23509 (1855396) Lance Sergeant Ernest Downes, Royal Engineers

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

This study was initiated after the author acquired the Captain A.E. Haynes Bronze Medal awarded to Lance Sergeant Downes when he was a young Pioneer undergoing recruit training at the School of Military Engineering following his enlistment in the Army in 1913. Fortunately tracer cards were found on the Findmypast Family Records web site. These cards provided valuable information regarding his postings and promotions and were used as the core around which the remainder of the research was built. Additional sources included Monthly Army Lists, census and other civil documents, family trees, military documents The Royal Engineers Journal and The Sapper magazine.

Every effort has been made to make Sergeant Downes' story as complete and as accurate as possible given the available resources. Where a source for specific information in the narrative is not indicated, the reader should assume that the information came from Downes’ tracer cards.

Ernest Downes was born at 2, Dunkerd Cottages on Nelson Road in Gillingham, Kent. His father was Henry James Downes (1859-1932), a Gunner in the Royal Navy and Elizabeth Anne Downes (1865-1951), née Trussell. His birth was registered in the District of Medway on 8 May 1893.[1]

Little is known about his early childhood. In 1895 he and his family were living on Portsea Island in Hampshire, no doubt because of his father’s occupation as a Gunner in the Royal Navy. His mother gave birth to another child, William Harold Downes (1895-1896), while the family was living on Portsea Island. Sadly, young William died in infancy.

The 1911 Census of England and Wales shows the Downes family living in Portsmouth.

Dwelling: 84 Farlington Road
Census Place: North End, Portsmouth, Hampshire
Source: Census of England and Wales dated 2 April 1911
Name and Occupation	Relation	MarriageStatus	Age	Birthplace
Henry Downes Chief Gunner, Royal Navy⁽¹⁾	Head	Married	52	London
Elizabeth Anne Downes	Wife	Married	47	Portsea
Ernest Downes, Fitter & Turner Apprentice⁽²⁾	Son	Single	18	Gillingham, Kent

Figure 2. The Downes Home at 84 Farlington Road, North End, Plymouth
(Photograph courtesy of Google Earth)

Downes enlisted in the Corps of Royal Engineers in about January of 1913. He enlisted as a Pioneer, Regimental Number 23509, which is rather unusual as most new recruits in the Corps were enlisted as Sappers. Following the certification of his enlistment he was sent to the School of Military Engineers at Chatham, Kent for recruit training.

With the exception of Drivers, every recruit enlisted for the Royal Engineers had to have a trade. Pioneers and Sappers were sent to Chatham, where they were trained for a year in infantry drill and pioneer duties. During the summer every company in turn went into a tent-camp at Wouldham near Chatham, where the recruits were taught camp duties, pontooning and other field engineering tasks.[2] The engineer recruits also received musketry training. When the course of training was completed the recruits had to pass an examination and were then transferred to engineer formations, where they received higher pay and could earn extra allowances by working at their special trades.[3] While at Chatham, Downes excelled in the subject of field fortifications and was awarded the Captain A.E. Haynes Bronze Medal for his efforts. Upon completion of his recruit training Downes was designated a Fitter and was posted to the 23^rd Field Company at Aldershot, Hampshire.

Figure 3. Bridging Training at Wouldham Camp.
(Photograph courtesy of Kent Photo Archive, Wouldham Village History)

The 23^rd Field Company, Royal Engineers formed part of the 1^st Division when Pioneer Downes joined the company.[4] The Great War of 1914-1918 broke out shortly after Downes’ arrival at Aldershot. The 1^st Division was one of the first British infantry divisions to go to France and Flanders and it remained there throughout the war taking part in many of the major battles.

The 23^rd Field Company arrived in France on 15 August 1914, thus making Downes one of the “Old Contemptibles” who fought in the early stages of the war. It is difficult to know just how long Downes remained with the 23^rd Field Company as the medal roll authorizing him the British War Medal and Victory medal shows two changes to this regimental number, which indicates that he was transferred to other units during the war. It may be safe to assume that he was with the 23^rd Field Company for the major actions in 1914; namely, the Retreat from Mons (24 August to 5 September) and the Battle of Ypres (19 October to 22 November). It is possible that he was wounded in one of these actions and as a result of his wounds he had to be posted to a rear area unit for the remainder of the war.

The medal roll referred to above shows that his regimental number was changed to W.R./126976 and then to 343760. A study of the units associated with these numbers indicates that he may have been assigned to the Railway Operating Division of the Royal Engineers.[5] Specifically these numbers could have put him in one of the following units: the 47^th Broad Gauge Operating Company, the 54^th Light Railway Operating Company or the 278^th Railway Construction Company.[6]

Light Railway Operating Companies (LROC) consisted of approximately 200 men, in a number of trades: Drivers, Brakesmen, Guards, Wagon Repairers, Repair Shop Engineers, Traffic controllers and Storesmen. There were few officers among this number. The work of the LROC was to run the trains, with the tracks being laid by Royal Engineers Railway Construction Companies – often with the assistance of whatever Labour Corps Company or “resting” infantry were at hand.[7]

Downes appears to have been discharged or demobilized from the Army shortly after the war ended. For his service during the Great War he was awarded the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

If Downes had been wounded or injured during the war it appears that he had fully recovered by the end of the war. He physical condition was such that the Army considered him to be capable of further military service. On 22 February 1919 he re-enlisted for a period of 12 years for service in the Royal Engineers as a Sapper, Army Number 1855396.[8] His trade upon re-enlistment is shown in his records to be a Fitter. After about a year of additional training following his re-enlistment, Sapper Downes was posted to the 55^th Field Company on 11 February 1920.

Following the Great War the Allies began to occupy Ottoman territory soon after the Armistice of Mudros. A French brigade entered Constantinople on 12 November 1918. The first British troops entered the city on the following day. Sapper Downes was part of the British occupation force that moved into Constantinople. His tracer cards show that he was posted to the “Black Sea” with the 55^th Field Company. On 15 October 1920, while in Turkey, he was transferred to the 29^th Army Troops Company, R.E. He remained with this company until October of 1923 when he returned to England.

On 2 October 1923 Sapper Downes was posted to “G” Company of the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion at Chatham. This appeared to be an interim posting for him as he awaited orders for a more permanent station in the U.K. On 2 November 1923 he was posted to the 8^th (Railway) Company at Longmoor. One may assume that his posting to a railway company may have been the result of his service with the Railway Operating Division in France during the Great War and his assignment at that time to one of the railway companies previously mentioned during his wartime service.

The 8^th (Railway) Company had a long history of railway construction dating to before the Great War. At Longmoor the company was responsible for construction and maintenance of the railway training center located there.

Sapper Downes seemed to be prone to short postings during the 1920s. His next one came on 11 September 1924 when he was posted to the 42^nd Field Company, R.E. in Egypt, having spent less than a year at Longmoor. The company formed part of the Canal Infantry Brigade deployed at Moascar to protect the Suez Canal. Less than eight months after his arrival in Egypt he was back at Longmoor again working with railways.

On 1 May 1925 Downes returned to railway duties when he was posted to the 10^th (Railway) Company at Longmoor. On 21 September he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal while serving with this company. He spent less than a year at Longmoor on this posting when he was assigned to the British Army of the Rhine in Germany, again for duty with a railway unit.

On 26 March 1926 Lance Corporal Downes was posted to the Rhine Railway Company. This company formed part of the Royal Engineers presence in the British Army of the Rhine; that is, the British forces that occupied Germany between 1919 and 1929. The Rhine Railway Company appears to have been an ad hoc unit formed to assist in running the German railway system during the occupation period. Downes appears to have remained in Germany during the entire period of British occupation. He was promoted to the rank of Corporal while he was there and in fact he married his wife, Maria Anna Haus in Wiesbaden during his time there.

On 13 September 1929 Corporal Downes was posted to the 4^th Fortress Company at Gosport. He remained there for less than a year, being assigned to the 59^th Field Company at Aldershot on 29 August 1930.

When Downes arrived at his new unit, the 59^th Field Company formed part of the 1^st Division in the Aldershot Command and it was located temporarily at Bordon in east Hampshire taking part in maneuvers. The Commander Royal Engineer (CRE) of the 1^st Division at that time was Lieutenant Colonel Charles Edward Colbeck, MC, R.E. The company officers were:[9]

By November 1930 the 59^th Field Company’s field maneuvers were completed and it moved into a permanent station with the 4^th Division at Canterbury.[14]

In 1931 Corporal Downes completed 18 years of service and became eligible to receive the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. In April of that same year his company was in the Eastern Command and the 4^th Division’s CRE was Lieutenant Colonel F.McC. Douie, DSO, MC, R.E.[15]

In October of 1932 Corporal Downes was still with the 59^th Field Company at Canterbury. Lieutenant Colonel Colbeck Douie had been reported sick at this time, so the Acting CRE was Lieutenant Colonel E.H. Clarke, MC, R.E. Major Armstrong still commanded the 59^th Field Company, but all the subalterns had been replaced. Besides Major Armstrong, the officers in the company consisted of:

Ernest Downes was promoted to the rank of Lance Sergeant on 29 January 1933 while serving in the 59^th Field Company. He had served 20 years by this time, but his promotions seemed to have lagged somewhat behind his contemporaries. On 30 April 1934, with 21 years of service, Downes was discharged from the Army. At the time of his discharge Lieutenant Colonel Clarke was still the 4^th Division CRE. The number of officers in the 59^th Field Company and been greatly reduced and consisted of the following:

Lance Sergeant Ernest Downes’ total service with the Royal Engineers was reckoned as shown in the tables below.

Location	Period of Service
Chatham, Kent	January 1913 – 14 August 1914⁽¹⁾
France and Flanders	15 August 1914 – December 1918⁽²⁾
Chatham, Kent	22 February 1919 – 10 February 1920
Constantinople, Turkey	11 February 1920 – 1 October 1923
Chatham, Kent	2 October 1923 – 1 November 1923
Longmoor, Hampshire	2 November 1923 – 10 September 1924
Ismailia, Egypt	11 September 1924 – 30 April 1925
Longmoor, Hampshire	1 May 1925 – 25 March 1926
Wiesbaden, Germany	26 March 1926 – 12 September 1929
Gosport, Hampshire	13 September 1929 – 28 August 1930
Bordon, Hampshire	29 August 1930 – November 1930⁽³⁾
Canterbury, Kent	November 1930 – 29 April 1934

The following sections are presented in tabular form to summarize Lance Sergeant Downes’ 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.

Date of Promotion or Appointment	Rank or Position
January 1913	Pioneer, upon enlistment in the Royal Engineers.
22 February 1919	Sapper, upon re-enlistment in the Royal Engineers.
21 September 1925	Promoted Lance Corporal.
28 July 1928	Promoted Corporal.
29 January 1933	Promoted Lance Sergeant.

For his service during the Great War of 1914-1918 Downes would have been awarded the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Figure 4. The 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal
(NOTE: These are not the medals of Ernest Downes)

During his recruit training Brown was awarded the Haynes Medal for excellence in Field Fortifications at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham.

Figure 6. Downes’ Haynes Medal, Obverse and Reverse
(Photograph from the author’s collection)

Downes’ medal is named to him in impressed upper case letters on the rim as follows:

The medal is solid bronze, 2 inches in diameter and 0.15 inch in thickness. It weighs three ounces. The obverse of the medal is a high-relief profile image of Captain Alfred Ernest Hayne, R.E. The reverse is a high-relief image of two Sappers standing on the end of an expedient bridge built across a narrow stream.

The Haynes Medal is a memorial to Captain Alfred Ernest Haynes, R.E. The memorial medal was originated in 1898. Captain Haynes, as a junior officer, was selected by Colonel Charles Warren to accompany him on the Palmer Search Expedition in 1882 and in the Bechuanaland Expedition of 1884-5. He was Assistant Instructor in Survey at the School of Military Engineering from 1889 to 1894, and in 1896, while taking the 43^rd Company to Mauritius, he with his company joined the Matabeleland Expedition. During this expedition, Haynes was killed in a successful attack on Makoni's Kraal in Rhodesia. A subscription, in which many R.E. officers joined, was raised by his family and friends to erect a memorial in Rochester Cathedral. A balance of the fund was offered to the Corps and was used to provide a bronze medal to a Sapper in each party of recruits going through the Field Fortification course at the School of Military Engineering. The medal was designed by Frank Bowcher. Bowcher’s name appears below the bust of Captain Haynes.

Ernest Downes married Maria Anna Haus in Wiesbaden, Germany. Their German marriage license shows Downes as an Unteroffizier (Non-Commissioned Officer) in the British Army of the Rhine. It also shows his place of duty as Wiesbaden Kaserne. The certificate also shows Maria’s place of birth as Schmidt.

After Downes was discharged, he and his wife took up residence on Singledge Lane in Whitfield, near Dover, Kent. They named their house “Truenfels,” which appears to be a German word but it has no English translation. Downes was an Army Pensioner, but he worked as an electrical engineer and attendant at a coast defence plant near Dover. He was not an “electrical engineer” in the sense of having a degree in that field. Most likely he was responsible for running and/or maintaining a generator plant at a coastal defence installation.

Ernest Downes must have been seriously ill by 1935 and probably knew that his illness was terminal. On 21 August 1935 he prepared his Last Will leaving his estate to his wife, Maria Anna Downes and named her as sole executrix. His step-daughter Anna Haus is listed in the will as his heir, should his wife predecease him, and his sister-in-law as sole executrix in the event that his wife was deceased. His sister-in-law, Frieda Sattler was residing in Bieber b. Offenbach, a/n 41 Wald Strasse, Germany at the time that the will was prepared.[23] On 6 September 1935, only 16 days after having his will prepared, Ernest Downes died at his home in Dover. He was 42 years of age. When he had the will prepared he obviously knew that his time was short. His cause of death was listed on his death certificate as cancer of the liver. His death was registered on 8 September 1935 in the Registration District of Dover, Sub-district of St. Margaret’s at Cliff in the County of Kent. The informant of his death was his wife. Probate of his will took place in London on 25 September 1935.[24] His effects were left to his widow in the amount of £604-14s-7d (approximately $3,900 USD in 1935 currency).[25]

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

1. Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth, General Register Office, BXBY 754386, dated 10 November 1999.
2. The Last Will of Ernest Downes dated 21 August 1935.
3. Certified Copy of an Entry of Death, General Register Office, DXZ 651927, dated 9 November 1999.
4. England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915.
5. England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915.
6. England and Wales National Probate Calendar, 1935, p. 152.
7. UK, Foreign and Overseas Registers of British Subjects, 1628-1969 for Ernest Downes, RG 32: Miscellaneous Foreign Returns, 1831-1969. German Marriage Certificate.

[1] Birth Certificate.

[2] See the Wouldham Village History web site for an interesting discussion of the camp.

[3] GRIERSON, J.M., p. 185.

[4] It is uncertain at this point whether Downes was still a Pioneer or whether he had been remustered as a Sapper.

[5] REGNUM. A study conducted by the author of regimental numbers assigned to various units within the Royal Engineers during the Great War.

[6] WILLIAMSON, H.

[7] The Long Long Trail web site.

[8] Shortly after the Great War regimental numbers were replaced by Army numbers; that is, instead of each regiment or corps assigning numbers to new recruits, blocks of numbers were designated for each regiment or corps and men were assigned numbers from within these blocks. The Royal Engineers were allocated numbers in the range from 1842001 to 2303000.

[9] Royal Engineers List, July 1930.

[10] Later, Colonel.

[11] Later, Colonel.

[12] Later, Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Duperier Maclagan. Deceased: 5 Aug 1997.

[13] Later, Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Obbard. Deceased: 5 Sep 2001.

[14] The Sapper, August 1930.

[15] Royal Engineers List, April 1931.

[16] Later, Brigadier Stephen George Galpin (1898-1965).

[17] Later Brigadier Percy Fitzgerald Foley. Deceased: 1974.

[18] Later Colonel. Deceased: 23 May 1985.

[19] Later, Major General Joseph Kenneth Shepheard, CB/DSO/OBE. Deceased: 11 May 1997.

[20] Later, Brigadier, CBE. Deceased: 5 Nov 1990.

[21]Later, Lieutenant Colonel.

[22] Later, Colonel John Herbert Gillington. Deceased: 20 Apr 1970.

[23] Certified copy of the Will of Ernest Downes.

[24] 1935 Probate Calendar.

[25] Approximately $73,900 USD in 2021 currency.

Location

Date of Promotion or Appointment