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The Society of Engineers (SoE) began as the Putney Club in 1854 when Robert Monrow Christie and Henry Palfrey Stephenson decided to form a club for the re-union of gentlemen who like themselves, had attended Putney College, one of the earliest educational establishments to teach civil engineering. At an AGM in December 1857 the club changed its name to the Society of Engineers. From 1857 onwards a minute book was adopted and it was decided to produce a printed book of the transactions of the Society, containing short abstracts of the papers read at monthly meetings. By 1858 membership was at 107 and the Society began to award Premiums of books in recognition of papers read during the year. The Society’s first honorary members were elected in 1865 and early such figures included Lord Playfair, Sir William Fairbairn, Sir John Herschel, and Sir Joseph Whitworth. In 1910 the Society of Engineers joined with the Civil and Mechanical Engineers’ Society (C&MES) to form the incorporated Society of Engineers, with the first ordinary meeting held 7 February 1910. The Civil and Mechanical Engineers’ Society was formed in 1859 by pupils and draughtsmen of the marine engineering company, Messrs Ravenhill & Company, Ratcliffe (Tower Hamlets, London), who wished to meet periodically to discuss engineering topics. In 1861 the Civil and Mechanical Engineers’ Society amalgamated with the Young Engineers’ Scientific Association. Amongst the objectives of the incorporated Society of Engineers were to disseminate professional knowledge, and the reading, discussion and publication of papers and books on the subject of engineering. To encourage the preparation of papers the Society offered annual premiums. The Society of Engineers was one of the first bodies to issue a syllabus and list of examiners in 1912. These were revised in the late 1930's and implemented in 1947. Previous to examinations membership of the Society had been restricted to professional engineers who could establish their status by producing evidence of training as engineers, coupled with subsequent experience. In 1955 Graduate Examinations were introduced as one of the qualifications for membership. In the mid-1980s examinations were conducted at 140 locations around the world, mainly in colleges or in association with the British Council. Examinations ceased in March 2002. Grades of membership of the Society of Engineers were similar to those of many other such organisations and began with Honorary Fellows, Fellows, Members and Associate Members. Various other grades were introduced from time to time including a graduate grade in 1949. There was a large increase in membership following the introduction of a student grade of membership in 1951, which was accompanied by a substantial rise in the number of Associate Members. In 1968 Associate Members were upgraded to Corporate Members and the new grade of Engineer Associate was introduced. By 1971 total membership of the Society had peaked at just over 4000 and declined thereafter. In 1969 the Society of Professional Engineers was established in pursuit of the goals of the Society of Engineers (see IIE/SoE/SPE/03). In 2001 the Society of Engineers became a professional affiliate of the Engineering Council in the UK (see IIE/SoE/OPC001). In 2005 the Society of Engineers was absorbed by the Institution of Incorporated Engineers and in 2006 the IIE and IEE merged to form the IET. This series is strong in the early minutes of the SoE (1858-1962), constitutional material and press cuttings but correspondence with the Society is scant. Of particular interest are materials capturing the Society's attempts to gain a royal charter (IIE/SoE/ORG/04/02), its application to be included in the second list of nominated bodies of the Engineering Council (IIE/SoE/ACT/03), and its counter-petition to the Council of Engineering Institutions for a grant of a charter of incorporation (IIE/SoE/ACT/02).