When most of us think about portable military bridges (which, we accept, is perhaps not a frequent thought that pops into one's mind) we tend to assume the Bailey Bridge was the first. But this is not the case. Charles Edward Inglis designed the first dry gap prefabricated military bridge.
In the years before the First World War, Charles Inglis was involved with the Royal Engineer section of the University Officer Training Corps and started the early design work for a portable infantry bridge. On the outbreak of the Great War, Inglis volunteered for service and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and became an instructor at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham. By 1916 he was responsible for the Royal Engineers' bridge design and procurement section, and worked on a number of different bridge designs.
The first Inglis bridge came about from work carried out in 1913 on an infantry bridge. This was officially the 'Inglis Portable Military Bridge — Light Type' but seems to have been generally known as the Inglis Pyramid Bridge. Inglis bridges were deployed by the British Army throughout the Empire.
There is only one surviving example of this bridge known to exist in the UK which is 'hidden in plain sight' near Aldershot. It is thought it is one of only ten Inglis Pyramid Bridges to have been built during the First World War.
The Aldershot Inglis Pyramid Bridge, owned by the Ministry of Defence, spans the Basingstoke Canal, carrying essential services.
Above and below: The Inglis bridge at Aldershot (Historic England© SWNS)
The bridge's listed status was granted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, following lobbying from Historic England. Tom Foxall, Regional Director at Historic England, was reported as saying: "The Inglis Pyramid Bridge over the Basingstoke Canal has an extraordinary backstory. Hidden in plain sight, this deceivingly simple structure is a masterpiece of military engineering and was the first version of a type of lightweight bridge which was deployed extensively overseas. The bridge is thought to have been brought back to Aldershot from France and remarkably has been in its current position for at least 60 years."
Source: Surrey Live
Additional Information: Think Defence