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Quartermaster Sergeant James Mc Kay
Royal Sappers and Miners

by
©Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, 1981.

PREFACE

This account is unique in that the subject of the book, Quartermaster Sergeant James McKay, began his military service as a boy drummer in the Royal Artillery in 1803. He took an active part in the campaigns against Napoleon's armies in the Netherlands and France, as a member of the Royal Sappers and Miners. After the Napoleonic Wars he was assigned to survey duties, spending the remainder of his 41 years of service engaged in this work. The Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal earned by Quartermaster Sergeant McKay is the oldest medal in the author's collection. Although it is the only medal ever awarded to McKay, his length of service makes an account of his military record worth relating in detail.

GIBRALTAR, 1792 to 1812

James McKay was born in October 1792 in the Province of Andalusia, Gibraltar. On 1 December 1803, at the age of eleven, he enlisted as a boy drummer in the Royal Regiment of Artillery. He served for almost seven years as a boy soldier, but being under age these years were not credited to him for total military service. On 1 October 1810, having reached the eligible age for military service, he attested as a Private in the Royal Artillery [1].

ENGLAND, 1812 to 1813

A Royal Warrant dated 23 April 1812 authorized the formation of the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham to instruct the Royal Military Artificers and the junior officers of the Royal Engineers in the duties of sapping and mining and other military fieldworks. At the same time the title, Royal Military Artificers, was changed to Royal Sappers and Miners to give the engineers a more martial designation [2]. James McKay transferred to the Royal Sappers and Miners on 30 November 1812, still holding the rank of Private. The transfer took place in England where Private McKay was posted to the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Sappers and Miners.

Royal Engineer Officer and Private, Royal Sappers and Miners, circa 1813.

At the time of McKay's transfer to the Royal Sappers and Miners the allied forces in Europe were fully committed against the French. In Holland the Dutch were endeavoring to recover their fortresses from the French. To assist them an expedition was sent from England in the winter of 1813 to act in conjunction with a Prussian Corps under General Bulow. The British force was placed under the command of Sir Thomas Graham. The Commander Royal Engineers of this British force was Lieutenant Colonel Carmichael Smyth, and Captain R. Thomson, R.E. commanded Private McKay's company [3].

THE NETHERLANDS, 1813 to 1814

The 4th Company, 2nd Battalion sailed from Margate with Captain Thomson, Sub-Lieutenant T. Adamson, and 82 men. The company arrived off Helvoetsluys on 15 December 1813. It was not until 18 December however, that the company went ashore at Williamstadt. There the company suffered loss by the accidental burning of the barracks in which it was quartered. After removing stores from the ships, parties of the company were employed in preparing fascines and gabions, in bridge building, construction of a landing place of faggots for the disembarkation of the cavalry, and in removing the platforms and heavy mortars from the ramparts at Williamstadt for movement to Merxam.

These tasks completed, the company was immediately pushed to the front. Tholen was their destination, and by the evening of 18 December they had covered ten miles, resting for the night at Steinbergen. The night march was extremely difficult as rain had set in and the road that lay along a dike was in a wretched state from previous traffic. The horses frequently could scarcely walk because of the deep mud along the track. The company also had some difficulty tracking their way due to ignorance of the country and the peculiar arrangement of the roads following the dikes. The darkness added to their perplexities and all members of the company were delighted at length to reach Steinbergen.

On 19 December the march to Tholen was resumed, passing near to the French occupied fortress at Bergen-Op-Zoom. Upon reaching Tholen elements of the company were sent to Klundert, Groat Zundert, Zandwarbeiten, Steenbergen, and Fort Frederic near Lillo.

The company's first operation commenced on 31 December with the construction of a bridge at Zandwarbeiten. Another work party at Tholen, attached to the Prussians, built a battery on the bank of the River Zoom for the protection of a flying bridge while at Fort Frederic a party restored a battery for two guns.

Leaving 16 men at Tholen and Zandwarbeiten, Private McKay's company commenced the march to Antwerp. Following the artillery, the company was repeatedly ordered to the front to remove abbatis and other obstructions encountered on the route. From intense frost and a heavy and continuous fall of snow blowing in their faces, they encountered many difficulties and suffered extremely during the journey.

Merxam was taken on 2 February 1814 and the company began the erection of batteries to attack the French fleet at Antwerp. The company laboured steadily for 72 hours, being permitted no rest, on the construction of a 16 gun battery, the laying of platforms, the reverting of embrasures and the construction of a splinter proof magazine. Under heavy fire from the guns of the fleet the work was extremely perilous at times and two privates were wounded [4].

It was thought that the batteries could be constructed and a sufficient amount of fire brought to bear on the French fleet taking shelter within the basin of Antwerp. In fact, it was believed that the fleet could be destroyed without the necessity of capturing the fortress. The operation, however, was quite out of the power of the limited force then available. It was decided that the British and Prussian Corps would have to invest Antwerp. The Royal Sappers and Miners began work on the batteries to support the assault.

Private McKay's company was charged with constructing a battery for three 24-pounder guns. The position in which they found themselves was very exposed, the French having constructed a battery in advance of the fortifications that fired right upon them. McKay's company was working in a garden near a house, and there were many trees around. They were subjected to an appalling fire, the whiz of the shells carrying death and destruction, crashing upon the house, splitting and throwing about the branches of the trees. Considering the position, the company suffered very few casualties and the battery was completed on 3 February. Their steady work and skill in attending to the more perilous parts of the work won the admiration of officers and soldiers of the British force. On 5 February, Sir Thomas Graham, in general orders dated Merxam, did full justice to the zeal and exertions of the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion by stating "that they deserved the highest praise" for their courage during the action.

The bombardment of Antwerp was kept up on February 3rd, 4th, and 5th, but on the 6th General Bulow withdrew the Prussian Corps, which was called away to Brussels. The British force, being itself insufficient to support the attack, abandoned it.

After the failure at Antwerp, the headquarters of McKay's company went into cantonments at Rosendaal, and parties were detached to Groat Zundert, Fort Henrick, Calmthout, Eschen and Brieschaet. Private McKay and six other men under Corporal James Hilton conducted some experimental bridging at Groat Zundert with the view to adopting the easiest plan for crossing ditches in future advances. Sir Thomas Graham and Colonel Carmichael Smyth took particular interest in the formation of a ditch bridge and Sir Thomas even laboured himself in its construction. From the unevenness of the banks of the ditch where the party was working they found that the bridge did not lie firmly. Private James McKay was in the act of obtaining the desired steadiness, when Sir Thomas took a spare spade, cut some sods, and assisting to place them in the required positions, only gave up when the work was satisfactorily completed [4]. Thus it was that Private James McKay was assisted by a most distinguished General in the construction of an earthen bank.

On 8 March 1814 the British attacked Bergen-Op-Zoom with four columns. Parties of McKay's company were attached to each of the columns. The sappers were provided with axes, saws, crossbars, and a few ladders to scale the fortress. At 10:30 a.m. the attack was made. The sappers cut down the palisades, crossed the ditches, planted the ladders, and leading the way in the escalade, were the first soldiers on the enemy's ramparts. They then pushed forward to remove any obstacles that opposed the advance of the infantry. The French counterattacked vigorously and in a few hours regained the fortress. During the assault McKay's company lost three killed, including Sub-Lieutenant Adamson, 13 wounded and 10 captured. Such heavy losses certainly attest to the dangerous part played by the company in the attack. Of the conduct of the sappers in this assault Colonel Carmichael Smyth entered in the official despatched that McKay's company conducted itself with the utmost coolness and courage. In a letter dated 2 April 1814 the Master-General expressed his satisfaction with the zealous conduct of the sappers as follows:

Pall Mall, 2nd April 1814

Sir,- Lieutenant General Mann desires me to inform you that his Lordship the Master-General, before whom your report of the gallant, though unsuccessful, attack upon the fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom has been laid, has expressed himself highly satisfied with the zealous conduct of yourself and the officers of Engineers, as well as the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of the Royal Sappers and Miners on the above occasion. I am also desired to convey a particular approbation of the gallantry and ability shown by Lieutenant Sperling while attached to the advanced party which first entered the fortress under the immediate command of the late Colonel Carleton. You will be pleased to make known this communication to the officers and men under your orders.

I am, &c., &c.,

Signed, JOHN ROWLEY

Dy. Inspr. Genl. of

Fortifications

Soon after the reverse at Bergen-Op-Zoom, the greater part of McKay's company was sent to South Beveland and attached to the engineer brigades of Captains R. Thomson (former commander of the company) and J. Oldfield, to be employed in the attack of Fort Batz. Before the attack could commence the news of peace arrived. The company returned into cantonments at Rosendaal, then changed its headquarters to Horst, and on 2 May assembled at Antwerp, where it remained, with the exception of some small detachments, to the end of the year. In September 1814 the company was inspected by Lieutenant General Clinton, who expressed himself "highly pleased with their appearance." During the remainder of 1814 parties of the company were detached for duties at Liere, Schilde, Graven Wesel, Brussels, Tournai and Mons. On 1 October 1814 McKay was promoted to 2nd Corporal.

For several months during 1815 McKay's company was employed in improving the defences of the frontiers of the Netherlands, particularly at Ypres, Tournay, Mons, Dendermond, Ath, Namur, Charleroi and Brussels. Meanwhile Napoleon, breaking his captivity in Elba, reappeared in France. The French Army rallied to him and again lifted him into the imperial seat. Europe was once more thrown into commotion by the event and war was at once declared by the Allies against Napoleon.

FRANCE, 1815 to 1818

The 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Sappers and Miners remained in the Netherlands to man the frontier posts and fortresses. On 1 June 1815 James McKay was promoted to Corporal. Although no companies of the Royal Sappers and Miners were engaged at Waterloo, all companies of the Corps moved with the army towards Paris after the battle, leaving a few small detachments dispersed in Flanders. At Paris the sappers were called upon to perform a domiciliary visit to the capital. After the capitulation of Paris the Royal Sappers and Miners were encamped in the vicinity of the city. Late in the year they were removed to other stations on the northern frontiers of France, and until the formation of the army of occupation, were constantly changing their quarters and furnishing detachments for particular services at different places. Of the eleven companies in France only five remained with the army of occupation. Corporal McKay's was one of these and commanded by Sub-Lieutenant J. Adam it formed part of the 3rd Division. Corporal McKay's company was quartered at Valenciennes and this was his permanent station until he left France in 1818.

To keep up the training of the Corps of Sappers and Miners in France, Sir James Carmichael Smyth had the companies embark on rigorous training programs. Schools were established for the men and prizes liberally awarded for industrious application and advancement. Corporal McKay and his company went through many hours of training in the use of the musket, drill, and the construction of field works. Reports of individual progress in instruction were prepared weekly, and after careful examination promotions were distributed according to merit. James McKay did well in his training and was promoted to Sergeant on 1 August 1817. Unfortunately during this same year McKay was affected by opthalmia while at Valenciennes for which he was under treatment between two and three months. His eyesight was affected markedly and over the years to come the condition was to cause him serious difficulties.

In early November 1818 the withdrawal of the army of occupation began. The companies of Sappers and Miners marched from Cambrai to Calais where they remained for about a week encamped on the east side of the town and assisted in the embarkation of cavalry horses. During this period Sergeant McKay found himself in some difficulties concerning the loss of an item of personal equipment. According to his service record "he was tried on the 10th November 1818 for having sold, lost, or otherwise made away with his Regimental Blanket, and was sentenced to be put under stoppages". He was not confined or reduced in rank, but apparently was made to pay for the lost blanket. This incident did not appear to have had any adverse affect on his career as his conduct and character were considered to be "exemplary" and he was to receive further promotions and positions of greater responsibility. With this incident out of the way Sergeant McKay sailed with his company and arrived in England before the end of the month.

ENGLAND, 1818 to 1825

After the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Sappers and Miners were to enjoy a relatively long period of peacetime service. By the Royal Warrant of 20 March 1819 the peacetime establishment of a company was fixed at:

for a total of 62 non-commissioned officers and men. Sergeant McKay's company remained in England where Royal Sappers and Miners were stationed at Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth. They immediately embarked on training programs in field operations, mining, the construction of flying saps, and the maneuvering of pontoons. In addition to these training exercises, non-commissioned officers and men were from time to time used on work of some utility during the period 1820 to 1825. Some of their projects included:

1. Determination of differences of longitude between the observatories at Paris and
Greenwich (July to November 1822).
2. Visits to principal trigonometric stations in England (July to November 1822).
3. The destruction of powder mills at Feversham (June 1823).
4. Pontoon testing at Medway near the Gunwharf and at Rochester Bridge (September to
October 1824).
5. Exploratory geological borings at Sheerness and the Isle of Grain (November 1824 to
January 1825).

The work which was to consume the remainder of Sergeant McKay's service in the Army actually got its start in June 1824 when a committee of the House of Commons recommended the trigonometric survey of Ireland. The measure was sanctioned and Colonel Thomas Colby, R.E. was appointed to superintend the work. In August 1824 Colonel Colby proposed the formation of the first Surveying Company to be composed of men of the Royal Sappers and Miners. Colonel Colby gave the following reasons to employ military engineers on this task [5]:

"When this Survey was proposed, a large portion of the Engineer Corps was unemployed, and I conceived that the whole of the soldiers in the Corps of Sappers had gone through a course of practical geometry, etc., under Colonel Pasley at Chatham. It appeared a regular Military Body might be formed from these sources, who could soon become capable of' executing the greater part of the work, and that the deficiencies might readily be supplied as occasion required. The formation of this Military Body from the Corps of Engineers and Sappers during a period of profound peace, when few adequate objects were presented for the exertion of those peculiar talents which fit them for the duties expected in time of war, seemed to me to possess great advantages with regard to the Corps themselves.

As far as regarded the advancement of the Survey itself, two circumstances seemed in favour of this arrangement; the one the unity of the system and facility of direction arising from military discipline, and the other the nature of the information already attained by the officers and soldiers... By the Military Body the whole of the work will be performed according to regular instructions, and it is probable that every part will be executed with equal accuracy, at least the instructions are so devised that the work itself will afford facilities by which its errors, if any, may readily be detected and traced to their source ... After the Military Body has acquired experience it will also have the further advantage of carrying on the work with much greater celerity than it could have been carried on by the hire of Surveyors."

On 22 September 1824 the Duke of Wellington approved of Colby's scheme, and Colby was given a free hand to select officers and men. On 26 November 1824 the first detachment of the first Surveying Company (numbered the 13th Company, Royal Sappers and Miners) arrived at Chatham. The men selected for this company were among the most intelligent of the Corps. They were all capable of reading and writing and had to pass through a course in practical geometry. Although not indicated in his service record specifically, it appears that Sergeant James McKay was among the first chosen, as will be seen by his long association with the survey work in Ireland throughout the remainder of his service.

On 1 December 1824 the Duke of Wellington, then Master General of Ordnance, obtained the official Royal Warrant for the formation of the company. The complete company of 62 noncommissioned officers and men was assembled at Chatham by 8 December and was placed under the command of Major William Reid, R.E. For the next two and a half months the men of the company received the required training in practical geometry under Lieutenant Colonel C. Pasley, Director of the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham.

IRELAND, 1825 to 1842

On 18 March 1825 the first detachment of the company, consisting of one Colour Sergeant and twenty rank and file, was conveyed to Dublin under the command of Lieutenant Edward Vicars, R.E. This detachment initially proceeded to Mountjoy where the headquarters of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland was established. The remainder of the company departed for Ireland on 31 March 1825 and proceeded immediately to Dromore where it met with the first detachment, completing the company’s establishment in early April 1825. The entire company was now distributed in small sections to Antrim, Belfast, Coleraine, Dungiven, and Londonderry to conduct its survey work. By the end of 1825 Sergeant McKay's company was entirely dispersed in the field. Several men were employed in offices as draftsmen and computers; but at this early period very few were entrusted with any particular responsibility. Civilian assistants, for the most part, were seconded to the officers, and aided in superintending the management of the districts; but in the field, the sappers took the lead as surveyors, never working as chainmen, or subordinately to the civilians. As the duty was new, their qualifications required tact and practice before a fair return of progress could be realized.

The Royal Sappers and Miners worked diligently on the Irish Survey over the next few years. In February 1828 Colonel Colby reported [6]:

"On the whole the Royal Sappers and Miners have proved a highly efficient force, and it is much to be regretted that they are not more immediately identified with their Officers by being called Engineers instead of Sappers, etc. They are deprived of the encouragement of being mentioned in Public Despatches by having no officers of the same name. And it cannot be doubted but the means of obtaining good recruits is greatly diminished by this apparently trivial circumstance of having to bear a long and obscure name which has no reference to the greater part of their duties."

Colonel Pasley in a letter to Colby commented [7].

"The different name has been and is the greatest possible impediment to the Recruiting of the Corps. In fact it deters the men most qualified for our Service from entering it. I wish to God, that vile labour-like name could be abolished."

The change of name advocated by Colby, and even earlier by Pasley, was not sanctioned until 1856. In the London Gazette for the 17th October, in that year, appeared the following notifications:

"The Queen has been graciously pleased to direct, that the corps of royal sappers and miners shall henceforward be denominated the corps of royal engineers, and form one body with the existing corps of royal engineers."

On 21 July 1830 Sergeant James McKay reengaged for service in the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners for a period beyond 21 years. He was almost 38 years of age at the time and had already served a total of 19 years and 11 months with the colours. His reengagement took place in Dublin where he was still serving with the survey of Ireland. On 1 April 1831 McKay was promoted to Colour-Sergeant, the substantive rank he would hold until his retirement some 13 years later.

In December 1834 James McKay was appointed acting quartermaster sergeant with the pay of the rank. Entrusted with the care and issue of the engravings of the survey, more than 180,000 passed through his hands, amounting in value to more than 35,500 Pounds, the accounts for which, rendered half-yearly to the Irish Government, were never found to contain a single error. So extensive a responsibility rarely fell to a non-commissioned officer [8].

This assignment apparently removed McKay from the 13th Company and placed him at the survey Headquarters Division at Mountjoy, thus taking him away from field survey duties. Being much trusted by Colonel Colby, an attempt was made to make his acting rank permanent. This occurred in 1839 when the survey companies were generally employed on confidential duties and dispersed over a vast extent of country; while most of the non-commissioned officers and many of the privates were in charge of parties, performing duties which required the exercise of great judgment and discretion. The additional permanent rank was granted to invest the noncommissioned officers with more weight and authority among their parties, and to supersede recourse to the anomalous expedient of supernumerary promotion.

The same reason that diminished the civil strength of the national survey, induced a disposition among the best soldiers of the Corps on that duty to purchase their discharge. Several quitted during the tithe survey mania, and the vacancies in the three survey companies by this and other means, showed that encouragement was wanted to influence them to continue in the service. To afford this, Colonel Colby obtained the power on 16 August 1839 to award working pay to the Royal Sappers and Miners under his command, to the maximum of 3s. per day, according to individual merit and exertion, in addition to their regimental pay and allowances.

This however, was not regarded by Colonel Colby as sufficient to meet the emergency. It was hopeless for him to compete in pecuniary payments with the expensive parochial surveys of England, and he therefore asked for two military rewards in addition to the augmented working pay. These were the permanent rank and pay of one sergeant-major and one quartermaster-sergeant. But the Master-General did not view the matter in the same light as Colby, and only consented to the appointment of an acting sergeant-major with the pay of the rank. This Colonel Colby did not consider an adequate distinction, and he never availed himself of it. It was for this reason that James McKay never received a promotion to permanent quarter-master sergeant. There is good reason to believe that had it been allowed, McKay eventually might have been promoted to sergeant-major.

The survey of Ireland upon the six inch scale was virtually completed in December 1842, terminating with Bantry and the neighborhood of Skibbereen. The directing force in that great national work was divided into three districts in charge of three captains of Royal Engineers in the country, and a headquarters office for the combination and examination of the work, correspondence, engravings and printing, in the charge of a fourth captain. To each of these districts the survey companies were attached in relative proportion to the varied requirements and contingencies of the service, and adapted to the many modifications which particular local circumstances frequently rendered imperative. James McKay and a staff of non-commissioned officers and men were stationed at the headquarters office, discharging their duties of trust and importance.

Colonel Colby in his closing official report, spoke of the valuable aid which he had received from the Royal Sappers and Miners in carrying on the survey, and as a mark of consideration for their merits, and with the view of retaining in confidential situations the non-commissioned officers who by their integrity and talents had rendered themselves so useful and essential, he recommended the permanent appointment of quarter-master sergeants to be awarded to the survey companies; but this honour so ably urged was, for economical reasons, not conceded.

Seventeen years had the sappers and miners been employed on the general survey and had traveled all over Ireland. They were alike in cities and wastes, on mountain heights and in wild ravines, had traversed arid land and marshy soil, wading through streams and tracts of quagmire in the prosecution of their duties. To every vicissitude of weather they were exposed, and in storms high up in the mountains subjected to personal disaster and peril. Frequently they were placed in positions of imminent danger in surveying bogs and moors, precipitous mountain faces, and craggy rocks and coasts. Boating excursions too were not without their difficulties and hazards in gaining islands almost unapproachable, and bluff isolated rocks and islets, often through quicksand and the low channels of broad sandy bays and inlets of the sea where the tide from its strength and rapidity precluded escape unless by the exercise of extreme caution and vigilance, or by the aid of boats.

Hardship and toil were the common incidents of their everyday routine, for on mountain duty theirs was a career of trial and vicissitude. Comforts they had none, and what with want of accommodations and amusement in a wild country, on a dizzy height, theirs was not an enviable situation. Covered only by a canvas tent or marquee they barely were closed in from the biting cold and the raging storm; and repeatedly tents, stores, and all, were swept away by the wind or consumed by fire, while the hardy tenants, left on the bleak mountain top, remained for days together half naked and unsheltered. Even on the less exposed employments of the survey, the men were subjected to many discomforts and fatiques. The marching was harassing; miles to and from work were daily tramped, frequently in drenching rain; and in this weather soaked to the skin, they continued to work. Night after night for two or three weeks together the men returned to their quarters dripping wet; and when, in frosty weather, their clothes froze on their backs, the removal of boots and trousers only being accomplished by immersing their legs in warm water. During this period the casualties by death in Ireland amounted to twenty-nine of all ranks.

ENGLAND, 1842 to 1845

In June 1842 James McKay left Ireland for his new station at Woolwich. There he spent the closing days of his military career in an administrative capacity and reverted to his substantive rank of Colour Sergeant. On 9 October 1843 his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Michael of Russia inspected the troops at Woolwich. Colour Sergeant James McKay and the other Royal Sappers and Miners at the station were on parade and marched past. The following day the Grand Duke, accompanied by Lord Bloomfield, visited the sappers' barracks, walked through the rooms, examined the weapons of the corps and expressed general pleasure with their appearance.

On 13 June 1844 at Woolwich a Regimental Board convened to verify the service of Colour Sergeant James McKay and approve his discharge from the army after 33 years and 282 days of service. On 8 June 1844 he had been given a physical examination and his medical report reads as follows [9]:

Defective Sight- He was with the Army of Occupation in France during the whole time. In 1817 he was affected with Opthalmia at Valenciennes for which he was under treatment between two and three months, and he has suffered more or less from that time. His sight is affected more particularly in hot weather, and is gradually getting worse. His general health is good but he is no longer able to go through much fatigue. The disability is caused by his military service.

It was the opinion of the Principal Medical Officer at Woolwich that:

"After a careful examination, I am of opinion that James McKay is unfit for service and likely to be permanently disqualified for military duty; but that he is able to contribute something towards his livelihood."

The discharge board reckoned his period of service to 9 July 1844. He was credited with five years service abroad in the Netherlands and France and it was recorded that he had been present at the Bombardment of Antwerp in January 1814 and the Blockade of the French Fleet in February and March of 1814. His general character was listed as "exemplary" and the cause of his discharge as "defective eyesight."

James McKay was discharged at Woolwich on 9 July 1844 at the age of 51 years and 9 months, with a pension of 2s. and 4d. a day. He obtained a quiet, unpretending position in Birmingham, where his business habits made him of essential service in the promotion of a scheme for a loan society on liberal principles. For his military service he was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and gratuity on 24 April 1845. His name appears on the Medal Roll WO 102/9 verifying his eligibility for this medal.

REFERENCES

1. Discharge Papers. WO97/1150. Colour Sergeant James McKay, Royal Sappers and Miners.
Woolwich, 13 June 1844.
2. BOYD, DEREK. Royal Engineers. Famous Regiments Series. Leo Cooper, Ltd, London, 1975, pp.
29-30.
3. PORTER, Major General W. The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Volume I. The
Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952, Chapter XVI.
4. CONNOLLY, T.W.J. The History of the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners, Volume I. Longman,
Brown, Green and Longmans, London, 1855, pp. 206-210.
5. The Institution of Royal Engineers. Journal, December 1925, p. 558.
6. Ibid., p. 563.
7. Ibid., p. 564.
8. CONNOLLY, p. 321.
9. Discharge Papers.
10. BOYD, p. 11.
11. LAVER, JAMES. British Military Uniforms. The Ring Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1948, Plate 10.
12. BARNES, R. MONEY. A History of the Regiments and Uniforms of the British Army. Seely Service
and Co. Ltd, London, 1957, p. 119.

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