Bridging the years – Kilkern collaborates on new exhibit at Royal Engineers Museum

14th May 2025

The Kilkern team was proud to collaborate with Winvic in a very special endeavour to mark VE Day – the installation of a Second World War Bailey bridge at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent.

Delivered as part of Winvic’s social value commitments on the National Highways SDF Framework and working with fellow supply chain partner EKSPAN, the project involved constructing a concrete base, supplying new bearings to replace those lost over time and installing the bridge at its new, permanent location.

Bailey bridges played a crucial role during the war. They were designed for rapid deployment by hand, without the need for heavy equipment, yet to be strong enough to support tanks. They continue to be used extensively worldwide in civil engineering construction projects to provide temporary crossings for pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Winvic’s team said it had been a privilege to help preserve this historic structure and support its continued educational value for future generations.

Important military engineering tool

Kilkern Director Patrick Curran was among colleagues and dignitaries who attended the official opening unveiling.

“Bailey bridges have been described as an essential tool in military engineering so we are very pleased to have been able to play our part in the installation of this important exhibit,” he said.

“Although it is possible to manhandle the individual parts, the team was pleased to bring in a crane to lift and assemble the bridge in three four tonne sections!”

Field Marshall Montgomery, arguably Britain’s most famous commander of WWII, wrote in 1947:

“Bailey bridging made an immense contribution towards ending World War II. As far as my own operations were concerned, with the eighth Army in Italy and with the 21 Army Group in North West Europe, I could never have maintained the speed and tempo of forward movement without large supplies of Bailey bridging.”