Composition of a Cable Section
On mobilisation to its war establishment in August 1914 the army possessed ten Cable Sections, each of one officer and 35 other ranks of the Royal Engineers. This was made up of a subaltern (Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant) in command; 1 Sergeant; 1 Shoeing Smith and Carriage Smith; 3 Corporals or 2nd-Corporals; 18 Sappers and Pioneers; 10 Drivers; and 2 Batmen. (Of the Sappers, Pioneers and Drivers, two would be appointed Lance-Corporal). They would be provided with 12 riding and 18 draught horses.
The ten sections were lettered from F to P (omitting I).
Each section was organised into two detachments, each with one cable wagon and material for laying down and working a cable up to ten miles long. Each line was equipped with a stationary office (essentially, a telephone point) for the starting point and one movable office in the cable wagon.
The standard establishment was increased to 37 men in 1916.
Arrival in theatre
| Cable Section | Theatre (France unless stated) | Date of arrival |
|---|---|---|
| L | 13 August 1914 | |
| M | 13 August 1914 | |
| F | 14 August 1914 | |
| G | 14 August 1914 | |
| H | 14 August 1914 | |
| J | 14 August 1914 | |
| O | 15 August 1914 | |
| P | 15 August 1914 | |
| R | 16 August 1914 | |
| K | 17 October 1914 | |
| Two unidentified sections | 19 January 1915 | |
| GY | 4 April 1915 | |
| LZ (London Signal Coy) | 8 April 1915 | |
| SD | 27 April 1915 | |
| Two unidentified detachments | 1 May 1915 | |
| AA | 7 May 1915 | |
| CQ | 7 May 1915 | |
| DD | 13 May 1915 | |
| BB | 16 May 1915 | |
| CC | 19 May 1915 | |
| JJ | 31 May 1915 | |
| KK | 9 July 1915 | |
| LL | 14 July 1915 | |
| 20 July 1915 | ||
| RR | 20 July 1915 | |
| SS | 22 July 1915 | |
| PP | 26 July 1915 | |
| AG | 12 August 1915 | |
| YY | 26 August 1915 | |
| AB | 5 September 1915 | |
| AC | 10 September 1915 | |
| AD | 15 September 1915 | |
| AE | 20 September 1915 | |
| AF | 26 September 1915 | |
| XX | 4 October 1915 | |
| AH | 7 October 1915 | |
| AJ | 7 October 1915 | |
| AK | 8 November 1915 | |
| AL | 16 November 1915 | |
| AM | 22 November 1915 | |
| AN | 4 December 1915 | |
| AS | 1 January 1916 | |
| AP | 11 January 1916 | |
| AW | 15 January 1916 | |
| AN | 23 January 1916 | |
| AQ | 23 January 1916 | |
| AV | 1 February 1916 | |
| AR | 5 February 1916 | |
| AV | East Africa | March 1916 |
| AX | East Africa | March 1916 |
| AZ | 8 March 1916 | |
| BE | 21 April 1916 | |
| BF | 21 April 1916 | |
| BG | 21 April 1916 | |
| CD | 25 April 1916 | |
| BD | 22 May 1916 | |
| CA | 29 May 1916 | |
| CB | 29 May 1916 | |
| BK | 8 June 1916 | |
| BL | 8 June 1916 | |
| BM | 17 June 1916 | |
| BN | 28 June 1916 | |
| BO | 28 June 1916 | |
| BP | 9 August 1916 | |
| CE | 10 October 1916 | |
| BT | 7 January 1917 | |
| CF | 20 January 1917 | |
| BV | 11 February 1917 | |
| BY | 2 March 1917 | |
| BZ | 2 March 1917 | |
| AE | Salonika XII Corps | By February 1916 |
| AH | Salonika | By February 1916 |
| AJ | Salonika | By February 1916 |
| GY | Salonika XII Corps | By February 1916 |
Change of nomenclature
On 20 January 1915, GHQ in France issued the following instruction:
In future, Cable Sections would be known by letters, and those supplied from the Signal Service Training Centres would have a prefix letter to denote the origin of the section. London Training Centre would be prefixed L; Northern N; Scottish G; Western W; Southern S.
| Section previously known as | To be known as |
|---|---|
| F to R | F to R (that is, unchanged) |
| S | WS |
| T | WT |
| U | NU |
| V | SV |
By September 1917 there were 79 Cable Sections in France, but they were reorganised to provide each Army and each Corps HQ with two each, and 29 of them were abolished.
By 1 August 1918 there were 65 Cable Sections in France and Flanders, 15 in Egypt and Palestine, 4 in Salonika, 3 in Mesopotamia and 2 in Italy.
The Cable Sections in France and Flanders in November 1918 and the formations under whose orders they came were as follows. The establishment was now one officer and 13 (horse) drivers, 8 mounted and 4 dismounted linemen, 4 telegraph operators, 1 pioneer, 1 wheeler and 1 harness maker.
| Section | Formation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AD | Cavalry Corps | |
| AK | XXII Corps | |
| AN | I Corps | |
| AP | II Corps | |
| AR | XIX Corps | |
| AS | XI Corps | |
| AU | Fifth Army | |
| AY | XIX Corps | |
| BD | XXII Corps | |
| BE | XV Corps | |
| BF | XV Corps | |
| BL | Fourth Army | |
| BM | Fifth Army | |
| BP | First Army | |
| BT | IX Corps | |
| BV | XVII Corps | |
| CC | VI Corps | |
| CE | Canadian Corps | |
| CF | Canadian Corps | |
| CG | Canadian Corps | |
| CH | Canadian Corps | |
| EE | X Corps | |
| F | Second Army | |
| GG | Cavalry Corps | |
| GQ | V Corps | |
| II | XIII Corps | |
| J | II Corps | |
| K | I Corps | |
| L | VIII Corps | |
| LC | X Corps | |
| LZ | First Army | |
| MM | IV Corps | |
| N | Second Army | |
| O | VI Corps | |
| OO | V Corps | |
| P | IV Corps | |
| Third Army | ||
| R | XI Corps | |
| RR | Fifth Army | |
| SD | VIII Corps | |
| SS | III Corps | |
| TT | XVII Corps | |
| VV | XIII Corps | |
| WE | III Corps | |
| WT | Second Army | |
| WW | Second Army | |
| XV | IX Corps | |
| ZZ | Third Army | |
| 1 Australian | Australian Corps | |
| 2 Australian | Australian Corps |
Research tips
Officers and men of the Cable Sections can be researched in the same way as men of all other corps. See how to research a soldier
The Cable Section are not the easiest units to trace. Relatively few war diaries of individual sections exist. The National Archives Discovery catalogue lists only two (in East Africa), while the Royal Engineers Museum at Chatham states that it has summarised (but mainly partial) histories of 85 of the sections.
It is usually possible, with work, to reconstruct the movements of a section by reference to the war diaries of the Adjutants and Signals Officers of the various Armies and Corps. Begin with the November 1918 list above and work backwards. You might also check with members of the free Great War Forum whether your particular section’s movements are already known.