Engineer Heritage Moments
Canadian Military Engineers have a long and rich heritage in times of war and in peace. CME units have served around the world in conflict and disaster from Pre-confederation times until the present. The CME and its antecedents has have perhaps contributed as much if not more than more to the growth of our nation than any other military organisation. From the earliest days of powered flight in Canada, the establishment of the RCN on our coasts, the construction and maintenance of our air force and army's camps and bases, to the more recent construction of bridges and airfields in our North, the CME have played major roles. In recent conflicts and disasters, our troops have opened an entirely new era. All this to say our motto “UBIQUE” means “in All Places” and we have a wealth of stories with which to illustrate our history.
This page presents a portal into our heritage with stories representing all facets of our tasks and responsibilities throughout our history.
A separate page is available so you can scroll through our articles by title.
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14 Airfield Engineering Flight Lunenburg was established in 1994 as a deployable Total-Force construction engineering unit that was based on the Reserve Force. At that time, ways...Theme(s):Airfield Engineering / Construction Engineering -
In 1999, East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. However, after a month of violence and destruction following the referendum, the United Nations authorized an interim...Theme(s):Peacekeeping and Peacemaking -
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The vast area of Northern Canada presented major problems for the provision of administrative and health services to the many isolated communities. Traditional transportation by...Theme(s):Airfield Engineering -
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The All Sappers Memorial Park in Vedder Crossing, BC was conceived by Lt-Col Coulson Norman Mitchell, VC, MC in 1945 when he was Commander of Camp Chilliwack. He also took a...Theme(s):Ubiquitous -
At 1020 hrs on 15 April 2021, the Carillon at St Luke’s Chapel, Base Gagetown, chimed for the first time in over three years. It had been repaired thanks to a Museum Development...Theme(s):Construction Engineering -
An analysis of the Dieppe Raid in August 1941 identified the need for the protection of engineer demolition parties breaching obstacles. It was decided that the Engineers should...Theme(s): -
In 1953 the Canadian Army introduced a plan to provide a military career opportunity for young men who were between 16 - 17 years old. This “Soldier Apprentice Program” was...Theme(s):National Development -
“…Bailey Bridging made an immense contribution towards ending World War II. As far as my own operations were concerned, with the Eighth Army in Italy and with the 21st Army Group...Theme(s):Combat Engineering -
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the British Government had determined that it needed facilities outside the United Kingdom for the training of large numbers of...Theme(s):Construction Engineering -
The Rock of Gibraltar is the key to the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Thrusting 1300 feet above the Spanish plain on the Bay of Algeciras, the Rock of...Theme(s):Combat Engineering -
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The military engineers of France and England planned and constructed their vital fortifications in the New World. At the end of Queen Anne’s War in 1713, France gave up her claim...Theme(s):Ubiquitous -
On 15 October 1954, Hurricane HAZEL drenched the Toronto area with 21 cm of rain. There was widespread damage and many bridges were washed out - including two on the Rouge River...Theme(s):Disaster Relief -
Our first Canadian “School of Military Engineering” was authorized in July 1907 and included such components as; a Construction School, Electrical School, Mechanical School, Field...Theme(s):Training -
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The arrival of large numbers of troops in the United Kingdom, during the first years of the Second World War, created a crisis in accommodation and training facilities. The Royal...Theme(s):Construction Engineering -
Two young Canadian Engineers, J.A.D. McCurdy and F.W. Baldwin, piloted the first military demonstration of aircraft flight in Canada at Camp Petawawa, ON. Conducted in July-August...Theme(s):Combat Engineering -
In September 1993, the United Nations authorized United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) with the mandate to assist in modernizing the armed forces of Haiti and establishing a new...Theme(s):Construction Engineering / Peacekeeping and Peacemaking -
The year 1929 ushered in the start of a decade-long world-wide economic depression that became known as the "Dirty Thirties'. Large-scale unemployment and a disastrous drought on...Theme(s):National Development -
The Korean War presented a major challenge to military engineers because of the nature of the terrain. Korea was a land of mountains interlaced with rice patties in the valleys...Theme(s):Combat Engineering -
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The Department of National Defence assumed the responsibility for the Canadian portion of the Second World War-era Alaska Highway from the United States in April 1946. Among these...Theme(s):National Development -
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Canada was an eleventh-hour stand-in for the 1967 World’s Fair and Montreal had to pull off a miracle to get it ready on time. The fair had initially been awarded to Moscow in...Theme(s): -
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Mankind has been beset by the threat of floods since time immemorial. The Canadian Military Engineers have played a major role in limiting the damage from these inundations. In...Theme(s):Combat Engineering / Disaster Relief -
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In 1999, the City of Halifax celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding. Edward Cornwallis, Governor of Nova Scotia from 1749-52, landed on 21 June 1749 and his Royal...Theme(s): -
A contribution towards humanitarianism and caring for children who had been caught up in areas of conflict around the world was started by a Canadian Military Engineer in the...Theme(s):Humanitarian Assistance -
The Canadian Forestry Corps had provided lumber for the First World War in the United Kingdom and on the Continent. The British looked again to Canada for assistance early during...Theme(s):Forestry -
Canada had provided overseas railway troops for the Great War and anticipated that a similar request would come from Great Britain for WW II. Such a request was delayed because of...Theme(s):Railway -
During the First World War, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps set out to accelerate the training of Commonwealth pilots in Canada to meet the growing air...Theme(s):Fire Crash and Rescue -
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During the First World War, there was an “underground war” fought below the trenches all along the Western Front. This was very much an Engineer War fought in the tunnels of both...Theme(s):Tunnelling and Mining -
The Second World War Allied campaign in Italy is often called “an Engineer’s War” because of the terrain and obstacles the enemy created that had to be overcome. In December 1943...Theme(s):Combat Engineering -
Events like the Korean War and the deepening Cold War in Europe in the early 1950s resulted in a major change in the government's plans for National Defence. The decision to...Theme(s):Defence Infrastructure -
With the arrival of British governance in 1763 in what was to become Canada, the British Royal Engineers assumed great responsibility for the construction of defensive works as...Theme(s):National Development -
Like the Royal Engineers, their predecessors in Canada during the colonial period, the Canadian Military Engineers have made major contributions to the development of the nation...Theme(s):Mapping and Survey -
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In October 1950, the Canada Cement plant at Exshaw, Alberta faced a problem. A steel truss bridge across the mouth of the Kananaskis River had collapsed restricting access to a...Theme(s): -
During conflict, a poor water supply can cause even more casualties than the enemy and there are examples where soldiers have died in the thousands due to unsanitary camp...Theme(s):Combat Engineering -
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A memorial at Driel in the Netherlands commemorates the British and Canadian sappers in a little-known Second World War operation called Operation BERLIN. That operation was the...Theme(s):Combat Engineering -
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Peacekeeping activities for the Royal Canadian Engineers began in earnest when the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was authorized on 4 November 1956 for deployment in Egypt...Theme(s):Combat Engineering
