1882: Cannon on Flat ( Anglo-Egyptian War)
The British so-called ‘Conquest of Egypt’ in 1882 which became known known as the ‘Anglo-Egyptian War’, occurred between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi on one side, and Great Britain on the other side. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha and also established firm British influence over Egypt at the expense of the Egyptians, the French, and the Ottoman Empire, which retained only token authority.
Below is pictured an English cannon mounted on a railroad car during the Anglo-Egyptian war in Egypt The engraving by Auguste Tilly was based on a sketch by Bourgain, from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 2062, Volume LXXX, September 2, 1882 . DeA / Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan
Extract From Captain Sidney Smith's Diary
During the build up to the battle at Tell El Kebir the specially raised 8th Railway Company RE operated trains carrying stores and troops, as well as repairing track. On the day of the battle they ran a train into Tell El Kebir station at between 8-9am (13 September) and "found it completely blocked with trains, full of the enemy's ammunition: the line strewn with dead and wounded, and our own soldiers swarming over the place almost mad for want of water" Once the station was cleared they began to ferry the wounded, prisoners and troops with stores to other destinations.