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Chief Royal Engineer

April 16, 2024

The Chief Royal Engineer (CRE) is the official head of the Corps of Royal Engineers of the British Army.

Origin and development edit

Before the English Restoration a Chief Engineer was a pay grade and not defined. In 1660 King Charles II appointed Sir Charles Lloyd, who had served in the English Civil War, as head of a new department of engineers.[1] The position was confirmed in a Royal Warrant (26 May 1716), which also authorised the formation of the Corps of Engineers.[1]

When in 1802, Sir William Green, 1st Baronet retired, the office was abolished and Robert Morse became the newly created Inspector-General of Fortifications and of Royal Engineers (IGF).[2] Until 1855 the Inspector-General was attached to the Board of Ordnance and then was subordinate directly to the Commander-in-Chief.[2]

In 1862 the office was extended to Inspector-General of Engineers and Director of Work, keeping the affiliation in the former function while being now responsible to the Secretary of State for War in the latter.[3] On the resignation of Edward Frome in 1869, both offices were separated for one year.[3] The Director of Works was dropped in 1895 and the office was renamed to Inspector-General of Fortifications.[4] It was again abolished in 1904 and replaced by the Director of Fortifications and Works.

Modern times edit

In 1936 the post of Chief Royal Engineer was recreated and Sir Bindon Blood was appointed by King George V. Sir Bindon was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1860 and had a distinguished active career until he retired in 1907 aged 65. He was thus 94 years old when appointed Chief Royal Engineer. He resigned in 1940 and died a month later aged 97.

From 1941 until 2012 the professional head of the Corps was the Engineer-in-Chief (Army) (EinC(A)) who as 'Director of Royal Engineers', acted as the engineer advisor to the Chief of the General Staff (CGS) as well as to the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and other government ministries on matters of military engineering on behalf of the CGS. This post was disestablished following the Strategic Defence and Security Review and responsibility for the EinC's duties split between the Commandant Royal School of Military Engineering (heritage and training), Commander 8 Engineer Brigade (force generation matters) and the Corps Colonel RE (manning matters and first point of contact with external agencies).

The Chief Royal Engineer is head of the Corps of Royal Engineers and invariably a distinguished officer of the Corps; his tenure in the post is normally for a period of five years. He is responsible for seeing that the Corps' traditions and customs are preserved and the continuity of important matters of Corps policy. He keeps the Colonel-in-Chief informed on Corps matters and maintains contact with engineer units in the Commonwealth. He will have previously served as a Colonel Commandant and will continue to fill one of the vacancies.

Chief Royal Engineers, 1660–1802 edit

vacant for nine years

vacant for six years

Inspectors-General of Fortifications, 1802–1862 edit

Inspectors-General of Engineers and Directors of Work, 1862–1869 edit

Inspectors-General of Engineers, 1869–1870 edit

Inspectors-General of Fortifications and Directors of Work, 1870–1895 edit

Inspectors-General of Fortifications, 1895–1904 edit

Directors of Fortifications and Works, 1904–1936 edit

Chief Royal Engineers, 1936–present edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Whitworth, p. 93
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Whitworth, p. 94
  3. ^ a b c d e f Whitworth, p. 95
  4. ^ "No. 26685". The London Gazette. 3 December 1895. p. 6992.
  5. ^ "No. 12804". The London Gazette. 18 November 1786. p. 551.
  6. ^ "No. 24223". The London Gazette. 29 June 1875. p. 3303.
  7. ^ "No. 24867". The London Gazette. 27 July 1880. p. 4137.
  8. ^ "No. 25120". The London Gazette. 23 June 1882. p. 2904.
  9. ^ "No. 25611". The London Gazette. 27 July 1886. p. 3621.
  10. ^ a b "No. 26153". The London Gazette. 17 April 1891. p. 2116.
  11. ^ "No. 26961". The London Gazette. 26 April 1898. p. 2592.
  12. ^ "No. 27551". The London Gazette. 12 May 1903. p. 2988.
  13. ^ "No. 27690". The London Gazette. 28 June 1904. p. 4108.
  14. ^ "No. 28128". The London Gazette. 14 April 1908. p. 2851.
  15. ^ "No. 28530". The London Gazette. 12 September 1911. p. 6731.
  16. ^ "No. 30669". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 May 1918. p. 5424.
  17. ^ "No. 31865". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 April 1920. p. 4434.
  18. ^ "No. 32926". The London Gazette. 11 April 1924. p. 3009.
  19. ^ "No. 33287". The London Gazette. 24 June 1927. p. 4043.
  20. ^ "No. 34332". The London Gazette. 16 October 1936. p. 6610.
  21. ^ "No. 34836". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 1940. p. 2441.
  22. ^ "No. 37562". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 May 1946. p. 2271.
  23. ^ "No. 39327". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 September 1951. p. 4705.
  24. ^ "No. 41508". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 September 1958. p. 5955.
  25. ^ "No. 42342". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 April 1961. p. 3258.
  26. ^ "No. 44357". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 1967. p. 7386.
  27. ^ "No. 45718". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 1972. p. 7979.
  28. ^ "No. 47376". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 November 1977. p. 14320.
  29. ^ "No. 49237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 January 1983. p. 746.
  30. ^ "No. 51158". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 December 1987. p. 15609.
  31. ^ "No. 53305". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 May 1993. p. 8630.
  32. ^ "No. 55481". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 May 1999. p. 5195.
  33. ^ "No. 57284". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 2004. p. 5842.
  34. ^ "No. 59058". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 2009. p. 8060.
  35. ^ "No. 60669". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 October 2013. p. 21336.
  36. ^ "No. 62413". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 September 2018. p. 16640.
  37. ^ "No. 64327". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 February 2024. p. 3872.

References edit

  • Porter, Whitworth (1889). History of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Vol. II. London: Longmans, Green and Co.

External links edit

    April 16, 2024
    chief, royal, engineer, official, head, corps, royal, engineers, british, army, contents, origin, development, modern, times, 1660, 1802, inspectors, general, fortifications, 1802, 1862, inspectors, general, engineers, directors, work, 1862, 1869, inspectors, . The Chief Royal Engineer CRE is the official head of the Corps of Royal Engineers of the British Army Contents 1 Origin and development 2 Modern times 3 Chief Royal Engineers 1660 1802 4 Inspectors General of Fortifications 1802 1862 5 Inspectors General of Engineers and Directors of Work 1862 1869 6 Inspectors General of Engineers 1869 1870 7 Inspectors General of Fortifications and Directors of Work 1870 1895 8 Inspectors General of Fortifications 1895 1904 9 Directors of Fortifications and Works 1904 1936 10 Chief Royal Engineers 1936 present 11 Notes 12 References 13 External linksOrigin and development editBefore the English Restoration a Chief Engineer was a pay grade and not defined In 1660 King Charles II appointed Sir Charles Lloyd who had served in the English Civil War as head of a new department of engineers 1 The position was confirmed in a Royal Warrant 26 May 1716 which also authorised the formation of the Corps of Engineers 1 When in 1802 Sir William Green 1st Baronet retired the office was abolished and Robert Morse became the newly created Inspector General of Fortifications and of Royal Engineers IGF 2 Until 1855 the Inspector General was attached to the Board of Ordnance and then was subordinate directly to the Commander in Chief 2 In 1862 the office was extended to Inspector General of Engineers and Director of Work keeping the affiliation in the former function while being now responsible to the Secretary of State for War in the latter 3 On the resignation of Edward Frome in 1869 both offices were separated for one year 3 The Director of Works was dropped in 1895 and the office was renamed to Inspector General of Fortifications 4 It was again abolished in 1904 and replaced by the Director of Fortifications and Works Modern times editIn 1936 the post of Chief Royal Engineer was recreated and Sir Bindon Blood was appointed by King George V Sir Bindon was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1860 and had a distinguished active career until he retired in 1907 aged 65 He was thus 94 years old when appointed Chief Royal Engineer He resigned in 1940 and died a month later aged 97 From 1941 until 2012 the professional head of the Corps was the Engineer in Chief Army EinC A who as Director of Royal Engineers acted as the engineer advisor to the Chief of the General Staff CGS as well as to the Royal Navy the Royal Air Force and other government ministries on matters of military engineering on behalf of the CGS This post was disestablished following the Strategic Defence and Security Review and responsibility for the EinC s duties split between the Commandant Royal School of Military Engineering heritage and training Commander 8 Engineer Brigade force generation matters and the Corps Colonel RE manning matters and first point of contact with external agencies The Chief Royal Engineer is head of the Corps of Royal Engineers and invariably a distinguished officer of the Corps his tenure in the post is normally for a period of five years He is responsible for seeing that the Corps traditions and customs are preserved and the continuity of important matters of Corps policy He keeps the Colonel in Chief informed on Corps matters and maintains contact with engineer units in the Commonwealth He will have previously served as a Colonel Commandant and will continue to fill one of the vacancies Chief Royal Engineers 1660 1802 edit1660 1661 Sir Charles Lloyd 2 Apr Dec 1661 Sir Bernard de Gomme 2 1661 1685 Sir Godfrey Lloyd 2 1685 1702 Sir Martin Beckman 2 vacant for nine years 1711 1714 Michael Richards 2 1714 1742 John Armstrong 2 1742 1751 Thomas Lascelles 2 vacant for six years 1757 1781 William Skinner 2 1781 1786 James Bramham 2 1786 1802 Sir William Green 1st Bt 2 5 Inspectors General of Fortifications 1802 1862 edit1802 1811 Robert Morse 2 1811 1830 Gother Mann 2 1830 1832 Sir Alexander Bryce 2 1832 1834 Robert Pilkington 2 1834 1845 Sir Frederick Mulcaster 2 1845 1862 John Fox Burgoyne 2 Inspectors General of Engineers and Directors of Work 1862 1869 edit1862 1868 Sir John Burgoyne 1st Bt 3 1868 1869 Edward Frome 3 Inspectors General of Engineers 1869 1870 edit1869 1870 Sir John William Gordon 3 Inspectors General of Fortifications and Directors of Work 1870 1895 edit1870 1875 Sir Frederick Chapman 3 1875 1880 Sir Lintorn Simmons 6 1880 1882 Thomas Lionel John Gallwey 7 1882 1886 Sir Andrew Clarke 8 1886 1895 Lothian Nicholson 9 1891 1895 Sir Robert Grant 10 Inspectors General of Fortifications 1895 1904 edit1895 1898 Sir Robert Grant 10 1898 1903 Sir Richard Harrison 11 1903 1904 William Terence Shone 12 Directors of Fortifications and Works 1904 1936 edit1904 1908 Richard Mathews Ruck 13 1908 1911 Frederick Rainsford Hannay 14 1911 1918 George Kenneth Scott Moncrieff 15 1918 1920 Philip Geoffrey Twining 16 1920 1924 Sir William Andrew Liddell 17 1924 1927 Henry Fleetwood Thuillier 18 1927 1936 Philip Gordon Grant 19 Chief Royal Engineers 1936 present edit1936 1940 Sir Bindon Blood 20 1940 1946 Sir Ronald Charles 21 1946 1951 Sir Guy Williams 22 1951 1958 Sir Edwin Morris 23 1958 1961 Sir Kenneth Crawford 24 1961 1967 Sir Frank Simpson 25 1967 1972 Sir Charles Jones 26 1972 1977 Sir Charles Richardson 27 1977 1983 Sir David Willison 28 1983 1987 Sir Hugh Beach 29 1987 1993 Sir George Cooper 30 1993 1999 Sir John Stibbon 31 1999 2004 Sir Scott Grant 32 2004 2009 Sir Kevin O Donoghue 33 2009 2013 Sir Peter Wall 34 2013 2018 Sir Mark Mans 35 2018 2024 Sir Tyrone Urch 36 2024 present Sir Christopher Tickell 37 Notes edit a b Whitworth p 93 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Whitworth p 94 a b c d e f Whitworth p 95 No 26685 The London Gazette 3 December 1895 p 6992 No 12804 The London Gazette 18 November 1786 p 551 No 24223 The London Gazette 29 June 1875 p 3303 No 24867 The London Gazette 27 July 1880 p 4137 No 25120 The London Gazette 23 June 1882 p 2904 No 25611 The London Gazette 27 July 1886 p 3621 a b No 26153 The London Gazette 17 April 1891 p 2116 No 26961 The London Gazette 26 April 1898 p 2592 No 27551 The London Gazette 12 May 1903 p 2988 No 27690 The London Gazette 28 June 1904 p 4108 No 28128 The London Gazette 14 April 1908 p 2851 No 28530 The London Gazette 12 September 1911 p 6731 No 30669 The London Gazette Supplement 3 May 1918 p 5424 No 31865 The London Gazette Supplement 13 April 1920 p 4434 No 32926 The London Gazette 11 April 1924 p 3009 No 33287 The London Gazette 24 June 1927 p 4043 No 34332 The London Gazette 16 October 1936 p 6610 No 34836 The London Gazette Supplement 23 April 1940 p 2441 No 37562 The London Gazette Supplement 10 May 1946 p 2271 No 39327 The London Gazette Supplement 4 September 1951 p 4705 No 41508 The London Gazette Supplement 26 September 1958 p 5955 No 42342 The London Gazette Supplement 28 April 1961 p 3258 No 44357 The London Gazette Supplement 30 June 1967 p 7386 No 45718 The London Gazette Supplement 3 July 1972 p 7979 No 47376 The London Gazette Supplement 15 November 1977 p 14320 No 49237 The London Gazette Supplement 17 January 1983 p 746 No 51158 The London Gazette Supplement 21 December 1987 p 15609 No 53305 The London Gazette Supplement 17 May 1993 p 8630 No 55481 The London Gazette Supplement 10 May 1999 p 5195 No 57284 The London Gazette Supplement 11 May 2004 p 5842 No 59058 The London Gazette Supplement 12 May 2009 p 8060 No 60669 The London Gazette Supplement 29 October 2013 p 21336 No 62413 The London Gazette Supplement 18 September 2018 p 16640 No 64327 The London Gazette Supplement 27 February 2024 p 3872 References editPorter Whitworth 1889 History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol II London Longmans Green and Co External links editRoyal Engineers Museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chief Royal Engineer amp oldid 1210658578, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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