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MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | ENGINEER CORPS, SOUTH AFRICAN ARMY (SAEC or SAAEC)Established: 1912Architect | |
This military unit, for which provision was made in the Defence Act of 1912, arose from the Cape Fortress Engineers, trained by the ROYAL ENGINEERS in the Cape Peninsula, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, to take over tasks with which the Royal Engineers could no longer cope. Other small engineer units were formed from railwaymen, who assisted on the lines of communication in German South-West Africa and handled disembarkation facilities at Walvis Bay and Lüderitz Bay, removed land-mines, developed water-supplies and built fortifications where necessary. In March 1917 the 7th and 8th Light Railway Companies were in France, where they served till the end of the war. In 1922 a Permanent Force Engineer Company was formed. They assisted in training three Active Citizen Force field companies and one field troop established in 1926, who underwent their first continuous training at Wynberg Camp, Cape Town, in 1928. Two further field companies were formed in 1936, the companies now being numbered 1 to 6, at Durban, Uitenhage, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Pretoria respectively. Shortly before the outbreak of war in 1939 three more field companies were raised in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, numbered 7, 8 and 9 respectively. The main role of these field companies was to provide the necessary engineer services for the fighting units of the nine infantry brigades into which the Active Citizen Force was organised at the time. As a result of the need for road-building, railway operation, the restoration of harbour facilities, tunnelling, the search for water in desert areas and for every conceivable form of engineering work, including forestry and geological survey, the S.A. Engineer Corps underwent unprecedented expansion during the war years. There were no fewer than 5 422 members of the Engineer Corps in East Africa alone in April 1941. Initial engineer requirements calculated at the beginning of the Second World War were for about 230 officers and 7 250 other ranks, and the establishment grew steadily as the war progressed, till the Corps had probably twice that number of members. Of these 498 lost their lives during the war, 299 were decorated for their services, and members of the Engineer Corps were mentioned in dispatches 589 times. Many 'Sapper' officers commanded groups and units with distinction. (Extracted from Open 1971 in SESA 4:314-315). Architects/Engineers with SAEC Involvement COOKE, Bernard Stanley: Served in the South African Engineer's Corps in Egypt and Italy with the camouflage unit. Structures on this website related to the SAAEC.
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