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The revolutionary Bailey Bridge has played an important role over the years – initially providing critical connections in the Second World War, but more recently in getting vital supplies to people across the globe, both in civilian and military applications.

The modular, rapidly deployable Bailey Bridge has its origins in the years before the Second World War, when civil servant Donald Bailey came up with the concept, producing his original sketch on the back of an envelope in 1936.

His idea was largely ignored at the time, but then war broke out. An upgraded version of the First World War Inglis Bridge failed, as the new and improved military vehicles were too heavy. So on 14 February 1941, Bailey received a letter from the War Department telling him to prepare for a full-scale trial of his bridge design in May that year at the Experimental Bridging Establishment at Christchurch, Dorset.

Successful trials meant the Bailey Bridge went into production in July 1941 and was issued to the army that December. British, Canadian, Australian and US engineers used the system – its rapid rollout showed just how progressive and easy to implement it was.

The Axis Powers didn’t have this kind of trick up their collective sleeve, so the bridge’s contribution to the war effort was vital. As Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery put it: “Bailey bridging made an immense contribution towards ending World War Two … I could never have maintained the speed and tempo of forwarding movement without large supplies of Bailey bridging.

“Without the Bailey Bridge, we should not have won the war. It was the best thing in that line that we ever had.”