Lieutenant Colonel Frank Bertram Legh, Royal Engineers

Lieutenant Colonel Legh's medals were added to my collection in 1978. Legh's medals include the Order of the British Empire (Military), the Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal with mention in despatches oak leaf, and the French Legion of Honor. The medals were purchased with their original ribbons, mounted as worn by Lieutenant Colonel Legh. Although I had proudly displayed these medals for many years, it was not until recently, after reading Peter Chasseaud's excellent work entitled Artillery's Astrologers: A History of British Survey and Mapping on the Western Front, 1914-1918, that I decided to research Legh's life and military service in detail. Much of the detail in the following narrative that relates to Legh's work during the Great War of 1914-1918 was taken from Chasseaud's book.

The research of Frank Bertram Legh's story begins with his grandmother, London-born Catharine Legh. The 1861 Census of England shows Catharine Legh, 58 years of age, as the head of a household living at Marlbone Villa in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, a town located approximately 30 miles to the southeast of London.^[1]Living with her was her son, Henry Edmund Legh, 21 years of age, who like his mother was born in London, Middlesex. At the time of the census, Henry was an undergraduate student at Oxford University. Catharine also had two daughters living with her at Marlbone Villa: Isabella Helen Legh, 19 years of age, born in Putney, Surrey and Frances Ann Legh, 18 years of age, born in London.

No information was uncovered during this research to indicate who was Catharine Legh's husband. Either she was a woman of some means in her own right, or her husband had left her in a good position financially, presumably after his death. In addition to being able to afford the costs associated with keeping a son at Oxford, Catharine Legh had the means to employ three domestic servants. The 1861 census indicates that the household consisted of a 15-year old parlor maid by the name of Ann Jane Barham of London, a 19-year old housemaid from Wadhurst, Kent by the name of Elizabeth Gibb, and a 21-year old cook named Ann Miles from Hawkesbury, Kent.

Henry Edmund Legh would become the father of Frank Bertram Legh. The 1881 Census of England shows Henry Edmund Legh, 41 years of age, residing at 88 Maison Dieu Road in Charlton, Kent^[2]with his 31-year old wife Isabella G. Legh who was originally from Sydenham, Kent. Henry Legh's occupation is given as Chaplain of Dover Union. At the time of the census, Henry and Isabella had one son and three daughters:^[3]

Both Catharine and Edmund are shown as scholars in the census return. Frank Bertram Legh does not appear in the 1881 census, as he was born after the census was taken.

The 1881 census listed three domestic servants in the Legh household: a 40-year old cook (spinster) named Mary A. Mason from Bentley, Suffolk, a 38-year old nurse (widow) named Louisa Gilbert also from Bentley, Suffolk, and a 16-year old housemaid (spinster) named Ann Simmons from Nettlestead, Kent.

Frank Bertram Legh was born at 88 Maison Dieu Road in Charlton, Dover, Kent on the 22^nd of October 1881. His birth certificate lists his father, Henry Edmund Legh, as a Clerk in Holy Orders and his mother as Isabella Grace Legh (nee Kite).^[4]

Frank Bertram Legh was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on the 18^th of August 1900.^[5]The 1901 British Census shows that 2^nd Lieutenant Legh was stationed at St. Mary Barracks in Gillingham, Kent. During this period he probably was undergoing training at the School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks in Chatham, Kent. It appears that he may have stayed at Brompton Barracks until early in 1903.

By April of 1903 2^nd Lieutenant Legh was serving on the island of Mauritius.^[6],[7] It is likely that he was serving in the 43^rd Fortress Company of the Royal Engineers at this time. This company had been formed on Mauritius in 1895 and according to the work done by Gase (2003) this company was still on the island during the time that Legh was serving there.

The Army Lists show Legh serving on the island of St. Helena^[8] in the South Atlantic Ocean as early as May of 1903.^[9]The unit in which he served during this period is unknown, but again, it probably was a fortress company. On the 18^th of August 1903, while serving on St. Helena, Legh was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.^[10]

Lieutenant Legh was posted home from St. Helena and in January of 1905 he was assigned to company duties with "A" (Depot) Company at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham.^[11]The Royal Engineers Quarterly Lists for this period show that he was married and that he was a Member of the Royal Engineers Institute.

His company officer duties with "A" (Depot) Company continued until sometime in late 1906 or early 1907. Monthly Army Lists for early 1907 show him serving at Chatham, with duties unspecified. He may, in fact, still have been serving with "A" (Depot) Company or he may have been on leave in preparation for reassignment to Ireland.

Lieutenant Legh was posted to Belfast in June of 1907 for duty with the Ordnance Survey.^[12]In January of 1908 he was serving with the 14^th (Survey) Company, Royal Engineers with the Ordnance Survey in Phoenix Park, Dublin.^[13]He served with this unit on the Survey of Ireland until May of 1912 after having received orders the previous month for reassignment to the Ordnance Survey, Edinburgh and Ceylon.^[14]On the 18^th of August 1910 while serving at Phoenix Park, Legh was promoted to the rank of Captain.^[15]

Captain Legh reported to Edinburgh on temporary duty pending orders to proceed to Ceylon. The monthly Royal Engineers Lists from June to August 1912 show that he served with the 49^th (Coast Battalion) Company at Rutland Square in Edinburgh. In September of 1912 he was posted as District Officer, Forth and Clyde Defences in Edinburgh and he remained in this position until October of 1912. During this time he was still on orders to Ceylon.

Captain Legh reported for duty with the 31^st Fortress Company, Royal Engineers in Colombo, Ceylon in November of 1912. Monthly Army Lists and Royal Engineers Lists show that he was assigned duties as District Officer, Outstations. He served in Ceylon until September of 1914 when the 31^st Fortress Company was ordered home. The following is a description of the voyage of the company from Ceylon to London as written by a non-commissioned officer (whose initials are C.W.P.) of the unit:^[16]

Captain Legh and his company arrived at Tilbury on the 17^th of October 1914. Legh remained at home for about two months until the 14^th of December when he was posted to the British Expeditionary Force in France. He service during this two-month period is not known. It is probable that he was on leave after having returned from abroad and prior to being assigned to the theatre of the war in France and Flanders.

After his arrival in France, Captain Legh was probably assigned to a field survey unit. This assumption is based on the fact that a significant portion of his previous service to this point had involved survey work and that references consulted for this narrative next place him in a Field Survey Company in France during the Great War.

To better understand the organization and work done by the units to which Legh was assigned, a brief description of the mission and organization of the field survey units is in order. During the Great War of 1914-1918, the field survey units of the Royal Engineers were responsible for the following tasks in support of the armies of the British Expeditionary Force in the field:

British survey work during the war was mainly carried out by the Sappers, with a significant amount of support from the Royal Artillery. Their task was to neutralize the German machine gun and artillery while the infantry and tanks crossed no man's land and captured and consolidated the enemy positions, or fought through to exploit success and maneuvered to threaten the enemy's flanks and rear.

The field survey units of the Royal Engineers initially were organized as companies. A Field Survey Company consisted of the following sections:

Four of these companies were formed in France in March of 1916 and on the recommendation of General Headquarters (GHQ), France, they were recognized as units of the Royal Engineers in July of 1916. The sections listed above that already existed in France were absorbed into the Field Survey Companies. Later, Army Printing Sections were transferred from the Printing Company to the Field Survey Companies.

In order to regularize the establishment of skilled personnel attached to Field Survey Companies in France and to enable these personnel to be replaced in the units from which they had been withdrawn, the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief recommended in May of 1918, that field survey units in Armies should be organized as battalions, each under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel, with an Adjutant. This was approved and each battalion was organised as follows:

The Headquarters Section had the mission of surveying, compilation and printing. Each Artillery Section consisted of Sound-Ranging Sections and Observation or "Flash Spotting" Groups. "Flash Spotting" was a colloquial and semi-official name applied to detachments engaged on visual observation of enemy fire. At different times they were named Artillery Survey Sections, Artillery Survey Detachments, Observation Sections and finally, Observation Groups.^[17]Units were placed for tactical purposes under the direct control of the General Officers Commanding, Royal Artillery in the Field Armies.

Five Field Survey Battalions were formed for the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Reserve (Fifth) Armies. The Depot Field Survey Company also was organized into a battalion under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel.

Little is known of Legh's early service during the war except that he was mentioned in the despatches of Field Marshal J.D. French dated the 30^th of November 1915.^[18]Captain Legh probably was serving in one of the topographical, map, observation or sound-ranging sections that existed in France prior to the formation of the Field Survey Companies in 1916.

On the 19^th of July 1916 the 5^th Field Survey Company was formed for the new Reserve (Fifth) Army. This company was commanded at that time by Captain B.F.E. Keeling, R.E.^[19]Captain Legh's section appears to have been assigned to this company.^[20]

Soon after the formation of the company, Keeling and his men were engaged in some of the major actions of the war. These included the Battle of Thiepval (26 to 28 September 1916), the Battle of Le Transloy (1 to 18 October 1916) and the Battle of Ancre Heights (1 October to 11 November 1916).^[21]On the 2^nd of November 1916, during this latter battle, Legh was promoted to the rank of Major.^[22]

On the 1^st of January 1917 the 5^th Field Survey Company was located at Toutencourt with the Fifth Army Headquarters. On this same date the London Gazette published the award of the Military Cross to Major Legh.^[23]Major Keeling was in England at this time recovering from wounds and Major Legh was in command of the company.^[24]On the 9^th of April headquarters of the 5^th Field Survey Company moved to Albert in preparation for the next major action of the war. This action took place at Bullecourt from the 3^rd to the 17^th of May 1917.^[25]

Major Legh left the Albert area with Fifth Army Advanced Headquarters on the 2^nd of June 1917 and moved to La Lovie Chateau, two miles northwest of Poperinghe. On the 3^rd of July he departed from France on a 10-day leave, returning to his unit on the 13^th of July.

Major Legh and the 5^th Field Survey Company next took part in the Battle of Pilckem between the 31^st of July and the 2^nd of August 1917. He then saw action in the Battles of Menin Road (20 to 25 September 1917) and Passchendaele (26 October to 10 November 1917).^[26]For his service during this latter action, Major Legh in mentioned in the despatches of Sir Douglas Haig dated the 7^th of November 1917.^[27]

On the 17^th of November 1917 Major Legh attended the monthly sound-ranging conference at St. Pol. His company's headquarters was still located at La Lovie Chateau at this time. Immediately following the conference, on the 20^th of November, Major Legh returned to England where he was on temporary duty to the headquarters of the Ordnance Survey at Southampton. He returned to France, arriving at Amiens on the 23^rd of November and on the following day he returned to the 5^th Field Survey Company at La Lovie Chateau. He next moved to Dury, just south of Amiens, with the company headquarters section.^[28],[29]

The 5^th Field Survey Company moved from Proven in Flanders to Lamotte-en-Santerre during the period from the 20^th to the 22^nd of December 1917. On the 17^th of January 1918 Major Legh attended a conference at the Sound Ranging School located at Campigneulles-les-Grandes, near GHQ at Montreuil. These conferences had been held monthly since the beginning of 1917 and it was customary for officers commanding the Field Survey Companies to attend with their sound-ranging officers.^[30]

On the 23^rd of February, Major Legh and all officers commanding Field Survey Companies attended a conference at GHQ to coordinate defence arrangements and to clarify policy in the event of an enemy breakthrough in the Fifth Army sector, or a retirement of the army. Legh called a conference at 5^th Field Survey Company headquarters at Lamotte on the 25^th of February. His purpose was to make the defensive doctrine clear to all group and section commanders.^[31]

At some point early in 1918 Legh was appointed an Acting Lieutenant Colonel.^[32]He proceeded home to England on the 21^st of March 1918, the very day that the Germans began their great offensive in the St. Quentin area. Legh surely heard the news of the battle in which his company was involved and either volunteered to return immediately to the front or was ordered to do so by higher command. The Battle of St. Quentin lasted until the 23^rd of March; however, Legh did not return from leave until the 24^th of March. When he did return to the front he first reported to Fifth Army Headquarters prior to rejoining his unit. Lieutenant Colonel Legh returned to the 5^th Field Survey Company from Fifth Army HQ on the 26^th of March, just in time to participate in the Battle of Rosieres. The company at this time was composed of 45 officers and 657 other ranks and was roughly equal in manpower to an infantry battalion. Because of its strength, the company was moved into line in a defensive position to fight as infantry.^[33]

By the 2^nd of June 1918 the 5^th Field Survey Company was with the Fourth Army in the Villers Bretonneux-Albert area^[34] and on the 23^rd of June Legh was notified that his unit would become a Field Survey Battalion with an organization as previously indicated.^[35]

The 5^th Field Survey Battalion's next major action after its reorganization was the Battle of Hamel, which took place on the 4^th of July 1918.^[36]Legh was appointed Officer Commanding, 5^th Field Survey Battalion on the 14^th of July 1918 in place of Lieutenant Colonel B.F.E. Keeling who had been severely wounded in action.^[37]The battalion headquarters at this time was located at Ville-le-Marcelet in the Fourth Army area preparing for its final engagement of the war. On the 8^th of August 1918 the battalion played an active role in the Battle of Amiens and by the 1^st of September the battalion headquarters was located at Bertangles. It then moved to Villers Carbonnel on the 21^st of September 1918.^[38]

Lieutenant Colonel Legh relinquished command of the 5^th Field Survey Battalion on the 11^th of November 1918 upon declaration of the Armistice. He was immediately ordered back to England. He arrived in Maretz on the 12^th of November, en route home, and on the 14^th of November he attended a conference at Arras.^[39]The 5^th Field Survey Battalion continued to exist until the 14^th of April 1919 when the unit's war diary was closed.

The total deaths suffered by the 5^th Field Survey Company/5^th Field Survey Battalion numbered 41 during the war. Of the total, 41 were killed in action, 12 died of wounds and 3 died of disease or by accident. Broken down by rank, the unit's deaths in the field included 1 Corporal, 1 2^nd Corporal, 7 Lance Corporals, 27 Sappers and 5 Pioneers.^[40]

Near the end of the war Legh was mentioned in the despatches of Sir Douglas Haig for his valuable services in the field. This despatch of the 8^th of November 1918 was published in the London Gazette on the 23^rd of December 1918. He was again mentioned in despatches in the London Gazette dated 7 July 1919.

For his services during the war he was also awarded the Order of the British Empire,^[41] the Military Cross,^[42] 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal (with m.i.d. oak leaf) and the French Legion of Honour, 5^th Class.^[43]All of these medals are in the author's collection.

Frank Bertram Legh reverted to his substantive rank of Major in the Royal Engineers on the 10^th of February 1919. On the 15^th of February 1919 he received a Class A appointment to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Ordnance Survey.^[44]He served on this Board from 1919 to 1920.

The following is a summary of the organization and mission of the Board of Agriculture, later the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, through the period in which Frank Bertram Legh served on the Board. The Board was responsible for agriculture and for a number of related areas (such as horticulture, fisheries, food and the environment). When first organized in 1889, the Board was known as the Board of Agriculture, a title that it retained until 1903 when it was renamed the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries under the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries Act of 1903. The year after Legh joined the Board it was again renamed the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, a title it retained until 1955.^[45]

In 1903 the Board took over responsibility for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. It also took over the powers and duties of the Board of Trade, relating to salmon, freshwater and sea fisheries in England and Wales. In 1911 the Department relinquished its Scottish responsibilities to a Board of Agriculture for Scotland. However, it kept responsibility for the control of animal diseases and for the Ordnance Survey. At the beginning of 1917 a Food Production Department was established within the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries with a Director General responsible to the President. Its remaining functions were absorbed by the Board in 1919. In the same year the Board attained Ministry status under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Act 1919. This Act also established a joint Agricultural Advisory Committee for England and Wales and representative Councils of Agriculture for both countries. The Forestry Act 1919 established the Forestry Commission, which absorbed powers and duties related to forestry from the Ministry. The Ministry sponsored a diversity of projects during the next decade including the settlement of ex-servicemen on the land, the containment of pests and disease, and the development of agricultural research and education. Surely much of the work for which the Board was responsible required surveying tasks of some kind. It is likely that Legh was employed with such duties.

Major Legh was assigned to the Reserve of Officers on the 4^th of May 1925.^[46]On the 31^st of December 1925 he was promoted to the substantive rank of Lieutenant Colonel and posted to Bermuda as the Commander Royal Engineers (C.R.E.) on that island. Legh served in this capacity until the 3^rd of May 1927 when he was appointed Acting Commander of Troops in Bermuda with the local rank of Colonel Commandant. He only held this post until the 1^st of September 1927 when he returned to his duties as Commander Royal Engineers.

On the 22^nd of July 1928 Legh was again appointed Commander of Troops in Bermuda, this time with the local rank of Brigadier. While serving in this capacity he continued his duties as C.R.E. and was also Acting Governor of the island. His wife was with him in Bermuda and they apparently had a very active social life, with him filling three posts simultaneously. On the 23^rd of August 1928 Brigadier and Mrs. Legh attended an outing of the Establishment of Engineer Services on the island. The outing took place at Warwick Camp with bathing in Long Bay, as well as swimming races and cricket.^[47]

Legh relinquished the post of Commander of Troops in Bermuda on the 16^th of October 1928 and returned full-time to his engineer duties. He retired on half-pay on the 31^st of December 1929 and in January of 1930 he was removed from the Royal Engineers List, although he remained on the Active List.^[48]

Frank Bertram Legh retired from the Army on the 30^th of June 1930.^[49]His total service is summarized in the tables below with approximate dates shown for each location.

Location	Approximate Period of Service
Chatham, Kent	18 August 1900 to March 1903
Mauritius	March 1903 to June 1903
St. Helena	June 1903 to January 1905
Chatham, Kent	January 1905 to June 1907
Belfast, Ireland	June 1907 to January 1908
Dublin, Ireland	January 1908 to June 1912
Edinburgh, Scotland	June 1912 to November 1912
Colombo, Ceylon	November 1912 to October 1914
United Kingdom	October 1914 to December 1914
France and Flanders	December 1914 to November 1918
London	November 1918 to December 1925
Bermuda	31 December 1925 to 31 December 1929

Location	Approximate Period of Service
Home Service	17 years and 220 days
Service Abroad	11 years and 280 days
Total Service	29 years and 135 days

On the date of his retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Legh and his wife were living at "Attadale" on Church Lane West in Aldershot, Hampshire.^[50]In April of 1931 his mailing address was c/o Lloyds Bank Ltd. at 6 Pall Mall, London, S.W.1. He and his wife were probably living abroad at this time, possibly in India. By October of 1932 the Leghs were residing at "Dilwara" in Broadhembury, a town in Devonshire located about 14 miles northeast of Exeter. The following year they were living abroad once again with Lloyds Bank as their mailing address. Legh continued to use his Lloyds mailing address between 1933 and 1935.

In 1943 Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs. Legh were living at College Hill, Vellore, North Arcot District in Southern India. Vellore is a city on the Palar River situated about 80 miles west southwest of Madras.^[51]In 1962 their address was listed in the Royal Engineers List as "High Legh", Orange Valley Road, Devonshire, Bermuda. By this time, Frank Bertram Legh was 81 years old.^[52]

Frank Bertram Legh received the following promotions during his time in service:

Date of Promotion or Appointment	Rank or Position
18 August 1900	Commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers
18 August 1903	Promoted Lieutenant
18 August 1910	Promoted Captain
2 November 1916	Promoted Major
14 July 1918	Appointed Acting Lieutenant Colonel
10 February 1919	Reverted to substantive rank of Major
31 December 1925	Promoted Lieutenant Colonel
3 May 1927	Appointed Acting Colonel (local rank)
22 July 1928	Appointed Acting Brigadier (local rank)
31 December 1929	Reverted to substantive rank of Lieutenant Colonel

The England and Wales Marriage Index Records from 1837 to 1983 show that Frank Bertram Legh was married in Portsmouth, Hampshire in the third quarter of 1904. His wife's name is not indicated in the records. In 1904 he had just returned from his posting on the island of St. Helena and was assigned to "A" (Depot) Company at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham. The Sapper magazine of October 1928 shows that Mrs. Legh was with him in Bermuda during his posting there and The Royal Engineers List between 1930 and 1962 show him as married. The author has not uncovered any information regarding children born to the Leghs.

1. CHASSEAUD, P. Artillery's Astrologers: A History of British Survey and Mapping on the Western Front, 1914-1918. Mapbooks, Lewes, 1999.

2. INNES, J.R. Flash Spotters and Sound Rangers. George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1935.

1. 1861 Census of England. Source Information RG9/492. Registration District: Tunbridge. Sub-Registration District: Tunbridge Wells. Enumeration District 8c, Folio 7, Page 8, Household Schedule No. 32, GSU Number 542648.

2. 1881 Census of England. Family History Library Film 1341237, Public Record Office Reference RG11, Piece 1000, Folio 122, Page 16.

3. 1901 Census of England. Source Information RG13/738. Registration District: Medway. Sub-Registration District: Gillingham. Enumeration District: St. Mary Barracks, Folio 70, Page 1, Household Schedule No. 1.

Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-19. The Naval & Military Press Ltd., Heathfield, East Essex, 1998.

Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth, General Register Office, London, BXA 500316. Registration District: Dover, Sub-district of Saint James in the County of Kent, dated 1 October 1979.

A-Z Street Atlas, Aldershot, Camberley, Farnborough and Farnham. Geographers' A-Z Map Company Limited, Sevenoaks, Kent,

34. Royal Engineers Journal. Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.

[2] Charlton is located in the Greater London area, approximately 2 miles due east of Greenwich.

[3] It should be noted that Catharine Legh and her family could not be found in the 1871 Census of England.

[4] Frank Bertram Legh's birth was registered on the 26^th of October 1881 by one H.G. Pain, Registrar.

[7] An island in the Indian Ocean located about 450 miles east of Madagascar. Mauritius was discovered by the Portuguese early in the 16^th century, occupied by the Dutch from 1598 to 1710, held by the French from 1715 to 1810 and captured by the British in 1810 to protect shipping during the wars with France. The island was formally ceded to Britain in 1814.

[8] St. Helena was discovered in May of 1502 by a Portuguese navigator. It was first visited by the English in 1588 and was granted to the British East India Company in 1659. St. Helena was the French Emperor Napoléon's place of exile from 1815 to 1821. The island declined in importance as a port of call after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

[20] This supposition is based on the fact that Legh is subsequently mentioned in the actions of the 5^th FSC as discussed in Peter Chasseud's book.

[29] During this period Peter Chasseud states that an unnamed subordinate of Legh's describes Legh as "quite tame but is evidently a strait-laced person."

[32] Ibid., p. 441. Although he was appointed to this position, it appears that Keeling was still in command of the company at this time.

[35] Ibid., p. 444. Lieutenant Colonel Keeling commanded the battalion upon its organization.

[37] Lieutenant Colonel Keeling died shortly after the war as a result of his wounds.

[43] Legion d'Honneur, Croix de Chevalier. London Gazette, 14 July 1917, p. 7093.

[45] Further redesignation of the Board, to include amalgamation with other government departments were as follows: The Ministry of Food (1916-1955), The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1955-2001), and The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2001- ). A Board or Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture and Internal Improvement was constituted by Royal Charter in 1793 and wound up in 1822. It was succeeded in 1838 by the English Agricultural Society (renamed the Royal Agricultural Society of England in 1840). The Board and the Society aimed to improve farming practice in England. Neither was really a government department, although the Board received an annual grant from the Exchequer.

Between 1836 and 1841 the government set up three bodies of Commissioners to deal with particular questions of land tenure: the Commissioners for Tithe, the Enclosure of Common Land, and the Enfranchisement of Copyhold Land. The three bodies were merged in 1882 to form a Land Commission of England responsible to the Home Secretary.

The Cattle Plague Department was established in 1865 to deal with an epidemic of the cattle plague known as rinderpest. At first the Department was a branch of the Home Office. It transferred to the Privy Council in 1866. In 1870 its title was changed to the Veterinary Department. In 1883 it became the Agricultural Department and took over from the Board of Trade's responsibility for the publication of the annual agricultural statistics. The statistics were collected by the Board of Inland Revenue.

The Board of Agriculture Act 1889 established a Board of Agriculture, which took over the powers, and duties of the Land Commissioners and those of the Agricultural Department. It was given responsibility also for the Ordnance Survey, the collection and preparation of agricultural (and forestry) statistics, and for agricultural and forestry research and education. The Board never met. Its powers were exercised by the President.

[50] Church Lane West is located on the west side of the town of Aldershot between Grosvenor Road and York Road.

[51] Vellore is the site of a temple to Siva as well as a strong fortress built in the 14^th century. The town was occupied by the British in 1760 and withstood a two-year siege by the Indian ruler Hyder Ali. After 1799 the town became the residence of the sons of Tipu Sultan who instigated a mutiny there in 1806.

[52] He is not listed in the Royal Engineers List of 1970. No memoir or death notice was published for him in the Royal Engineers Journal between 1962 and 1977. It is likely that he died on the island of Bermuda.