This article looks at the service of the 152nd Company Pioneer Corps during the Second World War and will help you to research those who served with the unit. This is one of a number of guides I have written to help you research soldiers who served in the British Army during the Second World War:

• Researching Soldiers who Served with the British Army

I also offer a Second World War Soldier Research Service.

The 152nd Company Pioneer Corps

On 17 August 1940, the 152nd Company Pioneer Corps was formed at the No.2 Centre, Pollak Estate, Glasgow. The unit’s first commanding officer was Major H. L. G. Buckingham. The 152nd Company was formed at the No.2 Centre, Pollak Estate, Glasgow on 17 August 1940. The first commanding officer was Major H. L. G. Buckingham and by the end of September, the unit contained six officers, one Warrant Officer, eleven Sergeants, twenty Corporals, twenty Lance-Corporals, and 230 Privates, giving it a total strength of 288 all ranks. Initially, the Company joined the No.4 Group. The unit remained in Britain during the first two years of its existence, serving in a variety of locations including Kelso, Peebles, Inveraray, Glasgow, and Kilsyth. On 28 March 1942, the Company had a strength of 5 officers and 291 other ranks.

On 1 November 1942, the Company sailed from Gourock on board the SS Ormonde and disembarked at Bougie (Béjaïa), Algeria on the 20th. The unit was dive-bombed the next day, with its war diary reporting the attack lasted “from 19:30 – 22:30 many near misses but no casualties”. It served with the No.26 Group during its initial months in Algeria. The 152nd Company spent most of its service in North Africa either at Bougie, Bone or Sousse. On 5 January 1944, the Company disembarked at Liverpool and subsequently moved to Wanstead. On 11 June, the unit landed in Normandy and moved to St. Sulpice. Remaining in Normandy until October, the Company moved to Belgium and served in the Low Countries until April 1945 when it left for Germany. After the end of the war, the Company remained in Germany until December 1945 when it returned to Britain. The Company began to be disbanded not long after. By 31 March 1946, it had a strength of just 2 officers and 23 other ranks. Based on its dwindling numbers, it most likely ceased to exist in April.

War Diaries of the 152nd Company Pioneer Corps

The most important documents to view if you’d like to research the 152nd Company are its war diaries. These were written by an officer of the 152nd Company and recorded its location and activities. They often contain appendices in the form of orders, reports, and maps. I offer a copying service for these documents. The first four war diaries of the 152nd Company are poor, as they lack detailed daily entries and the first three, appendices. The war diaries of the Groups which the Company served with should contain more information relating to the Company. However, these can also be hit-and-miss. The Company initially joined the No.4 Group and its first war diary (WO 166/5434) covers the period between July and December 1940. Fortunately, the war diaries do get better in 1944 and 1945, at least in terms of appendices.

• Date: 17 August 1940 – 31 December 1941
• Reference: WO 166/5636
• Notes: A poor war diary with very brief entries which lack detail. There are no appendices.

• Date: 05 January – 30 September 1942
• Reference: WO 166/10042
• Notes: Another poor war diary with no appendices.

• Date: 01 November 1942 – 29 June 1943
• Reference: WO 175/1165
• Notes: This is another poor war diary, though slightly more detailed than the previous two, which is a shame as it covers the unit’s service in North Africa. The diary contains a set of field returns for officers and other ranks for each week.

• Date: 02 July – 28 November 1943
• Reference: WO 169/12814
• Notes: Once again, a poor war diary with the last two months only containing a handful of entries. There are still field returns for officers and other ranks. There is no war diary for December.

• Date: 01 January – 31 December 1944
• Reference: WO 171/3126
• Notes: This is a better war diary, not due to the daily entries which are still quite poor but due to the wide variety of appendices including the usual officer and other rank field returns. There are a couple of interesting German propaganda leaflets dropped in the Company’s area at the end of July.

• Date: 01 January – 31 December 1945
• Reference: WO 171/7325
• Notes: One of the better war diaries of the Company which contains the same level of detail as the previous year. There are also a lot of appendices.

Officers and Other Ranks who Served with the 152nd Company Pioneer Corps

The table below only shows a small fraction of the men who served with the 152nd Company during the Second World War. These soldiers appear in the war diaries but the table doesn’t contain every other rank listed. Nearly every officer who served with the Company can be found in the table. The number for officers is their personal number while for other ranks it is their army number. Both numbers are unique to that individual and can be used to order their service record.

Name	Number	Rank	Notes
Alsbury, F.		Second Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 18 May 1943.
Ashdown, C. H. A.	281055	Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 20 August 1945.
Bailie, J.	237416	Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 21 April 1943.
Bishop, C.	229420	Second Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 6 April 1942.
Boath, R	168303	Second Lieutenant	Reported serving with the Company at the end of April 1941.
Bradshaw, R	13065460	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Bristow, A.	13068467	Private	Away from the unit in July 1943.
Bristow, E	13058921	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Buckingham H. L. G.		Major	The Company's first commanding officer who joined on 31 August 1940 and left on 28 October 1940.
Burke, J. M.	171476	Lieutenant	Detached with the 151st Pioneer Company in November 1941.
Carter, F. A.	13058943	Private	Away from the unit in July 1943.
Carter, H. R.	256633	Lieutenant	Joined the unit on 2 May 1944.
Cheeseman, B.	242040	Lieutenant	Serving with the unit in March 1943.
Chesterman, R	13058950	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Chilvers, E. H.		Lieutenant	One of the first six officers.
Clark, T	13065489	Corporal	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Cockroft, J	13065497	Private	Away from unit in August 1943.
Collings, P. B. B.	103118	Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 26 August 1941.
Collis, C. A.	13058962	Corporal	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Crowther, Albert	13065511	Corporal	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944.
Dance, A	203256	Second Lieutenant	Reported serving with the Company at the end of October 1941.
David, David Morgan	130401010	Lance-Corporal	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944.
de le Taste Tickell, J. H.	175844	Lieutenant	Shown serving with the unit in January 1944.
Deal, G. W.	13056656	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Dickinson, W. T.	235143	Captain	Joined the Company on 11 June 1943.
Doggett, E. E. J.	240915	Captain	Joined the Company on 12 June 1943.
Dracup, Marshall Noel	13065527	Private	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944.
Drake, T.	13065528	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Dunwell, H. S.	13065538	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Eccles, E.	3317978	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Edgley, George Henry	13065541	Corporal	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944.
Elrick, E.	13065550	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Enright, J. J.	242064	Captain	Joined the Company on 10 June 1943.
Firth, H.	13065558	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Firth, J.	13065556	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Flick, J. H.	13052229	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Flint, H	13077869	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Foster, A. J.	214462	Second Lieutenant	Officer in command of a detachment at Tiree in November 1941.
Franklin, P. J.	13047241	Corporal	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Furnish, H. S.	13065674	Private	Away from the unit in July 1943.
Goulding, J. A. H.	258973	Lieutenant	Shown serving with the unit in January 1944.
Green, W. H.	163478	Captain	Joined the Company on 2 June 1943.
Gunson, H. D.	7886303	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Harris, William Turner	14623683	Private	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944.
Haynes, R	103482	Captain	Reported serving with the Company at the end of April 1941.
Hill, F. T.	118380	Major	Assuemed command of Company on 12 November 1940 as the unit's second commanding officer.
Hilton, John I'Anson	13065615	Private	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944.
Hodgson, H. E.	13065618	Private	Away from the Company in mid-April 1943.
Holmes, A.	1914087	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Holt, Ernest Edward	13013480	Sergeant	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944 and received special praise.
Horsburgh, T. H.	229479	Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 27 April 1942.
Horwood, E. J.	13005250	Company Sergeant Major	Received an injury to his right eye during grenade practice on 25 April 1955.
Howieson, J.	321908	Second Lieutenant	Joined the unit on 10 December 1944.
Jefferies, E.	3459482	Private	Died suddenly of natural causes on 26 October 1945.
Jennings, G. J.	13047640	Lance-Corporal	Struck off strength and transferred to the Gordon Highlanders on 16 October 1940.
Kemp, J. I.	242107	Major	Took over command of the unit in August 1945.
Knight, C. H.	13065138	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Knight, J	242111	Lieutenant	Joined the unit on 31 May 1944.
Langford, J	13065142	Private	Away from unit in August 1943.
Langridge, A. E.	122304	Lieutenant	Reported serving with the Company in November 1941.
Leach, J. B.		Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 27 April 1942.
Lewis, J. H.	183126	Second Lieutenant	Reported serving with the Company at the end of August 1941.
Lilley, E. W.	13065155	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Loader, E. G.	13065159	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Lumb, L	167959	Second Lieutenant	Reported serving with the Company at the end of April 1941.
Martin, Arthur Robert	13015795	Company Quartermaster Sergeant	Awarded the British Empire Medal while serving with the unit.
Martin, J.	2114479	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Myers, G.	13065712	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Ogden, J. S.	159631	Second Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 12 March 1941.
Osliffe, J.	13076677	Private	Serving with the unit in early 1943.
Paddison, G. H.	13065223	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Pattison, P. J.	13065232	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Peddie, O. C.	168319	Second Lieutenant	Reported serving with the Company at the end of April 1941.
Pickering, A.	13065743	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Potter, F. G.		Sergeant	Sent to UK on a potential instructors course on 23 April 1945.
Purdy, E. A.	13065256	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Roe, G. C.	13065771	Corporal	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Rogers, G. W.	123755	Lieutenant	Shown serving with the unit in January 1944.
Ryall, M. H.	285095	Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 3 October 1945.
Ryan, P. J. A.		Second Lieutenant	Awarded the Military Cross one of the first six officers.
Rye, A. H.	13065775	Private	Away from the unit in July 1943.
Sadler, R R	212306	Second Lieutenant	Reported serving with the Company at the end of October 1941.
Sawyer, A	6015116	Private	A court of enquiry was held on 1 September regarding an injury he received.
Smith, F. P.	13047750	Corporal	Posted to 28 Group on 28 December 1940 on being appointed to a commission.
Smith, W. H.	13065808	Corporal	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Summers, A. A.	198651	Captain	Joined the Company on 25 March 1943.
Swainsbury, Ernest Harold	13065337	Private	Recommended for a Commander in Chief Certificate in December 1944.
Taylor, L. H.	13065846	Private	Away from the unit in July 1943.
Terry, C. F.	13065348	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Ticehurst, A.	159448	Major	Took over the command of the Company in July 1945.
Trott, M. G.	13065356	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Turton, G. W.	13065859	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Wales, A. A.	13065866	Private	Away from the unit in July 1943.
Warnier, H. N.	276743	Lieutenant	Reported the loss of his Army Form B.2606 on 21 September 1944.
Whatcott, L. T.	13065381	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Whitmore, C.	13076803	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Williamson, C	13064394	Corporal	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Willock, H.		Lieutenant	Serving with the unit in September 1945.
Wood, C		Second Lieutenant	One of the first six officers.
Woodhead, W		Lieutenant	One of the first six officers.
Wright, H.	13065915	Private	Sent to the 31 Reinforcement Holding Unit on 3 January 1945.
Wynne, H. G. E.	341850	Lieutenant	Joined the Company on 10 September 1945.