Bengal Engineer Group

Bengal Engineer Group
Active 1803 – present
Country India
Branch Corps of Engineers
Role Support
Regimental Centre Roorkee, Uttarakhand
Motto(s) God's Own
Anniversaries 7 November
Decorations 11 Victoria Cross
116 Indian Order of Merit
1 Padma Bhushan
17 Shaurya Chakra
93 Sena Medals
11 Arjun Award
Battle honours 80
11 Theatre honours
Commanders
Current
commander		 Brig SK Kataria
Ceremonial chief Lt Gen Sanjiv Talwar, AVSM
Engineer-in-Chief
Colonel of
the Regiment		 Lt Gen Suresh Sharma, AVSM
Director General Border Roads
Notable
commanders		 Lt Gen JS Dhillon, Padma Bhushan, PVSM
Lt Gen K N Dubey, PVSM
Bengal Sappers and Miners laying explosive charges and the subsequent Storming of Ghuznee. The Battle of Ghuznee First Afghan War, 23 July 1839
Bengal Sappers and Miners Bastion, at Sherpur cantonment, Kabul, Second Afghan War, c. 1879.

The Bengal Engineer Group (BEG) or the Bengal Sappers or Bengal Engineers as they are informally known, are remnants of British Indian Army's Bengal Army of the Bengal Presidency in British India; now a regiment of the Corps of Engineers in the Indian Army. The Bengal Sappers have their regimental centre at Roorkee Cantonment in Roorkee city, Uttarakhand. The Bengal Sappers are one of the few remaining regiments of the erstwhile Bengal Presidency Army and survived the Rebellion of 1857 due to their sterling work in the recapture of Delhi and other operations in 1857–58. The troops of the Bengal Sappers have been a familiar sight for over 200 years in the battlefields of British India with their never-say-die attitude of Chak De and brandishing their favourite tool the hamber.[1][2][3]

Over the years the Bengal Sappers have won many battle and theatre honours, 11 Victoria Cross, 116 Indian Order of Merit, 17 Shaurya Chakra, 93 Sena Medals and 11 Arjun Awards, the highest number of won by any single organization in the country.[1][4] Lt Gen Joginder Singh Dhillon, commissioned into Bengal Engineer Group in 1936, who commanded the First Republic Day Parade in Delhi, became the first Army Officer to be awarded the Padma Bhushan on 24 November 1965.[5] Among the three Sappers of Indian Army, Bengal Sappers was the first Engineer Group to receive the 'President Colours' in recognition of its service to the nation, on 12 January 1989, by R Venkataraman, the then President of India, who presented the Regimental Colours to Bengal Engineer Group at Roorkee.[3]

Besides service on the battlefield, the Bengal Engineers also rendered valuable peacetime contributions. The military engineer, Lt. James Agg, designed St John's Church in Calcutta. It was based on James Gibbs's St Martin-in-the-Fields in London and was consecrated in 1787.[6]

History

The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army, dating back to 1780, when the two regular pioneer companies of the Madras Sappers were raised, as a part of British East India Company army.[7] Prior to its formation, by 1740s British officers and engineers served in the Bengal Engineers, Bombay Engineers and Madras Engineers, formed with the respective Presidency armies, while British soldiers served in each of the Presidencies' Sappers and Miner Companies, namely Bengal Sappers and Miners, Madras Sappers and Miners and Bombay Sappers and Miners.[8][9]

The Bengal Sappers and Miners, as they were earlier known, was originally the Corps of Bengal Pioneers, which was raised from two pioneer companies in 1803, part of Bengal Army of the Presidency of Bengal; one raised by Capt T. Wood at Kanpur as Bengal Pioneers in November 1803,[2] also known as "Roorkee Safar Maina".[10] In 1819, at the conclusion of Third Maratha War, a part of Bengal Pioneers merged with the Company of Miners (raised in 1808) to become the Bengal Sappers and Miners, and raised at Allahabad, with Captain Thomas Anburey as the Commandant. The remaining part of the Corps of Bengal Pioneers was absorbed in 1833.[2] In 1843 'Broadfoot's Sappers', which had been raised in 1840, merged into the Bengal Sappers and Miners.

In 1847 the Bengal Sappers and Miners was renamed Bengal Sappers and Pioneers, and in 1851 it became the Corps of Bengal Sappers and Miners. On 7 November 1853, the regiment moved to Roorkee, where it has maintained its regimental centre ever since.[11] Lord Kitchener's reforms in 1903 saw it redesignated as the 1st Sappers and Miners, which was again altered in 1906 to the 1st Prince of Wales's Own Sappers and Miners.

On the accession of George V to the throne in 1910 it was renamed 1st King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners,[12] with the '1st' being dropped in 1923, to make it King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners. In 1937 it was renamed King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners, and in 1941 they became the 'King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners Group' of the Indian Engineers. In 1946 it became the 'King George V's Group' of the Royal Indian Engineers. On Indian independence and partition in 1947, about half of the serving personnel were allocated to the Pakistan Royal Engineers. In 1950 they became the Bengal Centre, Corps of Engineers, after which they became the Bengal Engineer Group and Centre.[13]

Battle honours

Colonel Thomas Tupper Carter-Campbell of Possil (Lord Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace, Argyllshire) Esquire Corps of Royal Bengal Engineers.

Victoria Cross recipients

NameEventDate of actionPlace of action
Home, DuncanDuncan HomeIndian Mutiny14 September 1857Delhi, India
Innes, JamesJames InnesIndian Mutiny28 February 1858Sultanpore, India [18]
Salkeld, PhilipPhilip SalkeldIndian Mutiny14 September 1857Delhi, India[19]
Smith, JohnJohn Smith Indian Mutiny14 September 1857Delhi, India [20]
Thackeray, EdwardEdward ThackerayIndian Mutiny16 September 1857Delhi, India
Trevor, William William Trevor Anglo-Bhutanese War30 April 1865Dewangiri, Deothang, Bhutan
Dundas, James James DundasAnglo-Bhutanese War30 April 1865Dewangiri, Deothang, Bhutan
Leach, EdwardEdward LeachSecond Afghan War17 March 1879Khyber Pass, Afghanistan [21]
Aylmer, Fenton Fenton Aylmer Hunza-Naga Campaign 2 December 1891 Nilt Fort, British India [21][22]
Colvin, James James Colvin First Mohmand Campaign 16 September 1897 Bilot, British India [23]
Watson, Thomas Thomas Watson First Mohmand Campaign 16 September 1897 Bilot, British India [24]

References

Short Histories:

First World War:

Second World War:

Notes

  1. 1 2 Bengal Sappers’ saga of valour The Tribune, 24 November 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 Bengal Sappers: 'Sarvatra' for Two Hundred Years Sainik Samachar, Vol. 50, No. 21, 1–15 November 2003, 10-24 Kartika, 1925 (Saka), Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India.
  3. 1 2 Corps of Engineers, Indian Army bharat-rakshak.com. Archived 25 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Bengal Engineering Group Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Haridwar Official website.
  5. ↑ Unique Achievements Archived 15 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Bengal Sappers.
  6. ↑ "Churches in Kolkata". Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Corps of Engineers - History Indian Army Official website. Archived 22 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Indian Sappers (1740-1947) Royal Engineers Museum. Archived 31 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ Indian Army Service Records (up to 1947) Royal Engineers Museum. Archived 20 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ THE BENGAL SAPPERS National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee. Archived 13 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ Institute Time Capsule IIT Roorkee.
  12. ↑ "1st King George's Own Sappers and Miners - Officers & Non-Commissioned Officers and Men". Reubique.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  13. 1 2 "King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners". Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  14. ↑ Bengal Sappers’ 200 yrs of valour The Tribune, 29 October 2003.
  15. ↑ "The Battle of Kabul 1879". Britishbattles.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  16. ↑ "Chitral 1895 - Fort Siege". Devonheritage.org. 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  17. ↑ Cassino Memorial Archived 17 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ Lieutenant James John McLeod INNES VC Royal Engineers Museum. Archived 23 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ↑ Lieutenant Philip SALKELD VC Royal Engineers Museum. Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ↑ Sergeant John SMITH VC Royal Engineers Museum. Archived 3 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  21. 1 2 "Victoria Crosses held by the Royal Engineers Museum". victoriacross.org.uk/. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Captain Fenton John AYLMER VC". Royal Engineers Museum. 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  23. ↑ Lieutenant James Morris Colquhoun COLVIN VC Royal Engineers Museum. Archived 23 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ↑ Lieutenant Thomas Colclough WATSON VC Royal Engineers Museum. Archived 23 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
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