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11316 Company Sergeant Major
WILLIAM WALTER LONG
Royal Engineers 

By  

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, MSCE, P.E., MInstRE
(2004, revised 2022)  

Figure 1. Crest of the Corps of Royal Engineers (Victorian)
(Image courtesy of Stuart Gase)  

1. INTRODUCTION

Unless otherwise noted, the details supplied in this narrative were extracted from the soldier’s service papers obtained from original documents housed in the National Archives at Kew, Richmond, Surrey.  The service papers were located in War Office files WO97/3311.  Additional family information was found in census returns for England from 1881 to 1911 and in Ancestry.com family trees and other documents found on the internet.

2. EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

Early Life  

            William Walter Long was born in the Parish of St. Mary's, near the Town of Southampton in the County of Hampshire in May of 1852.  Prior to his enlistment in the Army in 1871 he worked as a Surveyor.  This civil trade made him a prime candidate for the Corps of Royal Engineers when he decided to enlist in the Army; specifically, it provided him with the credentials necessary to work for the Ordnance Survey on the surveys of England, Wales and Scotland.  This employment during his 21 years in the Army would keep him in the United Kingdom for the entire period of his military service.

Family Information  

            William Walter Long first shows up in the 1861 Census of England while he was living with his parents and older sister in Southampton as shown in the table below.

1861 Census of England (RG 9/673)

NOTE: The census takers handwriting was nearly illegible, so those birthplaces marked with a (?) may not be accurate.  The street address also was illegible.  

3. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

The following is a description of William Long at the time he enlisted in the Army in 1871:

            Prior to joining the Army Long worked as a Surveyor.  A search of the 1871 Census of England found a Walter W. Long, 18 years old, working as a Surveyor in Witham, Essex, with a place of birth listed as Southampton.  Although this man’s name is shown as Walter W. Long it is believed that he actually is William Walter Long and that the census taker just wrote the name and initial in reverse order.  As proof of this it should be considered that William Long’s middle name was Walter, that he would have been 18 years old in 1871, that he was a Surveyor and that he had been born in Southampton.  There are too many matching points to believe that these were not the same man; namely, William Walter Long.

            The census shows that Long was a boarder in the home of one Charles and Julia Roberts at 140 Maldon Road in Witham.[i]  A second lodger, 28-year old Alexander Mackintosh also was living with the Roberts.  Mackintosh’s occupation is listed as Land Surveyor and it is probable that Long was his helper or “rod man.”[ii]  On the census Long actually is listed a “D. Surveyor,” perhaps to indicate that he was a Survey Draughtsman; that is, the member of the survey team who under supervision by the senior member of the team is engaged in the preparation of minor plans, charts and maps from field notes or compiled from other information together with associated straightforward calculations.

            Both men may have been working as civilian contractors for the Ordnance Survey or they may have been working on a commercial project.  If they were employed on an Ordnance Survey job then it is likely that since there was no military post located near Witham to billet Ordnance Survey men or contractors, that the Surveyors found accommodation in private homes.

            The 1871 Census of England was taken on 2 April 1871.  It appears that while working on the survey in the Witham area, probably under the auspices of the Ordnance Survey, that William Long became interested in joining the Army, specifically the Royal Engineers where he could continue working as a Surveyor.  He did this just four months after the census was completed.

4.  RECRUITMENT, ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING  

Recruitment

William Long was recruited for service in the Corps of Royal Engineers on 9 August 1871.  He was given a preliminary medical examination at Chatham, Kent on that day and a Medical Certificate on Enlistment was issued by T.W. Fry, Surgeon, Royal Engineers pronouncing Long fit for service in the Army.[iii]

Enlistment

            On 15 August 1871, William Long was granted special authorization to enlist in the Corps of Royal Engineers by the Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, R.E.  Long's service papers do not indicate why "special authorization" was required for his enlistment.  In all probability this "special authorization" had something to do with his skills as a Surveyor in civil life and his subsequent assignment to the Ordnance Survey. 

Long was enlisted on 16 August at 12:00 noon at Chatham by Sergeant Major John Foster, R.E.  His enlistment was for a period of 12 years with the promise of a free kit.[iv]

            As part of his enlistment Long was asked the normal questions that were put to a recruit when joining up.  His responses to the questions were recorded on his Attestation Paper by Sergeant William G. Mackay, R.E.  Long indicated to Sergeant Mackay that he was not an apprentice and that he was not married.  He declared that he was not a member of the Militia or the Army Reserve, that he was not a member of the regular forces and that he had never been rejected as unfit for service in the forces.  Long further stipulated that he had never been marked as a "Deserter" and had never been discharged for "Bad Conduct."

            William Long swore the Oath of Attestation at Rochester, Kent on 17 August 1871 at 3:45 PM before Francis M. Webb, a Justice of the Peace for Rochester.  He returned to Chatham on the following day where his Medical Certificate on Approval was issued by T.W. Fry, Surgeon, R.E.  On 26 August 1871, Long's attestation was certified by the Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, R.E.  He was now 11316 Sapper William Long, Royal Engineers.

Training

            Sapper Long began his recruit training as an engineer soldier at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham.  It may be that Long underwent the normal recruit training as for any other soldier enlisted in the Royal Engineers.  This assumption may not be valid if the special circumstances of his enlistment, that is his skill as a surveyor, caused him to follow a different course of training specifically designed for his duties with the Ordnance Survey.

            His recruit training began with the basics that were required for each man to learn to be a soldier.  This involved military customs, the wearing of his uniform and insignia, military discipline and the use, care and maintenance of his weapon, the Martini-Henry rifle.[v]  Following a period of basic training, Foster then received the training necessary to make him an engineer soldier.  This involved such field engineering subjects as tunnelling, trench-building, bridging, and other skills necessary to support the infantry and artillery in the field.  This training continued until October of 1872 when it appears that he was assigned to a unit at Chatham, probably to a company within the Depot Battalion Royal Engineers.  It is quite possible that following his recruit training he was assigned further training to prepare him for service with the Ordnance Survey.  It is also possible that he was assigned directly to a Survey Company of the Royal Engineers following his recruit training, although there were no Survey Companies at Chatham in 1872.

5.  POSTINGS, ASSIGNMENTS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Guildford, Surrey (1872-1875)

            Following the completion of his training Long was posted to Guildford, Surrey on 10 October 1872 where it appears that he was assigned to the 14^th (Survey) Company, Royal Engineers to perform duties related to the Survey of England.  The 14^th Company had been stationed at Guildford since December of 1866.  The company subsequently moved to Tonbridge in Kent and in January of 1874 it was located in Chester, Cheshire.  Long's final move with the 14^th Company occurred in March of 1875 when the unit moved to London.

Figure 2.  Men of the Ordnance Survey, circa 1870.
(Photograph courtesy of Regiment magazine)  

Reading, Berkshire (1875-1882)

Long was posted to the 16^th (Survey) Company, Royal Engineers at Reading, Berkshire on 29 September 1875, again to perform duties relating to the Survey of England.  On 28 November 1881, while still serving at Reading, he re-engaged to complete 21 years of service with the Colours.[vi]  The 16^th Company was moved to Clifton, near Bristol in March of 1879 and then to Ipswich, Suffolk on 2 January 1882.

By 1881 Long had already married and was living in Gloucestershire as shown in the table below.  He was a 2^nd Corporal with a wife and two small children and appears to have been living in the town of Yate.  The Longs had taken in two boarders, both of whom worked for the Ordnance Survey.

1881 Census of England (RG 11/2512)

NOTE: Long and his family were probably living at Yate while he was working with the 16^th (Survey) Company at Clifton (see Endnote 7).  The census shows that the property where the Longs lived was known as Stover Farm and that the family was living in a structure known as Stover New Buildings.

            As can be noted in the table above survey parties were not entirely military, as many local civilian surveyors, such as Messrs. Jones and Conway, were also employed. The experience of most of these civilians was of surveys of estates of limited size, performed without hurry and with few assistants. The Ordnance Survey, on the other hand, had in mind the rapid survey of a large country with much more accuracy than had been the practice. It was soon discovered that it took less time to train Sappers, who had none of the preconceived notions of the local surveyors, and who were brought up by military discipline to obey orders. It was also established that the progress on the survey made by the Sappers under military control was greater than that of the civilian surveyors with a commensurate reduction in cost. Hence the Ordnance Survey became essentially military in its organisation and control, the officers of the Royal Engineers being directors of districts and large parties, and the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) the controllers of small parties.  Such was probably the case with Long, Jones and Conway.[viii]

Bristol, Somerset (1882-1892)

            On 1 December 1882 Long was posted to Bristol where he served with the 13^th (Survey) Company, R.E. at the Ordnance Survey Office in Tudor Hall.   He ultimately served as the Company Sergeant Major of this unit and was still serving with the company at the time of his discharge in August of 1892.

Figure 3.  Tudor Hall.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikiwand)

            William Long served all of his time in the Army at home, without any active service or service abroad.  During the period of his service (1871 to 1892) the British Army was involved in small wars and military actions in Zululand, Afghanistan, South Africa, Egypt and the Sudan, to mention just a few.  Many men of the Royal Engineers took part in these campaigns and were awarded campaign medals for their service.  The men assigned to the Ordnance Survey customarily remained at home, serving in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, just as Long did.  Another man whose Army Long Service and Good Conduct medal is in the author’s collection, 9583 Sergeant John Johnston, R.E. is one such individual.  His service is very similar to that of Long.  It was not unusual for men who served with the Ordnance Survey to receive only the Army Long Service and Good Conduct medal for their service.

            In 1891 Long and his family lived in Clifton, Barton Regis, Gloucestershire, near Bristol as shown in the table below. 

1891 Census of England (RG 12/1969)

NOTES:

1)      Long is shown as a Sergeant in the census as he was not promoted to Company Sergeant Major until January 1892.

2)      Both sons are working for the Ordnance Survey as Clerks, positions they obtained probably due to the influence of their father who was a senior NCO at the time.

            Company Sergeant Major William W. Long was discharged from the Army at Bristol on 17 August 1892 on the termination of his second period of limited engagement.  At the time of his discharge he was serving in the 13^th (Survey) Company, Royal Engineers under the command of Captain P.S. Haynes, R.E.  Long served all of his 21 years and 1 day at home with no service abroad and no war service.  At the time of his discharge his habits were noted to be "temperate" and his conduct "very good."

Figure 4.  38 Pembroke Road, Clifton, Gloucestershire.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

            The table below provides a summary of CSM Long’s service.     

 ______________________________________________________________

            The following sections are presented in tabular form to summarize Long’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

William Long received the following promotions during his time in service:  

 7.  CONDUCT

Disciplinary Actions  

            No record of any disciplinary actions was found in Company Sergeant Major Long's military service records.

Good Conduct Badges  

            Company Sergeant Major Long received the following Good Conduct Badges during his time in service:[ix]

NOTE: Long entered the Army when the 1870 rules for awarding good conduct pay were in force.  Under these rules (and the subsequent 1876 rules) he received good conduct pay after 2, 6 and 12 years of total service.  His fourth and fifth good conduct badges were awarded under the 1876 rules at 16 years and 21 years.  It should be noted that he received each badge exactly on the anniversary date of his service as specified by the regulations for awarding the badges.[x] 

8.  MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

            Company Sergeant Major Long completed 18 years of service on 8 August 1889 and became eligible for the award of the Army Long Service and Good Conduct medal.  This medal was subsequently issued to him the following year.[xi]  As previously indicated, it was the only medal awarded to him during his military career.

            The medal is named to him on the rim in engraved capital letters as shown here:

11316. SERG^T W. LONG. R.E.

Figure 5.  CSM Long’s Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
(Photograph from the author’s collection)

9. EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS  

a.      Education

Company Sergeant Major Long earned a Second Class and a First Class Certificate of Education in 1886.[xii]  His service papers do not indicate the day or month that each of the certificates was issued.  

b. Qualifications  

William Long entered the Army after having worked as a Surveyor in civil life.  He spent his more than 21 years in the Army as a Surveyor working on the Ordnance Survey of England.

10.  MEDICAL INFORMATION  

The following information was taken from William Long's medical records during his time in service:

 11.     MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND PERSONAL INFORMATION

Parents  

            William Walter Long’s father, William Long, was a 62-year old Army Pensioner in 1861.[xiii]  If he was born in 1799 then he turned 18 years of age in 1817.  If he enlisted in 1817 and assuming that he served for 21 years, he would have been discharged from the Army about 1838.  Unfortunately without more information it is impossible to determine in which regiment he might have served.  He does not appear in any census after 1861, so it may be assumed that he was deceased before 1871.

            William Walter Long’s mother, Sarah Long, was 31 years old in 1861.[xiv]  She was born sometime around 1830 and was 31 years younger than her husband.  Nothing more is known about her.  

Marriage

On 3 February 1875, William Long married Lucy Ellen A. Vingoe (1852-1912) at Guildford, Surrey without leave.[xv]  Lucy was originally from Penzance, Cornwall and was 23 years old at the time of their marriage.  She died on 12 January 1912 in “Inglehurst,” Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire.  Probate of her will took place in London on 16 February 1912 with her effects of £202-10s-4d going to her husband William, who was listed in the will as a “gentleman.”  Her effects would have been valued at about $30,600 USD in 2022 currency, a rather sizeable sum for the wife of an ex-Company Sergeant Major pensioner who was living on “independent means.”[xvi]

Children        

            The Longs first child, Charles William Henry Long (1875-?) was born at Reading, Berkshire on 11 November 1875.  A second son, Sydney Walter Herbert Long (1876-1958) was born at Stansted Montfield, Essex on 3 April 1878.   

            Charles W.H. Long (1875-?), aged 26 years, and Sydney W.H. Long (1876-1958), aged 23 years, are not shown in the 1901 census as living in their father's house.  At the start of the Great War of 1914-1918, Charles would have been 39 years of age and Sydney would have been 36 years of age.  There is no evidence that either man followed in his father's footsteps by joining the forces either before or during the Great War.  Neither man shows up as a casualty in Soldiers Died in the Great War.

            It appears that Charles never married.  His date of death is not known.  Sydney married one Eleanor Kate Bennett (1877-1942) on 26 September 1903 in Surrey.  They had a daughter, Muriel Hilary Eileen Long (1906-1984) who was born on 13 April 1906 in Shoreditch, London.  Eleanor Kate Long died in June 1942 at Bromley, Kent.  Sydney married a second time, at age 78, in June of 1954 at Wandsworth, Surrey.  His second wife was a widow, Enid Beatrice Bremner, née Stirrup (1895-?).  

Siblings

            William Walter Long had only one sibling, a sister named Charlotte Emma, who was born about 1850.[xvii]  No detailed information could be found regarding her life.

12.              POST SERVICE LIFE

            The 1901 census shows an entry for the household of William W. Long in the Civil Parish of Glasshouse Yard Entire, East Division of the Borough of Finsbury, Ecclesiastical Parish of Saint Botolphs without Aldersgate, in the Administrative County of London.  The Long's address is shown as 1 Rutland Place.  Rutland Place is located near Charterhouse Square in Finsbury, London EC1.  It is situated in close proximity to many famous places in London; namely, the Old Bailey, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, the General Post Office and St. Paul's Cathedral.  The 1901 British Census return contains the following entries. 

1901 Census of England (RG 13/263)

            No information was uncovered during this research regarding Company Sergeant Major Long's post service life other than what was uncovered in the 1901 British Census.  It is interesting to note, however, that after spending 21 years as a Surveyor and managing surveying teams as a senior Non-Commissioned Officer, Long became a Porter in a school.  One would have thought that a man with his experience could have found a position with a civil surveying or engineering firm.  By 1911 his situation changed again.

1911 Census of England

            Now his son Charles, age 35, was again living with his parents, single, and was working as a General Clerk but “out of employment.”

William Walter Long died on 6 November 1923 at Montagu Villas in Southminster, Essex.  At the time of his death he had been residing at 32 Balmoral Road in Gillingham, Kent.  Probate of his will took place in London on 15 January 1924.with his effects going to Mark Francis Waters, solicitor.  His effects amounted to £440 (about $39,000 US in 2022 currency).

Figure 6.  32 Balmoral Road, Gillingham, Kent
The Final Residence of CSM William Walter Long.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

ADDENDUM NO. 1

Freemasonry and Civil Occupation  

            According to the register of the Sir Thomas White Lodge, No. 1820, in London (page 235), William Walter Long became a member of this Masonic Lodge on 2 January 1903.  The register indicates that he was 50 years of age on his date of initiation and that his profession was School Poster.  It appears that he continued his membership in the Lodge until at least 1909.  

            The position of School Poster appears to have been one of a Caretaker, or Janitor or a Site Manager who was responsible for the security and maintenance of school buildings. His duties would have included cleaning, performing simple repairs and maintenance tasks and performing security checks for the buildings in his care.

            Long first shows up in the 1901 Census of England as a “Caretaker School Poster.”  This is nine years after he left the Army, so it may be assumed that he took this position soon after his discharge.  The Masonic lodge register mentioned above lists him as a “School Poster” and then in the 1911 Census of England and Wales his personal occupation is listed as “independent means” so it may be assumed that he was retired.  The term School Poster appears to have existed in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century.  It does not appear to be in use any longer.

REFERENCES:

Books

1. BARTHOLOMEW, J.  Reference Atlas of Greater London.  John Bartholomew & Son, Ltd., The Geographical Institute, Edinburgh, 1957.

2. FARWELL, B.  Mr. Kipling’s Army: All the Queen’s Men.  W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1981.

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

4. 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.      1861 Census of England (RG 9/673).

2.      1871 Census of England (RG 10/1695).

3.      1881 Census of England (RG 11/2512).

4.      1891 Census of England (RG 12/1969).

5.      1901 Census of England (RG 13/263).

6.      1911 Census of England and Wales.  

Documents  

1. Service Record (WO97/3311) of 11316 Company Sergeant Major William W. Long, R.E., including the following documents:

a. Attestation Paper

b. Medical History

c. Military History Sheet

d. Record of Services

e. Statement of Services  

2. Marriage Certificate of William Walter Long and Lucy Ellen Vingoe.

3. Probate Calendar, 1912, p. 78.

4. Probate Calendar, 1924, p. 116.

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

6. LARIMORE, F.B.  Rules for Awarding Good Conduct Badges, Philadelphia, 2003.  

Family Tree

Ancestry.com, Long Family Tree by RayMar139  

1. William Walter Long (1853-1923): Main character.
2. Lucy Ellen Vingoe (1852-1912): Wife.
3. Charles William Henry Long (1875-?): Son.
4. Sydney Walter Herbert Long (1876-1958): Son.
5. William Long (1799-?): Father.

Internet Web Sites  

1.      GASE, S.  Movements of Royal Engineers Companies.  West Drayton, Middlesex, 2001.

2.      A Short History of 13 Field Survey Squadron Royal Engineers.

http://www.militarysurvey.org.uk/Historic%20Archive/Units/13/A%20Short%20history%20of%2013.htm  

Periodicals

Regiment magazine, Issue 13, The Corps of Royal Engineers, April/May 1996.

ENDNOTES: