Ubique Vir
@ubiquevir.bsky.social
Life of a Royal Engineer. A digital archive created from the military collection and memoirs of Col. Douglas Victory Hutchinson MBE RE 29/05/1919 - 26/03/2002
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Ubique Vir
@ubiquevir.bsky.social
· Oct 16
Ubique Vir
The Life & Military service of Col. Douglas Victory Hutchinson M.B.E. Memoirs of a Royal Engineer in the British Army From humble beginnings Growing up on a farm taught Douglas the practicalities of l...
ubiquevir.wordpress.com
Bluesky posts about the periods of which Col DV Hutchinson MBE RE served.
Plus all things maps, bridges & Sapping.
1940-42•N Africa/Syria
1942-44•India/Burma
1945-46•Germany
1947-56•SME/SMS
1957-59•Cyprus/Iraq/Aden
1960-68•BAOR/AFCENT/NATO
1969-72•Ordnance Survey
ubiquevir.wordpress.com
Plus all things maps, bridges & Sapping.
1940-42•N Africa/Syria
1942-44•India/Burma
1945-46•Germany
1947-56•SME/SMS
1957-59•Cyprus/Iraq/Aden
1960-68•BAOR/AFCENT/NATO
1969-72•Ordnance Survey
ubiquevir.wordpress.com
Remembering my Grandpa & the ‘fine fellows’ he lost along the way serving King & Country in the Far East.
After 38 months in India & Burma his VJ Day passed with little fanfare as he helped dismantle camps & rebuild German infrastructure.
Life went on for the living.
#VJDay80
After 38 months in India & Burma his VJ Day passed with little fanfare as he helped dismantle camps & rebuild German infrastructure.
Life went on for the living.
#VJDay80
August 15, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Remembering my Grandpa & the ‘fine fellows’ he lost along the way serving King & Country in the Far East.
After 38 months in India & Burma his VJ Day passed with little fanfare as he helped dismantle camps & rebuild German infrastructure.
Life went on for the living.
#VJDay80
After 38 months in India & Burma his VJ Day passed with little fanfare as he helped dismantle camps & rebuild German infrastructure.
Life went on for the living.
#VJDay80
Thought I’d mark the occasion and let some of the collection see the light of day. Even dug the old desert goatskin out of the garage. 🐐
PS don’t tell anyone but the LRDP Sappers wore it better than those little-known SAS chaps! 😉😎
PS don’t tell anyone but the LRDP Sappers wore it better than those little-known SAS chaps! 😉😎
August 14, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Thought I’d mark the occasion and let some of the collection see the light of day. Even dug the old desert goatskin out of the garage. 🐐
PS don’t tell anyone but the LRDP Sappers wore it better than those little-known SAS chaps! 😉😎
PS don’t tell anyone but the LRDP Sappers wore it better than those little-known SAS chaps! 😉😎
Final call to sign up to watch this tomorrow night.
#RoyalEngineers supporting the armoured & infantry formations throughout the lesser known Operations in the Western Deserts, Syria, Burma & Assam during WWII.
Maps, bridging, fieldworks and more.
#REspect
#VEDay80
www.instre.org/events/my-gr...
#RoyalEngineers supporting the armoured & infantry formations throughout the lesser known Operations in the Western Deserts, Syria, Burma & Assam during WWII.
Maps, bridging, fieldworks and more.
#REspect
#VEDay80
www.instre.org/events/my-gr...
14 August 25 "My Grandpa's war in the 12th Field Company RE" with Nathan Hutchinson - The Institution of Royal Engineers (InstRE)
Royal Engineers Historical Society (REHS)Webinar series 2025"My Grandpa's war in the 12th Field Company RE" with Nathan Hutchinson
www.instre.org
August 13, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Final call to sign up to watch this tomorrow night.
#RoyalEngineers supporting the armoured & infantry formations throughout the lesser known Operations in the Western Deserts, Syria, Burma & Assam during WWII.
Maps, bridging, fieldworks and more.
#REspect
#VEDay80
www.instre.org/events/my-gr...
#RoyalEngineers supporting the armoured & infantry formations throughout the lesser known Operations in the Western Deserts, Syria, Burma & Assam during WWII.
Maps, bridging, fieldworks and more.
#REspect
#VEDay80
www.instre.org/events/my-gr...
Reposted by Ubique Vir
I'm a complete amateur, gave talks at work but hated it. Thankful that Woody gives viewers the chance to tell their stories and with much encouragement by the sidebar mates. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cv...
Quin Shen Yu and the Burma Road
YouTube video by WW2TV
www.youtube.com
July 29, 2025 at 6:35 AM
I'm a complete amateur, gave talks at work but hated it. Thankful that Woody gives viewers the chance to tell their stories and with much encouragement by the sidebar mates. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cv...
Honoured to shine a light on my Grandpa’s time in 12 Fld Coy RE during WWII.
From Palestine, the Western Deserts, to the Arakan & beyond.
Defence, logistics, desert patrols, Chindits & maps.
@rehs-1716.bsky.social
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@thinkdefence.bsky.social
@merrynwalters.uk
Link in ALT
From Palestine, the Western Deserts, to the Arakan & beyond.
Defence, logistics, desert patrols, Chindits & maps.
@rehs-1716.bsky.social
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@thinkdefence.bsky.social
@merrynwalters.uk
Link in ALT
July 29, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Honoured to shine a light on my Grandpa’s time in 12 Fld Coy RE during WWII.
From Palestine, the Western Deserts, to the Arakan & beyond.
Defence, logistics, desert patrols, Chindits & maps.
@rehs-1716.bsky.social
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@thinkdefence.bsky.social
@merrynwalters.uk
Link in ALT
From Palestine, the Western Deserts, to the Arakan & beyond.
Defence, logistics, desert patrols, Chindits & maps.
@rehs-1716.bsky.social
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@thinkdefence.bsky.social
@merrynwalters.uk
Link in ALT
A thoroughly enjoyable telling of the professional soldier Stanley Henshaw on @ww2tv.bsky.social.
Honoured to get a name check from the great @philipwblood.bsky.social too.
This video hints at the impossible jungle topography where Stan earned his MM on May 1 1944.
youtu.be/PIMbYYslhho?...
Honoured to get a name check from the great @philipwblood.bsky.social too.
This video hints at the impossible jungle topography where Stan earned his MM on May 1 1944.
youtu.be/PIMbYYslhho?...
1944 - 12th Field Company R.E. Khuzami airstrip.
YouTube video by Devon Dad
youtu.be
June 7, 2025 at 2:41 PM
A thoroughly enjoyable telling of the professional soldier Stanley Henshaw on @ww2tv.bsky.social.
Honoured to get a name check from the great @philipwblood.bsky.social too.
This video hints at the impossible jungle topography where Stan earned his MM on May 1 1944.
youtu.be/PIMbYYslhho?...
Honoured to get a name check from the great @philipwblood.bsky.social too.
This video hints at the impossible jungle topography where Stan earned his MM on May 1 1944.
youtu.be/PIMbYYslhho?...
Reposted by Ubique Vir
Today thanks to Queen Mary and a band of hard working volunteers, you can learn all about the brave exploits of Indian soldiers in Africa at the beginning of #WW2
achurchill.substack.com/p/article-in...
achurchill.substack.com/p/article-in...
ARTICLE: Indian Valour in Africa 1941-2
A few months ago I did a piece based on a guidebook to India that was presented to soldiers bound for the sub-continent.
achurchill.substack.com
May 31, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Today thanks to Queen Mary and a band of hard working volunteers, you can learn all about the brave exploits of Indian soldiers in Africa at the beginning of #WW2
achurchill.substack.com/p/article-in...
achurchill.substack.com/p/article-in...
Very much looking forward to this episode of @ww2tv.bsky.social.
I was excited to share a handwritten note from 34 Coln commander to 23rd Inf Bde C/O Montague Stopford, detail the attack whilst my Grandpa was off recceing suitable grounds to build a jungle landing strip!
@historybowsh.bsky.social
I was excited to share a handwritten note from 34 Coln commander to 23rd Inf Bde C/O Montague Stopford, detail the attack whilst my Grandpa was off recceing suitable grounds to build a jungle landing strip!
@historybowsh.bsky.social
May 30, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Very much looking forward to this episode of @ww2tv.bsky.social.
I was excited to share a handwritten note from 34 Coln commander to 23rd Inf Bde C/O Montague Stopford, detail the attack whilst my Grandpa was off recceing suitable grounds to build a jungle landing strip!
@historybowsh.bsky.social
I was excited to share a handwritten note from 34 Coln commander to 23rd Inf Bde C/O Montague Stopford, detail the attack whilst my Grandpa was off recceing suitable grounds to build a jungle landing strip!
@historybowsh.bsky.social
Both my Grandfathers felt ‘forgotten’ in the British forces.
One, a Sapper of the Forgotten Army in Burma. Another patrolling the North Sea in RAF ASR.
So many across the globe contributed to the war effort from Palestinian to Naga Pioneer Coys.
To the forgotten on #VEDay80
One, a Sapper of the Forgotten Army in Burma. Another patrolling the North Sea in RAF ASR.
So many across the globe contributed to the war effort from Palestinian to Naga Pioneer Coys.
To the forgotten on #VEDay80
May 8, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Both my Grandfathers felt ‘forgotten’ in the British forces.
One, a Sapper of the Forgotten Army in Burma. Another patrolling the North Sea in RAF ASR.
So many across the globe contributed to the war effort from Palestinian to Naga Pioneer Coys.
To the forgotten on #VEDay80
One, a Sapper of the Forgotten Army in Burma. Another patrolling the North Sea in RAF ASR.
So many across the globe contributed to the war effort from Palestinian to Naga Pioneer Coys.
To the forgotten on #VEDay80
The internet is not a total lost cause.
Only today I met the Grandson of the Naga Chief who commanded the levy that helped my Grandpa’s Chindit Commando Platoon build the roads & airstrips deep in the Assam jungles in impossible conditions in 1944, #Burma.
I can’t help but feel emotional.
ALT ✏️
Only today I met the Grandson of the Naga Chief who commanded the levy that helped my Grandpa’s Chindit Commando Platoon build the roads & airstrips deep in the Assam jungles in impossible conditions in 1944, #Burma.
I can’t help but feel emotional.
ALT ✏️
April 29, 2025 at 7:59 PM
The internet is not a total lost cause.
Only today I met the Grandson of the Naga Chief who commanded the levy that helped my Grandpa’s Chindit Commando Platoon build the roads & airstrips deep in the Assam jungles in impossible conditions in 1944, #Burma.
I can’t help but feel emotional.
ALT ✏️
Only today I met the Grandson of the Naga Chief who commanded the levy that helped my Grandpa’s Chindit Commando Platoon build the roads & airstrips deep in the Assam jungles in impossible conditions in 1944, #Burma.
I can’t help but feel emotional.
ALT ✏️
A warm welcome to Bluesky Edith.
If you’re not following @edithmirante.bsky.social yet, then behold this epic thread bridging the history of Burmese bridges, to get a taste of what you’re missing out on.
If you’re not following @edithmirante.bsky.social yet, then behold this epic thread bridging the history of Burmese bridges, to get a taste of what you’re missing out on.
1. This History Thread is about bridges of Burma (Myanmar), a land of many waterways. Bridges have been built by colonial occupiers, foreign enterprises, local people. They've been destroyed by resistance fighters, regime forces & March 2025 earthquake. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
April 22, 2025 at 5:50 AM
A warm welcome to Bluesky Edith.
If you’re not following @edithmirante.bsky.social yet, then behold this epic thread bridging the history of Burmese bridges, to get a taste of what you’re missing out on.
If you’re not following @edithmirante.bsky.social yet, then behold this epic thread bridging the history of Burmese bridges, to get a taste of what you’re missing out on.
What else to do on a rainy Good Friday, than finally document the small collection for map & Survey aficionado Col. M Nolan.
Under Brig. Thomas, this 1942 reprint was collated during the 1912-15/16-18/23-26 seasons with fabulous detail of the Naga Hills tribal areas.
@merrynwalters.uk
Under Brig. Thomas, this 1942 reprint was collated during the 1912-15/16-18/23-26 seasons with fabulous detail of the Naga Hills tribal areas.
@merrynwalters.uk
April 18, 2025 at 10:09 AM
What else to do on a rainy Good Friday, than finally document the small collection for map & Survey aficionado Col. M Nolan.
Under Brig. Thomas, this 1942 reprint was collated during the 1912-15/16-18/23-26 seasons with fabulous detail of the Naga Hills tribal areas.
@merrynwalters.uk
Under Brig. Thomas, this 1942 reprint was collated during the 1912-15/16-18/23-26 seasons with fabulous detail of the Naga Hills tribal areas.
@merrynwalters.uk
Returning once more to @ubiquevir.bsky.social’s 1935 copy of Eothen by A.W. Kinglake.
Remarkable to see it filled with his scribbles & annotations for his exams at school, then only a few years later he’d be destined to retrace part of the route 100 after Kinglake with the Royal Engineers in 1940.
Remarkable to see it filled with his scribbles & annotations for his exams at school, then only a few years later he’d be destined to retrace part of the route 100 after Kinglake with the Royal Engineers in 1940.
April 17, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Returning once more to @ubiquevir.bsky.social’s 1935 copy of Eothen by A.W. Kinglake.
Remarkable to see it filled with his scribbles & annotations for his exams at school, then only a few years later he’d be destined to retrace part of the route 100 after Kinglake with the Royal Engineers in 1940.
Remarkable to see it filled with his scribbles & annotations for his exams at school, then only a few years later he’d be destined to retrace part of the route 100 after Kinglake with the Royal Engineers in 1940.
It was very kind of #NewtonAbbot #REA to allow me to talk today on the 12th Field Company #RoyalEngineers 1936 Palestine - 1945 Rawalpindi.
Lots of nerves and lessons learnt from the preview showing so I can fine tune it for the #REHistSociety webinar in August.
Lots of nerves and lessons learnt from the preview showing so I can fine tune it for the #REHistSociety webinar in August.
February 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM
It was very kind of #NewtonAbbot #REA to allow me to talk today on the 12th Field Company #RoyalEngineers 1936 Palestine - 1945 Rawalpindi.
Lots of nerves and lessons learnt from the preview showing so I can fine tune it for the #REHistSociety webinar in August.
Lots of nerves and lessons learnt from the preview showing so I can fine tune it for the #REHistSociety webinar in August.
My dear 90y/o neighbour is sadly moving & having a clear out.
She was happy for me to share these pics of her father, a signalman in the Navy at 15, enlisting in RAF 103 Sqn at 18, crashing his DH9a E550 in Ronchin at 19 & injured in Coolavohig Ambush at 21!
@trevcaviation.bsky.social
She was happy for me to share these pics of her father, a signalman in the Navy at 15, enlisting in RAF 103 Sqn at 18, crashing his DH9a E550 in Ronchin at 19 & injured in Coolavohig Ambush at 21!
@trevcaviation.bsky.social
February 17, 2025 at 8:41 PM
My dear 90y/o neighbour is sadly moving & having a clear out.
She was happy for me to share these pics of her father, a signalman in the Navy at 15, enlisting in RAF 103 Sqn at 18, crashing his DH9a E550 in Ronchin at 19 & injured in Coolavohig Ambush at 21!
@trevcaviation.bsky.social
She was happy for me to share these pics of her father, a signalman in the Navy at 15, enlisting in RAF 103 Sqn at 18, crashing his DH9a E550 in Ronchin at 19 & injured in Coolavohig Ambush at 21!
@trevcaviation.bsky.social
Admiring the skill & knowledge involved in planning offensives from besieged TOBFORT.
O/C 12 Fld Coy RE built a model on 10/10/41 for a planned attack on Carmùsa, from the limited means of a constantly bombarded garrison.
#TopographyTuesday
@merrynwalters.uk
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
O/C 12 Fld Coy RE built a model on 10/10/41 for a planned attack on Carmùsa, from the limited means of a constantly bombarded garrison.
#TopographyTuesday
@merrynwalters.uk
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
February 4, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Admiring the skill & knowledge involved in planning offensives from besieged TOBFORT.
O/C 12 Fld Coy RE built a model on 10/10/41 for a planned attack on Carmùsa, from the limited means of a constantly bombarded garrison.
#TopographyTuesday
@merrynwalters.uk
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
O/C 12 Fld Coy RE built a model on 10/10/41 for a planned attack on Carmùsa, from the limited means of a constantly bombarded garrison.
#TopographyTuesday
@merrynwalters.uk
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
Reposted by Ubique Vir
Eighty years ago today, over 7,000 prisoners of the German Nazi camp #Auschwitz, including some 700 children, were liberated by the soldiers of the Soviet Army.
1,689 days of murder, pain, suffering, and humiliation were over.
Today, we all remember. We must keep remembering.
1,689 days of murder, pain, suffering, and humiliation were over.
Today, we all remember. We must keep remembering.
January 27, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Eighty years ago today, over 7,000 prisoners of the German Nazi camp #Auschwitz, including some 700 children, were liberated by the soldiers of the Soviet Army.
1,689 days of murder, pain, suffering, and humiliation were over.
Today, we all remember. We must keep remembering.
1,689 days of murder, pain, suffering, and humiliation were over.
Today, we all remember. We must keep remembering.
It is with sadness I share that Lt-Col Allan Marles passed away last night.
He celebrated his 100th Birthday only last year with close friends & loved ones.
Allan was charm personified, friendly & modest of his remarkable life in the @Proud_Sappers.
ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/s...
He celebrated his 100th Birthday only last year with close friends & loved ones.
Allan was charm personified, friendly & modest of his remarkable life in the @Proud_Sappers.
ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/s...
– Sapper Family –
Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Lt Col Allan C Marles KMN AMIOP MInstRE Foreword by Allan’s Grandson – Fergus Prodhan Allan Marles was born on October the 16th 1924 in Amesbury, …
ubiquevir.wordpress.com
January 24, 2025 at 1:12 PM
It is with sadness I share that Lt-Col Allan Marles passed away last night.
He celebrated his 100th Birthday only last year with close friends & loved ones.
Allan was charm personified, friendly & modest of his remarkable life in the @Proud_Sappers.
ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/s...
He celebrated his 100th Birthday only last year with close friends & loved ones.
Allan was charm personified, friendly & modest of his remarkable life in the @Proud_Sappers.
ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/s...
Reposted by Ubique Vir
Getting nervous over ticket sales - so get your ticket today for this fabulous book launch conference from 18.30, 7 February at the Constitutional Club in East Finchley. Featues talks by me, Gary Bain, Alex Churchill & Taff Gillingham! [https://eventbrite.co.uk/e/1119751640299...]
January 19, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Getting nervous over ticket sales - so get your ticket today for this fabulous book launch conference from 18.30, 7 February at the Constitutional Club in East Finchley. Featues talks by me, Gary Bain, Alex Churchill & Taff Gillingham! [https://eventbrite.co.uk/e/1119751640299...]
Reposted by Ubique Vir
January 16, 2025 at 7:51 AM
The names Bond, Sapper Bond.
Licence to…thrill you all with my amazing RC tank!
Licence to…thrill you all with my amazing RC tank!
Came across this the other day, thought the #scalemodel -ers who follow me might enjoy. November 1946 - Sapper J Bond of the Royal Engineers shows off a remote-controlled model Churchill tank he's built. The model has working gears and can even fire live .22-calibre round from its gun barrel.
January 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The names Bond, Sapper Bond.
Licence to…thrill you all with my amazing RC tank!
Licence to…thrill you all with my amazing RC tank!
How am I supposed to get this project completed when they make the 7th Armd Div Administration Codes so intriguing in Operation Battleaxe war diaries?
I.Tanks = Seagull
A/T Mines = Canaries
Molotove Cocktails = Pheasants
Halfway House = Pub
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@robertglennie.bsky.social
I.Tanks = Seagull
A/T Mines = Canaries
Molotove Cocktails = Pheasants
Halfway House = Pub
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@robertglennie.bsky.social
January 16, 2025 at 11:41 AM
How am I supposed to get this project completed when they make the 7th Armd Div Administration Codes so intriguing in Operation Battleaxe war diaries?
I.Tanks = Seagull
A/T Mines = Canaries
Molotove Cocktails = Pheasants
Halfway House = Pub
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@robertglennie.bsky.social
I.Tanks = Seagull
A/T Mines = Canaries
Molotove Cocktails = Pheasants
Halfway House = Pub
@crusaderproject.bsky.social
@robertglennie.bsky.social
With AI Pandora’s box well and truly open, where do you draw the line in the sand?
Sharing historical data online used to seem a sensible option for longevity. But to what end?
I know I’ve shared enough with good intent but now doubt my decisions.
I’m left unsure what to post where. Anyone else?
Sharing historical data online used to seem a sensible option for longevity. But to what end?
I know I’ve shared enough with good intent but now doubt my decisions.
I’m left unsure what to post where. Anyone else?
December 30, 2024 at 9:13 AM
With AI Pandora’s box well and truly open, where do you draw the line in the sand?
Sharing historical data online used to seem a sensible option for longevity. But to what end?
I know I’ve shared enough with good intent but now doubt my decisions.
I’m left unsure what to post where. Anyone else?
Sharing historical data online used to seem a sensible option for longevity. But to what end?
I know I’ve shared enough with good intent but now doubt my decisions.
I’m left unsure what to post where. Anyone else?