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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

5th Divisional Signals Company, Royal Engineers



21st of August 1913 Lecture

9th of August 1914 At Southampton

13th of August 1914 Landing in France

13th of August 1914   Landing in France

14th of August 1914 Advance Party Leave

15th of August 1914  Arriving Busigny

16th of August 1914 Billets Organised

22nd of August 1914  On the March

23rd of August 1914 Holding the Line

26th of August 1914  Holding Position

27th of August 1914 Retirement in the Dark

28th of August 1914 An Exhausting March

29th of August 1914 Sleeping in the Streets

31st of August 1914  Pursued by Germans

1st of September 1914 A Delayed March

2nd of September 1914 An Early March

3rd of September 1914 Across the Marne

5th of September 1914 March Finished

6th of September 1914 Army Advances

7th of September 1914  Another March

8th of September 1914 An Early March

9th of September 1914 On the Move

10th of September 1914 Marching

11th of September 1914 Marching

12th of September 1914 A Wet March

13th of September 1914 A Showery March

14th of September 1914 Broken Bridges

15th of September 1914 An Attack Falters

16th of September 1914 Bad Roads

17th of September 1914 Artillery Reinforced

18th of September 1914 Some Enemy Firing

19th of September 1914 Trenches Fired Constantly

20th of September 1914 Sappers Make a Bridge

21st of September 1914  Missy on Fire

22nd of September 1914 Enemy Retiring?

23rd of September 1914 Heavy Shelling

25th of September 1914  Very Quiet

26th of September 1914 Moves Successful

27th of September 1914 A False Alarm

28th of September 1914 Shelling

29th of September 1914 Quiet

30th of September 1914 Astride the Aisne

1st of October 1914 A Withdrawal

2nd of October 1914 Moonlit Relief

3rd of October 1914 On the March

4th of October 1914 On the March

5th of October 1914 A New HQ

6th of October 1914 Orders to Move

7th of October 1914 A Train Ride

11th of October 1914 New Billets  location map

12th of October 1914 Orders to Advance  location map

13th of October 1914 Advance Resumed  location map

14th of October 1914 Supporting the French  location map

15th of October 1914 Advance Ordered to Continue  location map

16th of October 1914 Empty German Trenches  location map

17th of October 1914 An Advance  location map

18th of October 1914 Advance Resumed  location map

19th of October 1914  Slow Progress   location map

20th of October 1914 A Fluid Front  location map

22nd of October 1914 Our Line Attacked  location map

23rd of October 1914 Withdrawing to a New Line  location map

24th of October 1914 Germans Attack  location map

25th of October 1914 More Attacks  location map

26th of October 1914 Germans Repulsed  location map

27th of October 1914 A Counter Attack  location map

28th of October 1914 Counter Attack Falters   location map

29th of October 1914  Determined German Attack  location map

30th of October 1914 German Attack Fades  location map

31st of October 1914 A Counter Attack   location map

2nd of November 1914 Three Groups Organised  location map

3rd of November 1914  Situation Report  location map

5th of November 1914  French Attack Falters

7th of November 1914  Messines Attack Slow

8th of November 1914 Half-hearted Attacks  location map

15th of November 1914  2nd Corps Reorganise

18th of November 1914 Shell Fire

23rd of November 1914  Germans Digging In  location map

24th of November 1914  Our Artillery Effective  location map

25th of November 1914  Royal Scots Shelled

26th of November 1914 Quiet and Misty  location map

28th of November 1914  On the Move

29th of November 1914  Infantry Distribution  location map

1st of December 1914  Quiet Time

2nd of December 1914  A Moonlit Night  location map

3rd of December 1914 Instructions

4th of December 1914 Reliefs  location map

4th of December 1914 Relief  location map

5th of December 1914  Relief Complete   location map

6th of December 1914 Frosty Night

8th of December 1914 Poor Conditions

10th of December 1914 Naval Victory Cheered

14th of December 1914  French on the Offensive  location map

16th of December 1914  Instruction  location map

18th of December 1914 No Progress

21st of December 1914 Howitzers Silenced  location map

26th of December 1914 Messines Square Targetted   location map

31st of December 1914 Message  location map

4th of January 1915 Trench Work  location map

7th of January 1915 Very Wet Weather  location map

8th of January 1915 Trenches Damaged   location map

10th of January 1915 Flooding and Baling  location map

15th of January 1915 Germans Fire Slowly  location map

16th of January 1915 Squally Weather  location map

18th of January 1915 Artillery Active   location map

19th of January 1915  Thaw Sets In  location map

21st of January 1915 Wulverghem Shelled  location map

22nd of January 1915 Aeroplane-Aided Shelling  location map

5th of February 1915 Firing for Effect  location map

13th of February 1915 Trenches Maintained  location map

14th of February 1915 Germans Plan an Attack?

15th of February 1915 Heavy Rain

16th of February 1915 Baling All Night  location map

20th of February 1915 A Violent Explosion  location map

21st of February 1915 8th Howitzers Leave  location map

22nd of February 1915 Cheering and Rockets  location map

24th of February 1915 Snipers Checked  location map

27th Feb 1915 Signal Message  location map

16th March 1915  Information

18th of March 1915 Trench Mortars

21st of March 1915 Intelligence

2nd of April 1915 Quiet Day  location map

17th April 1915 5th Division Attack  location map

23rd of July 1915 3rd Div Take Over  location map

10th of October 1915 30 Whizzbangs   location map

27th of October 1915 German Work Destroyed  location map

8th of March 1916  Dummy Battery Hit  location map

22nd of March 1916  Local Relief  location map

24th of March 1916  Camouflet Exploded

27th of March 1916  Quiet Night

2nd of May 1916 Reliefs

28th Jun 1916 Working Parties

29th Jun 1916 Working Parties

30th Jun 1916 Working Parties

1st Jul 1916 Working Parties

2nd of August 1916 A Relief and a Move

21st of August 1916  Training  location map

31st of August 1916  Warning Order Issued  location map

22nd of September 1916 Dispositions  location map

23rd of September 1916 Reliefs  location map

23rd September 1916 Operational Order No. 50.  location map

24th September 1916 Operational Order No.51.  location map

24th September 1916 Reliefs  location map

25th Sep 1916 Attack Made  location map

25th of September 1916  Instructions for Tanks  location map

25th September 1916 Attack Made  location map

27th of September 1916 Division Moves  location map

8th of March 1917  Divisional Relief  location map

20th of March 1917  Composite Division Formed  location map

27th of March 1917 In Corps Reserve  location map

4th of April 1917 Orders for Moves  location map

12th of April 1917 Orders and Reliefs  location map

13th of April 1917  A Push Forward  location map

14th of April 1917 Orders to Move  location map

21st of April 1917 Operations Postponed  location map

25th of April 1917 Canadians Take Over Front  location map

28th of April 1917 Rest and Training  location map

12th of May 1917 Bailleul Shelled  location map

26th of May 1917 Quiet Day  location map

26th of June 1917  Quiet Day  location map

6th of July 1917  A Brigade Relief  location map

18th of July 1917 Direct Hits Made  location map

19th of July 1917   Situation Quiet   location map

21st of July 1917 Back Areas Shelled  location map

23rd of July 1917 Minenwerfer Active  location map

26th of July 1917  Very Quiet   location map

27th of July 1917  Gas Attack  location map

29th of July 1917 Brigade Relief  location map

10th of August 1917 Mostly Quiet  location map

22nd of August 1917 Railway Shelled  location map

28th of September 1917  On the Move  location map

10th of October 1917   "Intense Barrage" Endured  location map

17th of October 1917 Training  location map

19th of October 1917 Relief Ordered  location map

8th of November 1917 Fairly Quiet  location map

16th of November 1917 15th Brigade Entrain

19th of November 1917  Pioneers Move

28th of November 1917 Entraining for Italy

9th of April 1918 Orders

10th of April 1918  Relief Postponed

11th of April 1918 Movement Details

23rd of April 1918 Constant Shelling  location map

17th of May 1918 Active Artillery  location map

22nd of May 1918 Enemy Active  location map

15th of June 1918  Operation Proposed  location map

7th of July 1918  Gas Shelling  location map

12th of July 1918 Back Areas Bombed  location map

28th of July 1918 Quiet   location map

31st of July 1918 Relief Completed  location map

9th of August 1918  Training  location map

10th of August 1918  Training

13th of August 1918 Entraining Commenced

15th of August 1918  Training

23rd of August 1918  Division Attacks  location map

24th of August 1918  5th Division Co-operates  location map

25th of August 1918 Brigades Move  location map

26th of August 1918  Enemy Retreats  location map

27th of August 1918 Quiet  location map

28th of August 1918   Situation Unchanged  location map

30th of August 1918  Advance Continues  location map

31st of August 1918  Counter-Attack  location map

1st of September 1918  Attack Sucessful  location map

2nd of September 1918 Strongly Defended

3rd of September 1918  Enemy Withdraws  location map

4th of September 1914 An Easier March

4th of September 1918 Divisional Relief

5th of September 1918 Rest and Training

13th of September 1918 On the Move  location map

17th of September 1918 Back Areas Bombed  location map

18th of September 1918 Attack Commences  location map

19th of September 1918 Enemy Guns Quiet  location map

20th of September 1918  Quiet Time  location map

22nd of September 1918 Field Guns Active  location map

13th of November 1918 Resting

10th of January 1919  Locations

24th of January 1919 5th Signals Rejoining

If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.





Want to know more about the Royal Engineers?


There are:8720 items tagged Royal Engineers available in our Library

  These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.


Those known to have served with

5th Divisional Signals Company, Royal Engineers

during the Great War 1914-1918.

  • Atkins John Charles. 2nd Cpl.
  • Atkins John Charles. Cpl
  • Martin MM. Guy Stanislaus . A/2nd.Cpl. (d.25th August 1918)
  • Nettleship Thomas. Spr.

All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of 5th Divisional Signals Company, Royal Engineers from other sources.


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245850

A/2nd.Cpl. Guy Stanislaus Martin MM 5th Dvn. Sig. Coy. Royal Engineers (d.25th August 1918)

Acting Second Corporal Guy Stanislaus Martin, born 28th June 1895 in Singapore, son of William & Sarah Elizabeth Martin, Maydencroft, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, educated at Bedford Modern School 1908–1912, living in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Served with the 5th Division Signal Company, Royal Engineers (service no.25002). He was awarded the Military Medal.

He was killed in action on 25th August 1918 in Pas de Calais, France and is buried in Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension, France. He is remembered on the Singapore Cenotaph and both The War Memorial and The Alamada, St. Andrews Church, Ampthill.

Information courtesy of www.roll-of-honour.com

Caroline Hunt




213744

Cpl John Charles Atkins 5th Divisional Signals Company Royal Engineers

My grandfather, 2nd Corporal Jack Atkins, was a Londoner, a career soldier and an "Old Contemptible"; he was born in the City of London although his family subsequently moved to Lambeth. He served for seven years in the infantry before transferring to 5 Signals Company in 1913. The Company provided communications for 5 Divisional HQ and for each of the three infantry brigades of the division.

In August 1914 the Division left Carlow in Ireland to join the BEF in France, and Jack experienced the rigours of the Retreat from Mons. Next came the hard-fought Battle of Le Cateau on 26th August, the engagement which famously saved the BEF and fatally slowed the German advance into France. Jack is believed to have been part of the HQ Section Signallers based at the village of Reumont, and during the morning was sent to lay a cable between 5 Div HQ and the 19th Brigade to their north. The unit War Diary says "Sgt Holmes and his cable det. were detailed to lay a cable line to the 19th Brigade, but were evidently captured by the Germans for his party (men, horses and wagon) has not been heard of since. The cable line was last seen running through a line of German infantry."

He spent the rest of the war as a POW in Germany and then, in 1918, Holland to which neutral country he was repatriated as suffering from "barbed-wire fever". On his return to Britain at the end of the war he learned that two of his three younger brothers had been killed in May 1915 (coincidentally both on the same day - 26th - although one, Herbert, was at Gallipoli with 2nd Royal Fusiliers and the other, William, in France with 1/23rd London Regiment).

Jack reenlisted and served with the Royal Signals as it became until the end of his enlistment in 1927 by which time he was a Quartermaster Sergeant. He settled in Brighton with his wife and young family, returning briefly to the Colours in the next war as a Company Sergeant Major. A quiet man, he never spoke of his brothers or of the Great War except to say that they'd been kept very hungry in captivity. He died in Brighton in 1955, just two weeks after the death of his wife.

Paul Atkins




212807

2nd Cpl. John Charles Atkins 5th Divisional Signals Company Royal Engineers

A Londoner, my grandfather, John Charles Atkins joined the South Lancashire Regiment in 1906, transferring to the Royal Engineers in 1913. He was a member of 5th Divisional Signals Company, and went to France with the Division in August 1914 - part of the famous "Contemptible Little Army" of the BEF. After the retreat from Mons, he took part in the Battle of Le Cateau on 26th August where he was taken prisoner in the fierce fighting which stemmed the German advance. His only mention of the btn.'s later years was to say he was captured by Uhlans, the German lancers. Two of his younger brothers, William and Herbert, were killed in May 1915; his youngest brother Percy joined the Royal Engineers and survived the war.

John also survived the war but was a POW until repatriation in 1918, when he returned to the Royal Engineers and later the Royal Corps of Signals. At the end of his period of service in 1927 he settled in Brighton, Sussex, having reached the rank of Quartermaster Sergeant. In 1939 he was recalled to the colours to train mobilised troops for the Second World war, being discharged on completion of this role in 1940 as a Company Sergeant Major. Three of his sons fought in this war, one in each of the Services.

Pat Atkins






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