Dear Redbert
Royal Staff Corps (est 1799 although some say 1798 and 1800) gave an engineering arm to Horse Guards and was distict from the Board of Ordnance who had the Royal Engineers. Disbanded in 1837 and merged with the Royal Engineers.
Responsible for the construction of field defences and fortifications, bridges, canals etc…. The duties of the officers were very similar to those of the RE.
The most important was the Royal Military Canal, 28 miles in length from Shorncliffe to Rye. This was still an important anti-tank ditch in 1940 for the Germans to look at ways of dealing with this in Operation Sealion. There are glimpses of their work at bridging the Alcantara (1812), Adour (1813).
Colonel Brown and Colonel Sturgeon are worth tracing for their work. The former on the Royal Military Canal and the latter upon his work in the Peninsular.
The lack of skilled sappers was a limiting part. There were a reasonable number of engineer officers. You only need one per project. The number of engineer officers was very similar to France who had by far more fortifications.
The myth of the inexperience and lack of training in engineer officers has been successful. Wellington blamed them for his inability to understand technical subjects. He could not understand that British ammunition would not fit Russian guns in the exchange of letters with Dickson.
One of these days a publisher may permit me to put the various parts together to attempt to explain how Britain muddled through. Having two different engineer corps, an independent board of ordnance, the transport of guns not under the control of the artillery etc….
Stephen
Interesting that they were trumpeters which was more common in light infantry battalions.
