The 1st Newcastle Engineer Volunteers, later Northumbrian Divisional Engineers, was a Royal Engineer (RE) unit of Britain's Volunteer Force and Territorial Army founded in 1860. Its companies saw action in both World Wars, particularly at the Battle of Rosières and the assault crossing of the River Selle in 1918, and on D-Day in 1944. Its successors continue to serve in today's Army Reserve.
Early history
The 1st Newcastle Engineer Volunteers (EV) was raised at company strength in Newcastle upon Tyne during the enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement engendered by the invasion scare of 1859; its first officers' commissions were dated 1 September 1860. Many early volunteers came from Armstrong's engineering works at Elswick. The company was attached for administrative purposes to the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne Rifle Volunteer Corps.
In 1874 the Newcastle company was united with the larger (8 companies) 1st Durham EV at Jarrow on the opposite (County Durham) bank of the River Tyne. This unit had been raised and commanded by Charles Palmer (1822–1907), founder of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company and later the first mayor and Member of Parliament for Jarrow. The two units were formed into the 1st Durham Administrative Battalion EV, consolidated in 1880 as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV, with Palmer as commanding officer and an establishment of 1300 men.
Palmer, by now created Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park, retired from the unit in 1888 with the rank of Colonel. The same year, the 1st Newcastle & Durham EV was split into three separate units: the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne RE (Volunteers), the 1st Durham RE (V), and the Tyne Division RE (V), Submarine Miners, which later became the Tyne Electrical Engineers. Both the 1st Newcastle RE (V) and the Tyne Submarine Miners derived their seniority from the original 1st Newcastle EV established in 1860.
The Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the new 1st Newcastle RE was Sir Charles Palmer's younger brother, Alfred Septimus Palmer (1834–1910), a Newcastle mining engineer who had been a major in the 1st Newcastle & Durham EV. The honorary Colonel was William Henry Allinson (1827–1917), who had been second-in-command of the 1st Newcastle & Durham.
The unit sent a detachment of one officer and 25 other ranks to assist the regular REs during the Second Boer War in 1900.
Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the original plan was for the 1st Newcastle RE to provide the 2nd Northumbrian Field Company in the Northumbrian Infantry Division while the remainder of the unit would be merged into the Tyne Electrical Engineers as the Northumberland (Fortress) RE. However, by 1910 this plan had been altered, and the 1st Newcastle RE provided the whole of the divisional RE, with its commanding officer becoming Commanding Royal Engineer (CRE). This organisation was in place on the outbreak of World War I:
Northumbrian Divisional Engineers
HQ: Barras Bridge, Newcastle
CRE: Lt-Col Frederick S. Crawford (from 23 May 1907 to 16 April 1915) 1st (The Newcastle) Northumbrian Field Company (Maj G.C. Pollard) 2nd (The Newcastle) Northumbrian Field Company (Maj J.E. McPherson) Northumbrian (The Newcastle) Divisional Telegraph Company – designated Signal Company from 1911 HQ & No 1 Section: Barras Bridge (Capt W.H. Dodds) No 2 (Northumberland) Section – attached to the Northumberland Brigade No 3 (York and Durham) Section – attached to the York and Durham Brigade No 4 (Durham Light Infantry) Section – attached to the Durham Light Infantry Brigade
World War I
Mobilisation
On 3 August 1914, the men of the Northumbrian Division came home from their annual training camp. The next day the order to mobilise was received, and they returned to their drill halls. The mobilised division garrisoned the Tyne Defences as part of Central Force of Home Defence, and began training for war.
On 31 August the TF was authorised to raise '2nd Line' units, initially for home defence, composed of men who had not volunteered for overseas service, together with new volunteers who were flooding in. Later, the home service men were transferred to home defence units, the 2nd Line were prepared for overseas service, and '3rd Line' units were organised to find drafts for the 1st and 2nd Lines. The units were distinguished by the prefixes '1/', '2/' and '3/', and the 2nd Line units of the Northumbrian Division formed the 2nd Northumbrian Division.