We often get asked questions about trades: what badges did they wear, what sort of equipment did they work on, which trades did they develop from? This last question is particularly interesting when you consider that REME started with over 50 different trades and now fields only eight.

In 2011, Malcom Heppolette (Pictorial Archivist at the museum at the time) put together an excellent article on the changes, losses, and amalgamations of the trades: History of REME Trade Changes Since its Formation in 1942 (PDF, 5.9 MB). This also led to the interactive you may have seen in our galleries and this handy chart!

Click on the chart to open a version you can explore more easily by zooming in! (Opens PDF file, 1.6 MB)

Our Archivist is also at work on a series of articles about the current trades in REME and how they are represented in the archives. You can find these on our blog.

Please see also a Statement from our Director (PDF, 0.5 MB) regarding the totality of the REME Trades as represented in our galleries.