Hi 69 Fd Coy., like others indian units, disembarked in Taranto at the end of September '43. They travelled by ship in safe waters.
thanks, I was more interested in the journey from India to Africa. It just seems a bit odd sending someone all that way, I wondered if it was part of a wider move to increase numbers before going across to Italy.
Thanks, yes I saw them with 26 div but only after Apr 1944, it was before then. From the reading it looks like it could have been quite confusing at the time. Are there any other reference documents you are aware of. I did track down war diaries a few years ago but don’t think I could find them.
Hi Crusader covered in some detail here and it is searchable. Full text of "THE ROYAL BOMBAY SAPPERS & MINERS 1939 1947" Hope this helps Gus
Thanks for this, it gives a really good understanding of what conditions were like in the area at the time. Do you know if anything similar exists for the Bengal Sappers and Miners?
The following two Corps histories also exist. I have viewed them at the New York Public Library in Manhattan. Lindsell, Robert Anthony. A Short History of Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers and Miners during World War II 1939-45. Bangalore: Hosali Press, 1950. (NYPL) Pearson, G. Brief History of the K.G.V’s Own Bengal Sappers and Miners from August 1939-July 1946. Roorkee: 1947. (NYPL)
From the Royal Engineer Historical Society website (an undated entry): Link: https://www.instre.org/rehs/ Not much of this article includes WW2, it may be of interest: 'Some Notable Bengal Sappers' and also published in 2003 (reprinted in the NZ RE Journal): https://www.nzsappers.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2003-April.pdf