Ubique Vir

Great footage.

I’m sure @crusaderproject.bsky.social would concur that the efficiency of the Axis recovery units above the Escarpment during the springtime operations of 1941 gave them the upper hand in battle second only to the woeful Allied communications!?!

Memorial to those who fought in the Far East

Remembering my Grandpa & the ‘fine fellows’ he lost along the way serving King & Country in the Far East.

After 38 months in India & Burma his VJ Day passed with little fanfare as he helped dismantle camps & rebuild German infrastructure.

Life went on for the living.

#VJDay80

Personal items of Col DV Hutchinson MBE from WWII

Thought I’d mark the occasion and let some of the collection see the light of day. Even dug the old desert goatskin out of the garage. 🐐

PS don’t tell anyone but the LRDP Sappers wore it better than those little-known SAS chaps! 😉😎

59 Infantry Division sappers. (#OTD in 1944. Class 9 folding boat bridge spanning the Orne at La Bagotière, France. #WW2 #HISTORY)

#VJDay80 obviously

14 August 25 "My Grandpa's war in the 12th Field Company RE" with Nathan Hutchinson - The Institution of Royal Engineers (InstRE) Royal Engineers Historical Society (REHS)Webinar series 2025"My Grandpa's war in the 12th Field Company RE" with Nathan Hutchinson

Final call to sign up to watch this tomorrow night.
#RoyalEngineers supporting the armoured & infantry formations throughout the lesser known Operations in the Western Deserts, Syria, Burma & Assam during WWII.
Maps, bridging, fieldworks and more.
#REspect
#VEDay80

www.instre.org/events/my-gr...

So many great tips from some amazing presenters on here.
My growing fear for tomorrow nights @rehs-1716.bsky.social webinar is palpable, I’m up to my 4th hard edit and it’s still feeling too wordy for the time allowed.
Fingers crossed it’ll be alright on the night

Map of troop movements in the Western Deserts.

Having just given this Thursdays Webinar a ‘hard-edit’ and read through, I was horrified to see it is still running 30 minutes over.
Time to take the chain saw to it and resign all that research to the cutting room floor!
It won’t be the same without every CRE etc but 5 years into 50 mins is tough.

‘Sapping the strength out of the river’ was right there!

Back to journalism school for those hacks!!

YouTube video by WW2TV Quin Shen Yu and the Burma Road

I'm a complete amateur, gave talks at work but hated it. Thankful that Woody gives viewers the chance to tell their stories and with much encouragement by the sidebar mates. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cv...

Royal Engineers Historical Society Webinar on 14/08/25 - My Grandpa’s war in the 12th Field Company RE. https://www.instre.org/events/my-grandpas-war-in-the-12th-field-company-re/

Honoured to shine a light on my Grandpa’s time in 12 Fld Coy RE during WWII.
From Palestine, the Western Deserts, to the Arakan & beyond.
Defence, logistics, desert patrols, Chindits & maps.
@rehs-1716.bsky.social
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@thinkdefence.bsky.social
@merrynwalters.uk

Link in ALT

Taken from an original 1940s British Army document showing how to construct a 36’ Dreadnaught, designed to carry troops, mules and equipment across rivers.

So many creations of engineering ingenuity that came together to form the greatest logistical supply chain in history.
Meanwhile 8000 miles away, it was good old ‘stick & string’ doctrine that filled the void from lack of resources.

Not sure a bamboo dreadnought would fare well on the Channel mind?

Thanks RG.
It has been long neglected & I’ve many new research discoveries that need to be updated throughout the site. (And then there’s the part of me that want to pull it all down because of AI data farming etc)
A mini ‘virtual museum’ would be my preferred way to display the collection/stories!

If you expect to hear someone attempt to convert a man’s life & 5 years of conflict into 50 minutes of incoherent rambling, then you won’t be disappointed!

www.instre.org/events/my-gr...

Diagram showing the 22nd Guards Brigade (Escarpment Force) Desert Formation in June 1941 at the outbreak of Operation Battleaxe on the Egyptian/Cyrenaica border.

Been absent of late but your threads are always a joy to return to, lots to think about.

Here’s a Battleaxe treat I cobbled together for a recent talk. (Also August 14th REHS webinar)

Can you imagine this lot trundling up the Escarpment?
What a sight/sound to behold.

@robertglennie.bsky.social

YouTube video by Devon Dad 1944 - 12th Field Company R.E. Khuzami airstrip.

A thoroughly enjoyable telling of the professional soldier Stanley Henshaw on @ww2tv.bsky.social.
Honoured to get a name check from the great @philipwblood.bsky.social too.

This video hints at the impossible jungle topography where Stan earned his MM on May 1 1944.

youtu.be/PIMbYYslhho?...

That’s a shame, missed you in Bilbao by only a few weeks.
Safe travels.

What a touching letter she wrote to the mother’s?

A reputation for bravery well earned. The first allied reinforcements to bolster the Canal Brigade in Oct 1939 with Neame’s 4th Indian Division.
Post Op Brevity in May 1941 their reputation truly cemented with exemplary conduct & courage under fire.

ARTICLE: Indian Valour in Africa 1941-2 A few months ago I did a piece based on a guidebook to India that was presented to soldiers bound for the sub-continent.

Today thanks to Queen Mary and a band of hard working volunteers, you can learn all about the brave exploits of Indian soldiers in Africa at the beginning of #WW2

achurchill.substack.com/p/article-in...

Remarkable indeed.

Like a recent connection with the Grandson of a local tribal leader that helped my Grandpa build the airstrips in the Naga Hills 80 years ago over 5000 miles away!
Also connecting with a dozen or so descendants of 4 Border men on social media. 💙

bsky.app/profile/ubiq...

Very much looking forward to this episode of @ww2tv.bsky.social.
I was excited to share a handwritten note from 34 Coln commander to 23rd Inf Bde C/O Montague Stopford, detail the attack whilst my Grandpa was off recceing suitable grounds to build a jungle landing strip!

@historybowsh.bsky.social

12th Field Company War Diary (12 May) #OTD 1941 Operation Brevity Operation Brevity was an Allied offensive conceived by General Archibald Wavell. As Commander-in-Chief Middle East, Wavell had seen earlier successful offensives against the Itali…

The RAF were crucial in disrupting Axis supply lines & reinforcements, keeping the Luftwaffe away from the battlefield.
As the bombardment fell 12th Fld Coy RE moved up Halfaya with 4RTR 22 Gds Bde.

Allied communications continued to be their own undoing.

ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2021/05/12/1...

1945 Rawalpindi. A Dakota drops a stick of men from 44th Indian Airbourne Division.

#OTD 80 years ago parachute training continued for 12th Fld Coy RE.

They started their long war based in Palestine & ended it in Punjab.
Both countries still blighted by war today.

#VEDay80 marks a win against past aggressions, but will the world ever know peace?

📷 Rawalpindi

Image depicting the many countries that contributed to the Victory over European Fascism in WWII.

Both my Grandfathers felt ‘forgotten’ in the British forces.
One, a Sapper of the Forgotten Army in Burma. Another patrolling the North Sea in RAF ASR.

So many across the globe contributed to the war effort from Palestinian to Naga Pioneer Coys.

To the forgotten on #VEDay80

Star Wars meme with Anakin saying he will mark the anniversary of the end of WWII, with Padme asking if he is referring to August 15.

*See also September 2

Noksang Ao of the Ao Tribe, Mokokchung. Commander of No.2 Pioneer Naga Coy of 23rd Long Range Penetration Brigade, Special Force. Oversaw a 600 strong labour force to construct roads, mule tracks, airstrips alongside the Royal Engineers Commando Platoons.

The internet is not a total lost cause.

Only today I met the Grandson of the Naga Chief who commanded the levy that helped my Grandpa’s Chindit Commando Platoon build the roads & airstrips deep in the Assam jungles in impossible conditions in 1944, #Burma.

I can’t help but feel emotional.

ALT ✏️

A warm welcome to Bluesky Edith.

If you’re not following @edithmirante.bsky.social yet, then behold this epic thread bridging the history of Burmese bridges, to get a taste of what you’re missing out on.

1942 map of Assam & Burma.

What else to do on a rainy Good Friday, than finally document the small collection for map & Survey aficionado Col. M Nolan.

Under Brig. Thomas, this 1942 reprint was collated during the 1912-15/16-18/23-26 seasons with fabulous detail of the Naga Hills tribal areas.

@merrynwalters.uk

Map from Eothen by A.W. Kinglake

Returning once more to @ubiquevir.bsky.social’s 1935 copy of Eothen by A.W. Kinglake.

Remarkable to see it filled with his scribbles & annotations for his exams at school, then only a few years later he’d be destined to retrace part of the route 100 after Kinglake with the Royal Engineers in 1940.

4th Bn : The Border Regt. War Diary (13 April) #OTD 1944 MOKOKCHUNG On this day in 1944 Captain D.V. Hutchinson M.B.E. R.E. was attached to the 4th Battalion Border Regiment, as Platoon Commander of 12th Field Company RE. After a long period of intensive…

Hat tip to the brave Sapper Chindit Commando units that built improvised airstrips deep behind enemy lines, of which would not be possible without the help of local levies.

ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2021/04/13/4...