Remembering 180629 Sapper Harry Ernest Wilkinson, Royal Engineers

Some months ago the Society was contacted by Harry Wilkinson’s granddaughter who wanted to know more about his war service. Little is know about it, except that ‘he fought both against and later with the Bulgarians’ and ended up in Constantinople. Happily, he returned home safely.

Sadly, as in so many cases, with no surviving service record and little else to go on, the trail has gone cold, but I am grateful for this splendid photo of Harry and his comrades, presumably taken in the UK before embarking for overseas service. If you are able to provide any clues about the unit, either from Harry’s service number (180629) or from the photo, we will be delighted to hear from you.

An unknown unit of the Royal Engineers. almost certainly taken in the UK before embarking for overseas service.
An unknown unit of the Royal Engineers. almost certainly taken in the UK before embarking for overseas service. Amongst them is 180629 Sapper Harry Ernest Wilkinson who, according to ‘family memory’, served against the Bulgarians and fnished the war in Constantinople. Unfortunately it has not been possible to identify the particular unit depicted, nor that (or those) which Sapper Wilkinson – who was from Leeds – served with. Our thanks go to Harry’s granddaughter, who provided this photo.

This seems an appropriate time to announce a new page listing the units of the Royal Engineers which served with the BSF, 1915-1918:

My thanks go to Julian Rainbow for providing this. This is a work in progress and an updated version will be provided when available.

Discover more from Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918

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Author: Andy Hutt

Andy's interest in the campaign comes from his grandfather, Arthur, who served in Salonika as a sapper with the Royal Engineers from 1916-1918. Opinions expressed in these posts are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society.

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