Chief Royal Engineer
The Chief Royal Engineer (CRE) is the official head of the Corps of Royal Engineers. He was also the professional head of the Corps until 1941, when that role was moved to that of the Engineer-in-Chief.
Origin and development
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
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.
Since 1941 the professional head of the Corps has been the Engineer-in-Chief (EinC) who as 'Director of Royal Engineers', acts 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. On the domestic (regimental) side of the Corps he issues instructions on behalf of the 'Chief Royal Engineer'.
Today the Chief Royal Engineer is head of the Corps of Royal Engineers and is 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 (as of 2009 Queen Elizabeth II) informed on Corps matters and maintains contact with engineer units in the Commonwealth. He will usually have previously served as a Colonel Commandant and will continue to fill one of the vacancies.
Chief Royal Engineers, 1660β1802
- 1660β1661: Sir Charles Lloyd [2]
- Apr β Dec 1661: Sir Bernard de Gomme [2]
- 1661β1685: Sir Godfrey Lloyd [2]
- 1685β1702: Sir Martin Beckman [2]
vacant for nine years
- 1711β1714: Michael Richards [2]
- 1714β1742: John Armstrong [2]
- 1742β1751: Thomas Lascelles [2]
vacant for six years
- 1757β1781: William Skinner [2]
- 1781β1786: James Bramham [2]
- 1786β1802: Sir William Green, 1st Bt [2][5]
Inspector-Generals of Fortifications, 1802β1862
- 1802β1811: Robert Morse [2]
- 1811β1830: Gother Mann [2]
- 1830β1832: Sir Alexander Bryce [2]
- 1832β1834: Robert Pilkington [2]
- 1834β1845: Sir Frederick Mulcaster [2]
- 1845β1862: John Fox Burgoyne [2]
Inspector-Generals of Engineers and Directors of Work, 1862β1869
- 1862β1868: Sir John Burgoyne, 1st Bt [3]
- 1868β1869: Edward Frome [3]
Inspector-Generals of Engineers, 1869β1870
- 1869β1870: Sir John William Gordon [3]
Inspector-Generals of Fortifications and Directors of Work, 1870β1895
- 1870β1875: Sir Frederick Chapman [3]
- 1875β1880: Sir Lintorn Simmons [6]
- 1880β1882: Thomas Lionel John Gallwey [7]
- 1882β1886: Sir Andrew Clarke [8]
- 1886β1895: Lothian Nicholson [9]
- 1891β1895: Sir Robert Grant [10]
Inspector-Generals of Fortifications, 1895β1904
- 1895β1898: Sir Robert Grant [10]
- 1898β1903: Sir Richard Harrison [11]
- 1903β1904: William Terence Shone [12]
Directors of Fortifications and Works, 1904β1936
- 1904β1908: Richard Matthews Ruck [13]
- 1908β1911: Frederick Rainsford-Hannay [14]
- 1911β1918: George Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff [15]
- 1918β1920: Philip Geoffrey Twining [16]
- 1920β1927: Sir William Andrew Liddell [17]
- 1927β1936: Philip Gordon Grant [18]
Chief Royal Engineers, 1936βpresent
- 1936β1940: Sir Bindon Blood [19]
- 1940β1946: Sir Ronald Charles [20]
- 1946β1951: Sir Guy Williams [21]
- 1951β1958: Sir Edwin Morris [22]
- 1958β1961: Sir Kenneth Crawford [23]
- 1961β1967: Sir Frank Simpson [24]
- 1967β1972: Sir Charles Jones [25]
- 1972β1977: Sir Charles Richardson [26]
- 1977β1983: Sir David Willison [27]
- 1983β1987: Sir Hugh Beach [28]
- 1987β1993: Sir George Cooper [29]
- 1993β1999: Sir John Stibbon [30]
- 1999β2004: Sir Scott Grant [31]
- 2004β2009: Sir Kevin O'Donoghue [32]
- 2009-2013: Sir Peter Wall [33]
- 2013βPresent: Sir Mark Mans [34]
Notes
- 1 2 Whitworth, p. 93
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Whitworth, p. 94
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Whitworth, p. 95
- β The London Gazette: no. 26685. p. 6992. 3 December 1895. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 12804. p. 551. 18 November 1786.
- β The London Gazette: no. 24223. p. 3303. 29 June 1875. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 24867. p. 4137. 27 July 1880. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 25120. p. 2904. 23 June 1882. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 25611. p. 3621. 27 July 1886. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- 1 2 The London Gazette: no. 26153. p. 2116. 17 April 1891. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 26961. p. 2592. 26 April 1898. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 27551. p. 2988. 12 May 1903. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 27690. p. 4108. 28 June 1904. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 28128. p. 2851. 14 April 1908. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 28530. p. 6731. 12 September 1911. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30669. p. 5424. 3 May 1918. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31865. p. 4434. 13 April 1920. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 33287. p. 4043. 24 June 1927. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: no. 34332. p. 6610. 16 October 1936. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34836. p. 2441. 23 April 1940. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37562. p. 2271. 10 May 1946. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39327. p. 4705. 4 September 1951. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41508. p. 5955. 26 September 1958. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42342. p. 3258. 28 April 1961. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44357. p. 7386. 30 June 1967. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45718. p. 7979. 3 July 1972. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47376. p. 14320. 15 November 1977. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49237. p. 746. 17 January 1983. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51158. p. 15609. 21 December 1987. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: December 1987/supplement/8630 (Supplement) no. 21 December 1987. p. 8630. 17 May 1993. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 55481. p. 5195. 10 May 1999. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57284. p. 5842. 11 May 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59058. p. 8060. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- β The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60669. p. 21336. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
References
- Porter, Whitworth (1889). History of the Corps of Royal Engineers. vol. II. London: Longmans, Green and Co.