Facts
The strength of the
Corps in May 1945
was probably one
of the largest in the Army and included
12,000 officers,
16,000 UK
personnel and
400,000 Pioneers
from other parts of
the Commonwealth.
I It was responsible
for a civilian labour
force of 1,074,000
and a prisoner of
war force of
173,000.
26 Pioneer
Companies went ashore on D-Day in Normandy
on
6th June 1944.
By D-Day plus 79 there were 231 Companies.
Over 68,000 men.
Army Commanders
in every theatre of
war paid tribute to
the work of the
Corps without
which they freely admitted that the
war could not
have been won.
Over 2,800 British personnel of the
Corps laid down
their lives overseas.
