Ash
I'm a little confused. Was Ash an engineer before he joined the unit? I got the impression that he wasn't.
shareAs I recall it, he was in school in the process of becoming a civil engineer.
LadySirius
[deleted]
I think that he was confused in the begining because the term "engineer" is used as a euphemism for what they do. When I was in college I met a military recruiter who told me some of the job descriptions that were used to get high school kids to sign on the dotted line. There is a beautiful job description for people whose job it is to suck the waste out of military airplanes--something like: environmental, sanitation environmental engineer.
shareHe was a civil engineering student who was assigned to a unit that had been previously a tunneling company of the Royal Engineers. When he was posted, his orders read that way. He arrived to discover that they were now an EOD unit. It makes sense, as a tunneling company would have the sappers do dig the bombs out.
shareThe business of the "tunnelling" company was a fictional plot device for dramatic effect. All of the RE companies in the UXB business were raised as "bomb disposal companies" between July 1940 and January 1941. Some were volunteers but most were "posted in" as shown. After six months they could transfer to another part of the RE but few did, as the series shows. Except for this small bit of dramatic license, the series was authentic.
shareHe wasn't confused. The word 'engineer' is used in several different ways moreso today than in the '40s. He was in school to become a professional civil engineer who designs bridges, dams and other construction.
shareYeah, an engineering section in the army makes earthworks, temporary bridges and the like. Not nearly as glamorous making big public works.
share