World War II: The 1st Hampshire Engineer Volunteer Corps was first formed in 1862 and then reformed in 1891 with special responsibility for the port defences of the South Coast of England.

It carried out this role during World War I, as well as forming field units that served on the Western Front and at Salonika.

Before the outbreak of World War II it formed an air defence regiment that saw service during The Blitz and field companies that fought in the Western Desert and Italy, The unit continued in the postwar Territorial Army before finally disbanding in 1967.

The new unit included a cadet company at Weymouth until 1902, and the 1st Sussex Engineer Volunteers was attached to it for administrative purposes in 1892–95.

The new corps rented and renovated the old drill hall of the 3rd Hampshire RVC, laid a parade ground, and practised digging field fortifications on Southsea Common.

[3][4] The 1st Hampshire Royal Engineers (Volunteers) (as the unit was officially titled from 1896) sent a detachment of one officer and 25 other ranks to assist the regular REs during the Second Boer War in 1900, and a second section the following year.

On 5 August, it was supplemented by No 4 Company of the Tyne Electrical Engineers (TEE), which took over several of the coast defence searchlight stations around Portsmouth.

[12] On 25 September 1916, the only air attack on Portsmouth during World War I occurred when Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy commanding the Zeppelin L31 hovered over the harbour in the searchlight beams, without actually dropping any bombs.

On 15 August 1914, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units.

[28] Offensive operations were rare on the Macedonian front, but work to improve defences and roads was continuous, and the 28th Division in the Struma Valley suffered badly from malaria.

The outpost line consisted of a chain of these villages, trenched and wired, and garrisoned by infantry, machine gun teams and RE detachments.

[37][40] The remainder of the Hampshire Fortress RE continued as a single Electric Light and Works company in the Portsmouth Coast Defences.

[36][41] In the early months of the war the unit was engaged in installing and testing anti-shipping and anti-aircraft searchlights, generating gear and general defensive works.

[43][44] In early 1941 all of XIII Corps' engineers were busy constructing the Gazala Line in an attempt to halt General Rommel's expected offensive.

Tobruk fell soon afterwards and with Eighth Army in headlong retreat the engineers had to destroy or salvage all the water supply, port and railway equipment to deny them to the enemy.

[43][47][48] After the battle, XIII Corps was given the job of securing prisoners and clearing the battlefield, where the engineers had 'the unenviable task of sorting out the maze of minefields, lifting some and marking others'.

[51] XIII was given an assault role in the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), sailing from Egypt and landing in the south east of the island on 10 July 1943.

[43][52] The troops advanced steadily, supported by the engineers building numerous bridges and repairing damaged supply routes through rugged country, and the island was in Allied hands by 17 August.

The following Spring, XIII Corps participated in the fourth Battle of Monte Cassino (Operation Diadem) with an assault crossing of the Rapido River on the night of 11 May 1944.

Wood cut by the gunners and the Italians was turned into 'cribs' and 'dogs' by 576 Corps Field Park Co, which were then filled with rock quarried at Dicomano and rubble from ruined buildings.

[61][62] Once through the Gothic Line, XIII Corps took over part of the front from US forces, whose engineers had opened a track ('Ace') from San Pietro on Highway 65, over the Apennine Mountains into the valley of the Santerno.

[63][64] Maintaining routes such as 'Ace' during the winter months was a huge task, and XIII CTRE and 78th Division's RE had to be reinforced by US engineers when one section collapsed into mud.

The site selected from aerial photographs was found to be unsuitable due to Allied bomb craters, and the alternative meant bridging a 1,100 feet (340 m) gap and all available Bailey material and transport had to be collected from other formations.

Two hours later it was damaged by an underwater explosion – whether by a floating mine or sabotage by frogmen was never ascertained – but was quickly repaired by dismantling and incorporating one of the New Zealanders' ferries.

This enabled XIII CTRE to throw a pontoon Bailey bridge across the fast-flowing Adige at Piacenza, which presented greater difficulties than the wide Po.

Material arrived on site at 08.00 on 29 April and the 370 feet (110 m) bridge was completed by 22.00 on the same day, although work on the approaches prevented it being opened to traffic until next morning.

[37][38][73][74] By the end of 1944, the German Luftwaffe was suffering from such shortages of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious aerial attacks on the UK could be discounted.

At the same time 21st Army Group fighting in North West Europe was suffering a severe manpower shortage, particularly among the infantry.