Collection: Corps of Royal Engineers

The **Corps of Royal Engineers (RE)**, commonly known as the Sappers, is the British Army's combat engineering branch, responsible for military engineering tasks including bridge-building, demolition, mine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, infrastructure construction, and search operations with military working dogs. Tracing its origins to 1716 with the formation of soldier artificers at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, it received the "Royal" title in 1787 from King George III and has the motto "Ubique" (Everywhere) alongside "Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt," reflecting its presence in every major conflict. Structured as multiple regiments and squadrons, including armoured engineers operating specialist vehicles like the Trojan and Terrier, the Corps provides essential mobility, counter-mobility, and survivability support to ground forces, from rapid airfield repairs to counter-IED operations in recent conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan. Headquartered at Chatham, Kent, with training at the Royal School of Military Engineering in Minley, the Royal Engineers remain indispensable for enabling Army operations worldwide through technical expertise and battlefield innovation.