Jump to content

Submarine mining units of the Royal Engineers

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Main article: Submarine Mining Service
Blue plaque at Clifford's Fort, North Shields, marking the HQ of the Tyne Division Submarine Miners (Volunteers).

The Submarine Mining Service was a branch of the Royal Engineers (RE) tasked with defending Britain's dockyards using fixed mines (also known as 'torpedoes' in the early days) and later electric searchlights. From 1871 the RE formed a number of submarine mining (SM) companies, stationed at defended ports in the UK and around the Empire. 30th Submarine Mining Company at Plymouth acted as the depot company for the Submarine Mining School.[1][2]

As the commitments of the service expanded the Regular RE companies were supplemented by SM companies (later 'divisions') formed within the Militia. The first was raised in 1878 as the Hampshire Engineers (Submarine Miners) at Gosport, expanded in 1883 to form the Southern Division Submarine Mining Militia of four companies stationed at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Chatham dockyards.[3][4][5] By 1892 these had been expanded to 10 divisions covering the main naval dockyards in the UK.[6] A high level committee on RE manpower chaired by Lord Sandhurst in 1885–6 recommended a rapid expansion of the SM service, including the Militia.[7]

A few SM companies were also formed in 1883–4 within Engineer Volunteer Corps (EVCs) of the Volunteer Force. However, the War Office decided in 1886 that the higher standard of training required by submarine miners made it more convenient to treat these companies as separate units, and seven Volunteer SM divisions were formed.[6][8]

After the submarine mining branch was abolished in 1907, the Regular units were converted into Fortress Companies, the Militia units were disbanded and most of the Volunteer units were reduced to small units working the searchlights for the gun defences. The following year these were incorporated into the Fortress Royal Engineer units of the Territorial Force.[8]

List of RE Submarine mining units

[edit]

Regulars

[edit]

Units formed in the Regular RE:[2]

Title Formed Station Disposal
4th Submarine Mining Company 1887 Gosport and Spithead 4th Fortress Company 1905
21st Submarine Mining Company 1885 Harwich 21st Fortress Company 1905
22nd Submarine Mining Company 1886 Gosport, later Yarmouth, Isle of Wight 22nd Fortress Company 1905
27th Submarine Mining Company 1888 Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Bermuda 27th Fortress Company 1905
28th Submarine Mining Company 1887 Chatham Dockyard and Gravesend, later Malta 28th Fortress Company 1905
30th Submarine Mining Company 1886 Gosport and Spithead 30th Fortress Company 1905
33rd Submarine Mining Company 1888 Cork Harbour 33rd Fortress Company 1905
34th Submarine Mining Company 1885 Malta, later Gravesend 34th Fortress Company 1905
35th Submarine Mining Company 1887 Pembroke Dock 35th Fortress Company 1905
39th Submarine Mining Company 1888 Chatham and Sheerness Dockyard 39th Fortress Company 1905
40th Submarine Mining Company 1888 Halifax, Nova Scotia 40th Fortress Company 1905
48th Submarine Mining Company 1900 Esquimault Dockyard and Victoria, British Columbia 48th Fortress Company 1905

Militia

[edit]

Units formed in the Militia:[3][5][6][9]

Title Formed Station Disposal
Hampshire Engineers (Submarine Miners) (Southern Division 1883) 1873 Portsmouth
1st (Hampshire) Submarine Mining Company 1878 Portsmouth Portsmouth Division
2nd (Hampshire) Submarine Mining Company Portsmouth Division
3rd (Devonshire) Submarine Mining Company 1885 Plymouth Plymouth Division
4th (Kent) Submarine Mining Company 1884 Chatham Thames and Medway Division
Portsmouth Division From Hampshire Companies 1888 Gosport Disbanded 1908
Needles Division From Portsmouth Division 1894 Fort Victoria, Isle of Wight Disbanded 1908
Plymouth Division From Devon Company 1888 Plymouth Disbanded 1908
Thames & Medway Division From Kent Company 1888 Chatham Separate Thames and Medway Divisions 1902
Thames Division From Thames & Medway Division 1902 Gravesend Disbanded 1908
Medway Division From Thames & Medway Division 1902 Sheerness Disbanded 1908
Harwich Division 1888 Harwich Disbanded 1908
Milford Haven Division 1888 Pembroke Dock Disbanded 1908
Severn Division (South Wales & Severn 1889, Western Division 1894) 1888 Pembroke Dock Disbanded 1908
Humber Division From Volunteers 1891 Paull-on-Humber East Riding Fortress Royal Engineers (TF)[10] 1908
Falmouth Division From Volunteers 1892 Falmouth Disbanded 1908

Volunteers

[edit]

Units formed in the Volunteers:[6][8]

Title Formed Station Disposal
Severn Division Submarine Miners 1886 from 1st Gloucestershire EVC 1885 Cardiff Glamorgan Fortress Royal Engineers and Welsh Divisional Telegraph Company 1908
Humber Division Submarine Miners 1886 Hull To Militia 1891
Tees Division Submarine Miners 1886 Middlesbrough North Riding Fortress Royal Engineers 1908
Falmouth Division Submarine Miners 1888 Falmouth To Militia 1891
Forth Division Submarine Miners 1887 Leith City of Edinburgh (Fortress) Royal Engineers 1908
Tay Division Submarine Miners 1887 Dundee Disbanded 1907
Tyne Division Submarine Miners 1888 from 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EVC North Shields Durham Fortress Royal Engineers 1908
Clyde Division Submarine Miners 1888 from 2 companies 1st Lanarkshire EVC Greenock Renfrewshire Fortress Royal Engineers 1908
Mersey Division Submarine Miners 1888 from K Company 1st Lancashire EVC Liverpool Lancashire Fortress Royal Engineers 1908

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Baker-Brown, pp. 222–4, 234.
  2. ^ a b Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 7–9.
  3. ^ a b Hart's, various dates.
  4. ^ Baker Brown, pp. 2–13.
  5. ^ a b Watson & Rinaldi, p. 10.
  6. ^ a b c d Army List, various dates.
  7. ^ Baker-Brown, p. 9.
  8. ^ a b c Westlake, pp. 15–7.
  9. ^ Hay, pp. 227–31.
  10. ^ Watson & Rinaldi, p. 12.

References

[edit]
  • Brig-Gen W. Baker Brown, History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Vol IV, Chatham: Institution of Royal Engineers, 1952.
  • Col George Jackson Hay, An Epitomized History of the Militia (The Constitutional Force), London: United Service Gazette, 1905/Ray Westlake Military Books, 1987, ISBN 0-9508530-7-0/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2015 ISBN 978-1-78331171-2.
  • Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889–2018, Tiger Lily Books, 2018, ISBN 978-171790180-4.
  • R.A. Westlake, Royal Engineers (Volunteers) 1859–1908, Wembley: R.A. Westlake, 1983, ISBN 0-9508530-0-3.
Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Submarine_mining_units_of_the_Royal_Engineers&oldid=1270515953"