the details supplied in this narrative were extracted from the soldier’s service papers obtained from the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office) at Kew, Richmond, Surrey. Sapper Lindsay's papers were located in War Office files WO364/2100.[i]  Other sources consulted for the work in this narrative may be found in the REFERENCE section. 

2.  EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION  

            Archibald Lindsay was born in the Parish of Greenock, near the Town of Greenock in the County of Renfrewshire, Scotland on 13 October 1869.  Prior to enlisting in the Army he worked as a blacksmith and lived with his mother, Cecilia Lindsay (née Baxter), at 19 Bruce Street in Greenock.[ii]  Mrs. Lindsay was listed in Archibald Lindsay's military service papers as his next of kin.  There is no mention in the papers of his father.  The Lindsays were Presbyterians. 

            The 1881 Census of Scotland provides the following information regarding Archibald’s family:

1881 Scotland Census

NOTES:

1. The building currently at this address is not a residential structure from 1881.
2. Her husband is shown in the census as a Carpenter, at sea.
3. These children are shown as step-children in the Lindsay family tree (jemstone1957).

            The 1891 Scotland Census shows the following information for the family.  

1891 Scotland Census  

NOTES:

1. No image of this address could be found on Google Earth.
2. Cecilia is listed as the head of the household and no mention is made of her husband.
3. Duncan Lindsay, aged 14 in 1891, was no longer living in his mother’s home.  He was a Scholar at a Ragged and Industrial School in Greenock.[iii]
4. Catherine Lindsay, aged 10 in 1891, was no longer living in her mother’s home.

            Archibald Lindsay would not appear in the 1901 census of England or Scotland as he was either in Canada or Bermuda serving in the Army.  

3.  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION  

The following is a description of Archibald Lindsay at the time he enlisted in the Army in 1893:

 The following is a description of Archibald Lindsay at the time he was discharge from the Army in 1913:

 4.  ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING  

            Archibald Lindsay was recruited for enlistment in the Army by Sergeant George Smith, R.E.  He enlisted at Glasgow, Scotland on 28 July 1893 for a period of 3 years with the Colours and 9 years in the Reserve.[iv] 

             Lindsay indicated that he was a blacksmith by trade and that he was not an Apprentice at the time of his enlistment.  He was not married and stated that he had never been imprisoned by civil power.  Lindsay also indicated that he had no prior regular naval or military service and that he had never been previously rejected for military service.  He also indicated that prior to his enlistment he had served with the 1^st Volunteer Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.  This battalion was headquartered in his hometown of Greenock.[v]  The uniform and badge that he would have worn while serving in this regiment are shown in Figures 2 and 3 below.

            Lindsay swore the Oath of Attestation on 28 July 1893 with Sergeant George Smith as witness.  His attestation was certified on this same day by the Recruiting Staff Officer of the Clyde District.  Additionally, Lindsay's Certificate of Medical Examination was issued on this date by Captain G.E. Moffett, Army Medical Department.  Captain Moffett pronounced Lindsay fit for service in the Army.[vi]

                        On 1 August 1893 Lindsay's Certificate of Primary Military Examination was issued at Glasgow by the Recruiting Staff Officer of the Clyde District.  He was determined to be fit for service in the Royal Engineers, undoubtedly because of his civil trade as a blacksmith, one of the trades sought after in a recruit by the Royal Engineers.  The Certificate of Approving Field Officer also was issued on this date by the same Recruiting Staff Officer.  Archibald Lindsay was given regimental number 27557 and the rank of Sapper in preparation for his recruit training.[vii]  

5.  ASSIGNMENTS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Chatham (1893-1894)

             Sapper Lindsay proceeded to the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, Kent where he would receive his basic training as an engineer soldier.  On 23 December 1893, while at Chatham, Lindsay was convicted by civil power of being drunk and disorderly.  For the offence he was fined 2 shillings and 6 pence.  In all likelihood this bout of drinking was associated with holiday celebrations prior to Christmas.  After the Christmas festivities of 1893 were over, Sapper Lindsay apparently came to the conclusion that Army life was for him.  On 28 December he extended his service to complete 7 years with the Colours.  Major George Alexander Cockburn, R.E,[viii] approved his request for extension.[ix]

Pembroke Dock (1894-1896)

            Following the completion of his training at Chatham, Lindsay was assigned to the 35^th Company (Submarine Mining), Royal Engineers under the command of Captain Paul Robert Burn-Murdoch, R.E.[x]  The 35^th Company was assigned to the Western District, with the district headquarters in Devonport.  The company was stationed at Pembroke Dock in Pembrokeshire (now Dyfed), Wales on the east end of Milford Haven. 

Figure 4.  Crest of the Royal Engineers Submarine Miners.
(Image from a Gale & Polden Christmas Card)

The mission of the 35^th Company was to provide an efficient shore based defence for the British naval base at Pembroke Dock.  This was accomplished through the use of underwater mines in conjunction with searchlights for harbour defences.  The men selected for service with the submarine mining companies had to be physically fit in order to move the heavy mines around and were also chosen for their intelligence and scientific knowledge.  After initial training and experience with such mundane tasks as coiling the electric cables used to connect the mines to shore, the men moved on to become divers, electricians, instrument repairers or engine drivers.  Sapper Lindsay qualified as a "Skilled" Engine Driver in the 35^th Company in September of 1894.[xi]  He would have been employed on a submarine mine-laying boat such as the one shown in Figure 5 below.  He would be at the Engine Driver position, just in front of the forward mast and just aft of the Number 4 position.

Figure 5.  A Submarine Mining Masted Vessel of the Royal Engineers.
(Photograph from Baker Brown, 1910)  

Halifax and Bermuda (1896-1902)

            Sapper Lindsay served with the 35^th Company until 14 November 1896 when he departed England for service at Halifax, Nova Scotia.  On 5 September 1901 he extended his service again, this time to complete 12 years with the Colours.[xii]  Lindsay left Nova Scotia on 31 October 1901 for service on the island of Bermuda.

                The 27^th Company (Submarine Mining), Royal Engineers had been at Halifax, Nova Scotia since September of 1886.  In October of 1888 the 27^th Company was divided into two companies, with the 27^th Company moving to Bermuda and the newly formed 40^th Company remaining at Halifax.  The 27^th Submarine Mining Company combined with half of the 36^th Company at Bermuda to form the 27^th (Fortress) Company on the 1^st of July 1905.  The 40^th (Submarine Mining) Company was brought home on the withdrawal of the Imperial Garrison from Canada and was disbanded at Chatham in January of 1906.  It is most likely that Sapper Lindsay served in both of these companies between 1896 and 1902. 

            The South African War (Boer War) of 1899 to 1902 was fought during the period that Sapper Lindsay was serving in Canada and Bermuda.  Neither the 27^th nor the 40^th Company was deployed to South Africa to take part in this war; hence, Lindsay did not earn the campaign medals awarded for this conflict. 

Figure 6.  Work Uniforms of the Submarine Miners, Royal Engineers
(Photograph from Baker Brown, 1910)

Home Service (1902-1906)

Sapper Lindsay served at Bermuda until 25 March 1902.  His service papers are unclear regarding the unit to which he was assigned when he arrived home in England. The Royal Engineers List of December 1905 shows that the 36^th (Fortress) Company, R.E. was reconstituted with the 1^st Half Company on Bermuda and the 2^nd Half Company at Chatham in Kent.  Since Sapper Lindsay subsequently left England for service with the 36^th Company, R.E. on the west coast of Africa, it may be assumed that he was serving with the 2^nd Half Company of the 36^th from 1902 to 1906.  He may even have served with the 1^st Half Company of the 36^th on Bermuda prior to returning to England in March of 1902.

On 9 March 1905 Sapper Lindsay re-engaged to complete 21 years of service with the Colours.[xiii]

Sierra Leone (1906-1907) 

Lindsay's next posting abroad was to Sierra Leone.  He departed the U.K. for Africa on 17 February 1906 and arrived in the British Protectorate of Sierra Leone on 27 February.  In Sierra Leone he served with the 36^th Company under the command of Captain C.F.B. Pike, R.E.[xiv]  Other officers in the company at that time included Lieutenants W.G.S. Dobbie[xv] and J.R.W. Mansfield.  In addition to the 36^th Company, R.E., the Sierra Leone Fortress Company under the command of Major J.I. Lang-Hyde, C.M.G., R.E. also was stationed in West Africa at Tower Hill in Freetown during this period. 

Lindsay remained in Sierra Leone for a little over one year, departing for home on 4 March 1907 and arriving in the U.K. on 19 March 1907.  His actual service on the west coast of Africa was allowed to count double towards his pension under Article 1149 of the Pay Warrant of 1906.  The shortness of this tour of duty and the extra credit for serving on the west coast of Africa were the result of the pestilential living conditions encountered by Europeans stationed there.  

Home Service (1907-1910)

Sapper Lindsay served at home until 9 September 1910.  Again his service papers do not specify the unit to which he was assigned during this period, but he probably was posted to a submarine mining company or fortress company until he departed England for service in Hong Kong with the 40^th (Fortress) Company, R.E. 

Hong Kong (1910-1913)

Lindsay served with the 40^th Company for more than two years working on the construction and maintenance of fortifications in the port and harbour areas of Hong Kong.  He is shown in the 1911 Census of England (Military – China & Hong Kong) as an unmarried 41-year old Sapper (Blacksmith).  Of the 29 other men listed on the page in the census, Lindsay is by far the oldest, with ages of the other men ranging from 20 to 29.[xvi]

 During Sapper Lindsay's period of service at Hong Kong, the company was commanded by Major St. G.R.S. Caulfeild.  Other officers assigned to the company at that time included Captain H.L.G. Bell and Lieutenants B.E. Coke, C.R. Shannon and C.N. Rivers-Moore.  Lindsay returned home from Hong Kong on 18 December 1913.

Home Service (1913-1914)

Figure 7.  30 Rutland Square, Edinburgh.
(Photograph courtesy of Google Earth)

 Upon his arrival in the United Kingdom, Lindsay was posted to the Clyde Section of the 49^th (Coast Battalion) Company, R.E in the Lowland District of Scotland with headquarters at 30 Rutland Square in Edinburgh.[xvii]  This put Lindsay back into the submarine mining business where he had first started out soon after his enlistment in 1893.  The Coast Battalion had been formed in 1885 and was part of the Submarine Mining Establishment.  It consisted of a body of officers recruited from the warrant and non-commissioned ranks of the Royal Engineers who retained their regimental position and seniority, and were interchangeable with the rest of the Royal Engineers Submarine Miners.  The Coast Battalion was divided into sections, one at each commercial port defended by submarine mines.  The duties of a section were the custody and maintenance of the submarine mining defence and the instruction of the Volunteer Submarine Miners at the port.  At first the Volunteers were raised as companies of existing Volunteer Corps, but later, when they formed into separate divisions, the officer of the Coast Battalion acted as Adjutant of the Volunteer Division in addition to his duties as officer commanding the section.

Figure 8.  Preparing Mines for Loading on Boats.
(Photograph from Baker Brown, 1910)

As Lindsay's time in service approached the 21-year mark he expressed his desire to take his discharge upon completion of his second term of limited engagement.  On 11 July 1914 Lindsay acknowledged receipt of all pay and allowances due him upon discharge.  This acknowledgement was witnessed by Corporal W.G. Slade, R.E.  All of his accounts were certified as correctly balanced on 13 July and his discharge was confirmed at Edinburgh on 15 July by the Commander Royal Engineers, Lowland District.  Sapper Lindsay was discharged from the Army on the termination of his second period of limited engagement on 27 July 1914.

            The following sections are presented in tabular form to summarize Lindsay’s promotions, appointments, military training and qualifications and the medals that he was awarded during his time in the Army.  They are provided to give the reader easy access to these aspects of his military career.  The tables are followed by sections dealing with his marriage, personal information and post-service life.

6.  PROMOTIONS AND CONDUCT  

a.  Promotions:  Sapper Archibald Lindsay did not receive any promotions during his time in service.  His conduct appears to have been exemplary during his 21 years of service; however, Lindsay did not attempt to better himself by improving his education.  This is apparent from the fact that he earned no Certificates of Education during his service.  He appears to have been a proficient engine driver and blacksmith, but was never deemed worthy of promotion to a higher rank. 

b.  Conduct:  Archibald Lindsay received the following Good Conduct Badges during his time in service:[xviii]

NOTE: It appears that he was in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 19 October 1897 when he committed the offense for which he forfeited his Good Conduct Pay.  

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS  

a.  Education:  As previously stated, Sapper Lindsay did not earn and Certificates of Education during his time in service.  This lack of effort or intellectual ability on his part may explain his failure to be promoted to a higher rank during his 21 years of service.  As indicated below he was a "superior" engine driver whose skills were considered worthy of additional service pay, yet these qualifications were still not sufficient for him to be promoted above the rank of Sapper.  It may be that Lindsay was one of those soldiers who shunned supervisory responsibility.  Although his records do not indicate as much, he may have refused promotion being content to remain a Sapper for his entire time in the Army.

b.   Qualifications: Sapper Lindsay earned the following qualifications during his time in service:

 7.      MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

            Sapper Lindsay qualified for the award of the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 27 July 1911 after completing 18 years of service.  He was awarded the medal with a gratuity of £5 by Army Order 92 of 1911.[xxii]   

Figure 9.  The Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (Edward VIIR)
Awarded to Sapper Lindsay.
(Photograph from the author’s collection)  

            The medal is named to Lindsay in impressed upper case lettering as follows:  

27557 SAP^R A. LINDSAY. R.E.  

9.  MEDICAL INFORMATION  

Sapper Lindsay's military records did not contain a Medical History Sheet.

10.  MARRIAGE AND PERSONAL INFORMATION  

            According to his military service papers Archibald Lindsay was not married prior to or during his time in service.  No information regarding his marriage was located on any family trees posted on Ancestry.com, nor were any records of his marriage to anyone located in any official documents in the England, Scotland, Wales or Canada.  

11.  DISCHARGE

            Sapper Lindsay was discharged from the Army at Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland   on 27 July 1914 on the termination of his second period of limited engagement.  His total service was reckoned as shown in the tables below:

            Sapper Lindsay's discharge papers indicate that he was a blacksmith by trade.  This was his civil trade prior to entering the Army and appears to have been the trade he worked at while in the service.  He was also an engine driver in the Army, meaning that he could operate oil and steam engines used during his time in the submarine mining companies. 

Lindsay's military character was described as "Exemplary" and his commanding officer indicated that he was "a very steady, reliable and hardworking blacksmith.”  [He was] “capable of taking charge of oil and steam engines and making minor repairs [and he could]  “be trusted to complete work without supervision."  At the time of his discharge, Lindsay was entitled to Class II Proficiency Pay and the lowest rate of 7.d per day.  With the glowing terms used by his commanding officer to describe his military character, it is hard to understand why he never was promoted above the rank of Sapper.  If his performance of duty was “Exemplary” one must assume that his conduct was not.  

12.  POST SERVICE LIFE  

            Sapper Lindsay indicated that upon discharge his intended place of residence would be 19 Bruce Street in Greenock, Renfrewshire.[xxiv]  This had been his family’s home from the date of his enlistment in the Army.  Other than his intended place of residence, no further information is known regarding his post service life.

            Lindsay was discharged within a week of the outbreak of the Great War of 1914-1918.  No evidence could be found to indicate that he was called back to serve in that war; hence, it is believed that he saw no active service during his military career.[xxv]  As previously indicated, the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in the author's collection is  Sapper Lindsay's only medal entitlement.

REFERENCES

Books  

1. BAKER BROWN, W.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  Volume IV.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952.  

2. BAKER BROWN, W.  History of Submarine Mining in the British Army.  W. & J. Mackay & Co., Ltd., Chatham, 1910.  

3. CHICHESTER, H.M. & BURGES-SHORT, G.  The Records and Badges of Every Regiment and Corps in the British Army.  Gale & Polden, Ltd., London, 1900.  

4. CONOLLY, T.W.J.  Roll of Officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers From 1660 to 1898.  The Royal Engineers Institute, Chatham, Kent, 1898.  

5. GRIERSON, J.M.  Scarlet Into Khaki: The British Army on the Eve of the Boer War.  Greenhill Books, London, 1988.  

6. SKELLEY, A.R.  The Victorian Army at Home: The Recruitment and Terms and Conditions of the British Regular, 1859-1899.  McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 1977.  

Census  

1. 1871 Scotland Census (CSSCT1871_98).

2. 1881 Scotland Census (CSSCT1881_164).

3. 1891 Scotland Census (CSSCT1891_180).

4. 1901 Scotland Census (CSSCT1901_194).

Computer Software  

Soldiers Died in the Great War.  The Naval & Military Press Ltd., Heathfield, East Sussex, 1998.  

Documents  

LARIMORE, F.B.  Long Service and Good Conduct Chevrons (Badges) and their Periods of Qualification.  Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, 1998.

Family Tree  

Archibald Lindsay (trann120)

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/155368790/person/202049144516/facts  

Internet Web Sites  

Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/17294807:60143?tid=&pid=&queryId=34208313c920358baecb9a4325f2641d&_phsrc=iWN5155&_phstart=successSource  

Periodicals  

1. The Monthly Army List, June 1890.  

2. The Royal Engineers Monthly Lists, 1905.  

3. The Royal Engineers Monthly Lists, 1908.  

Soldier's Service Papers (WO364/2100)  

1.      Short Service Attestation (Army Form B. 217), consisting of the following sections:  

a.       Questions to be put to the Recruit before Enlistment.

b.      Oath to be taken by the Recruit on Attestation.

c.       Certificate of Magistrate or Attesting Officer.

d.      Description on Enlistment.

e.       Certificate of Medical Examination.

f.        Certificate of Primary Military Examination.

g.       Certificate of Approving Field Officer.

h.       Military History Sheet.

i.         Statement of Services.  

2. Proceedings on Discharge (Army Form B. 268).

ENDNOTES