The Dundee Fortress Royal Engineers was a Scottish volunteer unit of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

formed in 1908. Its main role was the defence of the harbours and shipyards on the

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

, but it also provided a detachment that saw active service in North Russia at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In the 1930s, it was turned into an air defence unit, in which role it served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A brief postwar revival ended in disbandment in 1950.

Precursor unit

When Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew Clarke, Inspector-General of Fortifications 1882–6, did not have enough Regular

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

(RE) to man the fixed mines being installed to defend British seaports, he utilised the

Volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

Engineers for this task. After successful trials, the system was rolled out to ports around the country, and a new Volunteer company was raised at

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 5 February 1887 to cover the

Firth of Tay The Firth of Tay (; ) is a firth on the east coast of Scotland, into which empties the River Tay (Scotland's largest river in terms of flow). The firth is surrounded by four council areas: Fife, Perth and Kinross, Dundee City, and Angus. ...

, entitled Tay Division Submarine Miners. It moved its headquarters to

Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry (; ; ) is a suburb of Dundee, in Scotland. It is situated four miles east of the City Centre, Dundee, city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until 1913, when it was incorporated ...

in 1890.Westlake, p. 10. For many years, its Honorary Colonel was Arthur Fitzgerald, 11th Lord Kinnaird. By 1907, the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

had decided to hand all submarine mining duties over to

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

units and the Volunteer submarine miners were disbanded. Although most of the units were converted into fortress engineers, this did not happen in the case of the Tay Division, which was disbanded with effect from 2 November.

Territorial Force

Thus, when the Volunteers were subsumed into the new

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

(TF) under the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the e ...

in 1908, a completely new unit of fortress engineers had to be raised for the Firth of Tay defences. It was entitled the City of Dundee (Fortress) Royal Engineers, with its HQ at 52 Taylors Lane, Dundee, and consisted of a single Works Company.

World War I

On the outbreak of

, the fortress engineers were mobilised and moved into their war stations in the coastal defences. In August 1914, TF units were authorised to establish 2nd Line duplicate units to absorb the rush of volunteers coming forward. The City of Dundee unit thus formed the 1/1st Dundee Fortress Company, RE, and 2/1st Dundee Fortress Company, RE.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 62–3, 69, 83.

1/1st City of Dundee Army Troops Company

Once it was clear that the threat to Britain's coastal defences was small, six of the fortress engineer units organised their 1st Line as 'Army Troops' companies for service on the

Lines of Communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicat ...

of the British Expeditionary Force. The 1/1st City of Dundee Fortress Company embarked for France on 6 May 1915 and after arriving at

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

was assigned to Second Army the following month. In February 1917 it was redesignated 554th (Dundee) Army Troops Company, RE. It remained serving with Second Army after the

Armistice with Germany {{Short description, none This is a list of armistices signed by the German Empire (1871–1918) or Nazi Germany (1933–1945). An armistice is a temporary agreement to cease hostilities. The period of an armistice may be used to negotiate a peace t ...

until at least June 1919.

2/1st City of Dundee Army Troops Company

Initially, the 2nd Line were intended as reserve units to allow the 1st Line to go on service, but in November 1916 the 2/1st Dundee Company was redesignated as a Field Company, RE, and assigned to 71st Division. When the TF engineers were numbered in February 1917, the company became 548th (Dundee) Field Company, RE.Becke, pp. 101–5. 71st Division was a home service formation, responsible for defending the coast of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

from

Mersea Island Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word ''meresig'', meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is ...

Walton-on-the-Naze Walton-on-the-Naze is a seaside town on the North Sea coast. It is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring District, Tendring district in Essex, England. The town is located north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich; ...

. Later, it became a training division, which was broken up in March 1918. One of its infantry brigades ( 214th Brigade) had been converted into a Special Service Brigade with attached troops and was earmarked to join the North Russia Expeditionary Force. In the event, 214th Brigade remained in the UK, but 548th (Dundee) Field Company, redesignated as an 'Army Troops Company', did proceed to

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

. The advance party landed on 20 June 1918, and was followed by the main body three days later. The force at Murmansk defended the ice-free port facilities and the Murmansk–Petrograd railway as far as Kem on the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

, against the threat of attacks by German and Finnish White Guard forces in the closing months of World War I. It continued this duty during the complex postwar political and military exchanges with local

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

and Finnish

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

. It was finally withdrawn in 1920.

Interwar

When the TF was reconstituted as the Territorial Army (TA) in 1920, the City of Dundee Fortress Engineers reformed at the Drill Hall in Bell Street, Dundee. The contemporary ''Army List'' shows this as a single company, though the ''Dundee Directory'' for 1922-23 lists both a Works Company and an Electric Light Company.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 104, 111–2. By 1927 it consisted of No 1 Company (City of Dundee) (Fortress) RE, listed as Coast Defence Troops in 51st (Highland) Divisional Area. With the recognition of the increased threat of aerial bombing in any future war, the company was converted into an Independent Anti-Aircraft (AA) Searchlight Company in 1934 as 320th (City of Dundee) AA Company, RE. It gained a Regular RE officer as Adjutant, who was shared with 319th (City of Aberdeen) AA Company (converted at the same time from the Aberdeen Fortress Royal Engineers).

World War II

With the continued expansion of the TA's air defences, 320th (Dundee) Company and 319th (Aberdeen) Company combined with a newly raised battery at

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

in 1938 to form 51st (Highland) AA Battalion, RE.''Army List''. In August 1939,

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

was mobilised and 51st AA Bn took its place in the air defences of Scotland. A year later the RE searchlight battalions were transferred to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA), and the unit became 51st (Highland) Searchlight Regiment, RA (TA), serving throughout the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

and

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

.Litchfield, pp. 274–5. In February 1942, the regiment was converted to the Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) artillery role as 124 (Highland) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA (TA) and it served with Second Army in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

and

North West Europe North West Europe may refer to: * Northwestern Europe, a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe * North-West Europe 1940, World War II campaign also known as the Battle of France * North West Europe campaign, ...

.124 LAA Rgt at RA 39–45

Postwar

When the TA was reformed in 1947, 124 LAA Regiment was reconstituted as 586 (Highland) LAA/SL Rgt with its HQ at Dundee. This unit was absorbed into 276th (Highland) Field Rgt on the disbandment of AA Command in 1955. However, a Royal Engineer unit was also formed at Dundee in 1947, which was regarded as the lineal descendant of the Dundee Fortress Engineers and derived its seniority (1908) from that unit. Designated 126 Army Engineer Regiment, RE, it consisted of: * 240 Field Squadron * 274 Field Squadron * 275 Field Squadron * 320 Field Park Squadron This TA regiment and its squadrons were disbanded in 1950, their numbers being transferred to 126 Advanced Engineer Stores Regiment of the Supplementary Reserve/Army Emergency Reserve, which itself was disbanded in 1961.

Prominent members

Captain

Lewis Collins Lewis Collins (27 May 1946 – 27 November 2013)"Happy Birthday Richard Hastilow, 65", ''The Times'', 26 May 2010 was an English actor, best known for his career-defining role playing 'Bodie' in the late 1970s – early 1980s British television ...

, MC, credited with five aerial victories in 1918 as an observer in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, was born in Dundee and originally enlisted as a sapper in the Fortress Engineers.Aces at ''The Aerodrome''.
/ref>

Notes

References

* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, . * ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. * * W. Bruce Lincoln, ''Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War'', New York:Simon & Schuster, 1989, . * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, . * Col L.F. Morling, ''Sussex Sappers: A History of the Sussex Volunteer and Territorial Army Royal Engineer Units from 1890 to 1967'', Seaford: 208th Field Co, RE/Christians–W.J. Offord, 1972. * Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, . * Maj O.M. Short, Maj H. Sherlock, Capt L.E.C.M. Perowne and Lt M.A. Fraser, ''The History of the Tyne Electrical Engineers, Royal Engineers, 1884–1933'', 1933/Uckfield: Naval & Military, nd, . * ''Titles and Designations of Formations and Units of the Territorial Army'', London: War Office, 7 November 1927. * Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, ''The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889–2018'', Tiger Lily Books, 2018, . * R.A. Westlake, ''Royal Engineers (Volunteers) 1859–1908'', Wembley: R.A. Westlake, 1983, {{ISBN, 0-9508530-0-3.

Online sources

''The Aerodrome''

British Army units from 1945 on

British Military History

Scotland's Urban Past

Military units and formations in Dundee Military units and formations of Scotland Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Russian Civil War Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in World War II