|
|
 | ||||
| George joined the Royal Engineers in Newcastle City Center in January 1961. After basic training at No1 Training Regiment, Fleet he was sent to 52 Inland Water Transport, 17 Port Regiment, Marchwood Camp. Later he was sent for 6 months training at No1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Brompton Barracks, Kent. Then back to 17 Port Regiment and later sent (as punishment for failing the course!) to join 8 Railway Squadron at Longmoor in 1962 where he was transferred to the RCT during the re-shuffle in 1965. | ||||
| On leaving the regular army after the closedown of LMR in 1969 George joined the Special Reserves for a further 7 years. A number of years after leaving the Regular Army George joined the Army Reserves - 6th Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, St. Lucia Company (H.S.F) whose motto is 'Old Age & Treachery will Defeat Youth & Skill'!! | ||||
|
|
|
 |
The range of the tasks covered by the Royal Engineers (RE) is extraordinary and its members are more talented and personable than most. The RE have always been special. From its ranks have come some remarkable men who have made their mark in history and in many other ways. It was Royal Engineers who irrigated India, played a major part in the foundation of the Ordnance Survey, entombed Napoleon on St. Helena and discovered the source of the Nile! Another testament is the fact that a disproportionately high number of top level commanders in both world wars started their careers as Engineers.
Today, wherever there is a minefield to cross, a river to be bridged, a crater to fill or a road to be built, it's down to the skills of the Engineers. Their scope of activities and diversity is beyond my skill to cover here, they are sent to all corners of the globe to overcome never ending challenges. The soldiers who enter the ranks of the Sappers have done so with a sense of vocation and have been rewarded for their efforts.
In the past they have covered the forming of the Royal Air Force from its beginnings in ballooning to the passing of various responsibilities to newly formed corps such as the Army Service Corp and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Once such change involved the formation of the Royal Corp of Transport and its takeover of railway responsibilities...
Until the advent of the Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) in 1965 the Royal Engineers had been responsible for construction, maintenance and operation of military railways. Once the RCT was formed these functions were split, railway construction and maintenance (civil engineering tasks) remained with the Royal Engineers, motive power and rolling stock maintenance (mechanical and electrical engineering tasks) being given to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and railway operating alone being undertaken by RCT (see below).
The Royal Corps of Transport
On 15th July 1965 the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) ceased to exist and the Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was formed. Its role was to provide transport and movement support to the Army in both peace and war. Transport support included road, rail and maritime transport together with port operating and air dispatch duties. Movements support comprised planning, policy, co-ordination and control of all non-tactical personnel and freight movement, by land, sea and air.
The RCT and its predecessors the RASC have served in both war and peace in places as diverse as Korea, Kenya, Aden, Malaysia, the Middle East, Iceland, Norway, Belize, from Buckingham Palace to the streets of Northern Ireland, and more recently the Falkland Islands and the Gulf.
In 1965 when the RCT was created the strength was 13,500 and in 1982, 10,500 with an additional 10,000 in the Territorial Army.
|
In 1965 as part of the Army's reorganization the operation of military railways passed from the Royal Engineers to the Royal Corps of Transport. Regrettably it was a diminishing responsibility and in the period from 1965 the railway organization has been reduced drastically to meet the differing needs of today's Army.
In 1993 The
Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed by an amalgamation of the RCT, RAOC, RPC,
ACC and Postal and Courier elements of the RE and the Royal Corps of Transport
ceased to exist.
Wow! I'm on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longmoor_Military_Railway
1965 reorganisation & RCT Railways
In essence, the new corps was to embody those elements of the Royal Army Corps and the Royal Engineers which were directly concerned with transportation. The repair and maintenance of transportation equipment became the task of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, whilst all aspects of transportation construction remained with the Royal Engineers. As in Sapper days, the Royal Signals retained responsibility for installation and maintenance of communications. Therefore transport operating alone was undertaken by the new RCT.
(The Army School of Mechanical Transport (ASMT) was split between Longmoor and Bordon until 1977).
Longmoor Military Railway (LMR)
The RCT inherited from the RE various railway facilities at home and abroad. None of these was particularly large and some were no more than a single siding. The most impressive, without a doubt, was the Longmoor Military Railway which had the dual function of being the practical military railway trade training school and of serving various rail-connected depots in the vicinity.
However the limited requirements for military railwaymen which existed in the mid to late 1960's clearly did not warrant the extensive training facilities provided at Longmoor. The amount of traffic was small enough to be handled by road and the number of regular trades trainees had fallen to a mere handful. The reserve squadron was able to be trained at summer camps in Germany. It was therefore no surprise when the decision was announced to close the LMR on 31 Oct 1969 and to transfer trades training to 79th Railway Squadron in Germany.
One final public Open Day was held on 5th July 1969 and was a huge success despite there being only five train crews and three signalmen (one of which was George Dypevåg). An estimated 17,500 people were given train rides.
The Open Day was LMR's public farewell, the actual closure ceremony took place on 31st Oct 1969 and was planned as a private military function.
After the demise of the Longmoor Military Railway, the actual operation of military railway systems was confined to major depot sidings in the UK and British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). The training of RCT personnel for railway operations was also restricted to BAOR.
Aldershot Training Depot
When National Service ended, training commitments diminished considerably. Among other changes driver training was taken over by 12 Training Regiment in 1969 at Aldershot. Until 1966 12 Regiment, or 1 Battalion as it had been called, had been responsible for driver training only, but regimental training was then also taken over from 11 Regiment, which subsequently reverted to its old title of The Depot. Recruits therefore at this stage received all their training in one regiment. This changed again in January 1971 when the Depot, back in the rebuilt Buller Barracks with 12 Regiment, took back the responsibility for the regimental training of recruits from 12 Regiment. 12 Regiment were to concentrate on getting all recruits up to HGV III standard before they were posted to units.
Driver Training of all Corps drivers was carried out at Aldershot until 1977 where all responsibility for RCT driver training passed to the Army School of Mechanical Transport (ASMT) at Leconfield and 12 Regiment was disbanded..
More at >> Liss, Hants.
