17 Squadron History.

From: Dennis Williams.

27th March 1827: Formed as a Service Company of the Royal Sappers and Miners, at Woolwich under a Royal Charter dated 27/03/1887.

July 1827: Moved to Chatham, where they remained until Feb 1829.

February 1829: Proceeded to Bermuda, remaining on station till July 1834.

July 1834 the Company returned to Chatham and was absorbed into other Companies owing to the Royal Sappers and Miners being reduced to 12 Companies.

1st December 1847: Reformed at Chatham.

1st June 1848: Embarked at Gravesend for Mauritius arriving on the 18th August 1848.

25th October 1848: left Maurituis for the Cape Colony arriving on the 19th November 1851, where it took part in the 8th Kaffir War.

April 1852 to May 1855: detachments from the Company were stationed at King Williamstown, East London, Keiskama Hok, Lime Drift, Tamacha, Cape Town and Grahamstown.

May 1855: Company embarked at Port Elizabeth and arrived at Woolwich in July 1855.

September 1855: moved to Chatham for a rest period untill March 1856.

11th March 1856: Company embarked at Southampton, bound for Scutari, arriving on 8th April 1856. However it was to late to take part in the Crimean War, as peace terms had been agreed in the March of 1856.

12th July 1856: Company departed Scutari fot Malta, where it arrived in late July 1856.

17th October 1856: Redesignated as 17 Company RE, as the Royal Sappers and Miners where incorporated into the Royal Engineers.

1857: A large detachment sent from Malta to reinforce the 23rd Company RE involved with the Indian Mutiny.

 The Company served in Malta until October 1861.

16th October 1861: Company left Malta, arriving in Chatham in late October 1861, where it remaind until 22nd May 1862.

30th November 1876 to 25 th April 1878: Curragh Camp, (Ireland).

27th April 1876 to 15th September 1880: Aldershot.

23rd September 1880 to July 1882: Malta.

July 1882: Company embarked from Malta for Alexandria, for the Egyptian War. It took part in the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, (1882), and then returned to Cairo as part of the occupation until 1884.

1884: The Company took part in the Saukin Expedition.

1885: The Company took part in the Sudan Expedition, where it was involved in the construction of the Saukin-Berber railway, which only got to Otoa, a distance of 15 miles before the project was cancelled.

7th July 1885: Returned to Chatham till 7th December 1885, when it proceeded to Aldershot till arriving on the 8th December 1885 and remained there till 23rd May 1888.

25th May 1888 through to 28th May 1893: Curragh Camp.

8th June 1893 till 25th August: 1893: Oakhampton.

6th September 1893 till October 1899: Aldershot.

October 1899: Company sailed for South Africa, in support of 1st Infantry Division and was present at the Colenso, Spion Kop actions and the relief of Ladysmith, also involved in later minor actions. It also worked on the repair of the Laing's Nek Tunnel.

October 1902: Returned to England and was stationed at Aldershot, till 1907. In1903 absorbed into its ranks 60th Field Squadron RE, which was one of the reserved Companies formed at home during the South African War.

1907 to 1914: 17 Field Company at Curragh Camp, with the 5 th Infantry Division

6th August 1939: Left Curragh for the BEF France, arrived at Le Havre 18th August 1914, with 5th Infantry Division who they served with until March 1915.

March 1914: Transferred to 27th Infantry Division.

January 1916: Proceeded to Marseilles and embarked for Salonika arriving there on the 20th January 1916. The Company served with the 27th Infantry Division on the Macedonian Front until the end of the war, remaining with the Army of the Black Sea till 1919.

27th September 1919: Return to Curragh Camp, re-joining the 5th Infantry Division.

March 1922: Moved to Londonderry on the reduction of the British Forces in Ireland, (Eire),.

22nd March 1923: Moved to Bulford and joined the 3rd Infantry Division untill 1935.

April 1926: Decision made to Mechanise 17th Field Company RE, in order to work with the 7th Infantry Brigade at Tidworth. The first two lorries arrived in the Company in December 1926. These were 1 ton Morris Commercial's, six wheeler's, 16HP. These were small cross country vehicles. 17th Company was the first Corp unit to be mechanised. By the end of 1927, nine of these vehicles had been delivered, however thirty would be required to put the Company up to war strength.

25th September 1935: Company warned of for service in Egypt.

October 1935: Embarked at Southampton, with 3 Division, arriving at Alexandria on the 20th October 1935. They then moved to Mersa Matruh.

September 1936: Company moved to Palestine in relief of 2 Field Company RE, arriving in Jerusalem on the 9th September 1936.

22nd September 1936: Move from Jerusalen to Tulkarm.

5th October 1936: Moved to Nablus.

5th December 1936: Noved to Port Said, for embarkation to Tilbury.

17th December 1936: Disembark at Tilbury and move to Bulford arriving on the same day, where they remained until 1939.

1939 to 40: France with 3 Division.

1944 to 1945: NW Europe.

1947 to 1948: Palestine, in which time the Company was incorporated as 17th Field Squadron, into 22 Engineer Regiment, when the Regiment was formed in Libya1n 1948. From Palestine the Squadron went to Egypt then to Benghasi, Nov 48. Detachment to Aqaba on the 25th April 1949. Libya with 22 Engineer Regiment 1949-51 and Egypt 1951-54, then Libya 1954-57.

1958: Returned to Chiseldon Camp, with the Regiment as part of 3 Div 58-59.

August 1959: Re-organised as a Independent Field Squadron RE.

October 1959: Proceeded to Christmas Island for work on test base.

April 1960: Return to UK, where it joined 38 Corps Enngineer Regiment as a Field Squadron.

15th December 1960: The Squadron was disbanded.

December 1961:  'D' Squadron, 12 SME Regiment was redesignated as 17 SME Squadron and has remained with RSME since.

July 1962: SME became RSME.