Royal Engineer Labour
Battalions
by
Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis
During June 1915 both Royal Engineer and infantry labour battalions had been formed in England and sent overseas for work in army areas, mainly on road maintenance work. These units were formed from men of the navvy class and from men who were over military age or from men who, because of wounds, injury or illness, were no longer fit for front line combat service. The overage personnel were enlisted at a special rate of pay of 3 shillings per day [1,2].
For many months none of these battalions could be spared for the Lines of Communication (L. of C.), but about the end of 1915, the 8th Royal Engineer Labour Battalion was transferred to L. of C. work and was employed under the Director of Works (D.W.) on road making and forestry operations. By the middle of 1916, two infantry and two Royal Engineer Labour Battalions were employed on road making, quarrying and forestry [1].
It was originally intended to form 16 battalions, but only 11 were actually formed, for work in France. A battalion, designated the 18th, was raised in Ireland for work in Salonika, but owing to the difficulty of obtaining recruits it was sent overseas on a modified establishment [3].
It was subsequently decided that the Labour Battalions in France should be replaced by Infantry Works personnel as casualties occurred. The Labour Battalions were all absorbed by the Labour Directorate in January of 1917 and formed into the Labour Corps [1]. The Depot that had been formed at Southampton to deal with replacement personnel for the battalions, was abolished.
The following list indicates the controlling headquarters of various Labour Battalions during the Great War, as published in a series of articles known as Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers [4]:
1st Labour Battalion: XIV Corps
2nd Labour Battalion: 4th Army, III Corps, XV Corps and 5th Army
3rd Labour Battalion: 3rd Army, VII Corps and XVII Corps
5th Labour Battalion: 2nd Army
6th Labour Battalion: General Headquarters, 4th Army, 5th Army and XIII Corps
7th Labour Battalion: 2nd Army
8th Labour Battalion: Director of Works
9th Labour Battalion: 5th Army
11th Labour Battalion: 5th Army
12th Labour Battalion: General Headquarters
A study of the casualty lists contained in Soldiers Died in the Great War [5] indicates the following relationships between Royal Engineer regimental numbers and the R.E. Labour Battalions:
1st Labour Battalion: 110000 - 111000 and 124000 - 125000
2nd Labour Battalion: 110000 - 112000
3rd Labour Battalion: 114000 - 115000
4th Labour Battalion: 115000 - 116000
5th Labour Battalion: 115000 - 117000
6th Labour Battalion: 117000 - 118000
7th Labour Battalion: 117000 - 119000
8th Labour Battalion: 119000 - 120000
9th Labour Battalion: 120000 - 123000
10th Labour Battalion: 123000 - 124000
11th Labour Battalion: 124000 - 125000
12th Labour Battalion:
13th Labour Battalion: 124000 - 125000
While the correlation between the battalions and regimental numbers given above is not exact, the list shows pretty clearly that any individual with a regimental number in the series from 110000 to 125000 probably served in one of the R.E. Labour Battalions. Numbers in the 113000 series are missing and may have been assigned to some other R.E. units.
ENDNOTES & REFERENCES:
[1] The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919. Work Under the Director of Works (France). The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1924, p. 185.
[2] The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919. Miscellaneous. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1926, pp. 16 and 17.
[3] A study made by the author of Soldiers Died in the Great War shows casualties listed for the Depot Labour Battalions and Labour Battalions numbered 1 through 13. Additionally, there are casualties listed for a separate company, the 271st Labour Company. The existence of more than 11 Labour Battalions is also borne out by mention of the 12th Labour Battalion in Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers published in editions of The Royal Engineer Journal between 1925 and 1932.
[4] Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers. The Royal Engineer Journal, Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.
[5] Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919. Part 4. The Corps of Royal Engineers. J.B. Hayward & Son, Polstead, Suffolk, 1989.