on the high ground above Chatham since at least 1708, built to defend Chatham Dockyard. Brompton Barracks forms the centrepiece of the Brompton Lines Conservation Area, an area designated in 1982 acknowledging the importance of the Chatham Dockyard as having particularly well-preserved dockyard defences. Scheduled monument The Brompton Lines were built in 1755–1757, during the Seven Years' War, to protect Chatham Dockyard from the landward side. The Lines were improved in the 1780s, during the American War of Independence, when a further French threat was recognised. This work included the defensive ditches with brick retaining walls that still survive today. The defences were extended to the north-east from 1803–1809, with the construction of the Lower Lines. The lines extend from Fort Amherst in the south to Purser Way in the north. The lines are a scheduled monument. Listed buildings The blocks flanking the Parade Square were designed by James Wyatt and completed in 1806. They comprised Brompton Barracks North, Brompton Barracks South, and Brompton Barracks West. The Crimean War Memorial Arch was designed by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt and completed in 1856. The foundation stone for the Headquarters building, also known as the Institute building, was laid by the Duke of Cambridge on 22 May 1872. It was designed by Sir Frederick Ommanney in the Italianate style and was completed in 1874. The memorial to Major-General Charles Gordon was completed in 1890, while the South Africa Arch, a memorial designed by Ingress Bell to commemorate the Corps' dead and wounded of the Second Boer War was unveiled by King Edward VII on 26 July 1905. The Ravelin Building, which was designed by Major E.C.S. Moore, Royal Engineers and now forms the Corps Museum was also completed in 1905. Organisation The RSME Group consists of a headquarters at Chatham, Kent and the following units: 1 RSME Regiment (1RSME Regt) Chatham, Kent 3 RSME Regiment (3 RSME Regt) Minley, Surrey Professional Engineer Wing (PEW) Chatham, Kent Royal Engineer Warfare Wing (REWW) Minley, Surrey Defence Animal Training Regiment (DAC) Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search Training Regiment (DEMS Training Regiment), Bicester and Kineton Royal Military School of Music (RMSM), Portsmouth Defence Counter Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Centre (DCBRNC), Winterbourne Gunner, Wiltshire Training Soldiers Sappers are firstly trained as a soldier and then as a combat engineer. Many Royal Engineering trades require minimal qualifications on entry. Most trades require