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100-711: Pre-1939, the Army Kinema Establishment, part of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps based at Aldershot in Surrey , had been responsible for making and exhibiting training films for the Army. In 1940 it was transferred to Wembley Studios (the 20th Century Fox Studios requisitioned for the war) to continue its activities. In August 1941 it was absorbed and expanded into the AKS. Thorold Dickinson

200-514: A 6 pounder gun through to specialised medical films, "careless talk", street fighting, post-war jobs, food in the mess ( The Soldier's Food , 1942), and problems faced by new recruits. The last topic was dealt with in a film called The New Lot . Made in 1943 for the Directorate of Army Psychiatry, directed by Carol Reed and scripted by Eric Ambler (who in 1944 became the Head of Production at

300-552: A COD in 1957), two CADs at Kineton and Longtown (Nesscliffe had closed in 1959, Corsham in 1963 and Bramley in 1974) and three Central Vehicle Depots: Ludgershall for 'A' (armoured) vehicles, and Ashchurch and Hilton for 'B' ('soft-skinned') vehicles (CVD Marchington having closed in 1965, CVDs Feltham and Irvine in the early 1970s). Across the UK the structure of smaller Regional Depots, Ordnance Support Units (OSUs), Training Materiel Parks, supply depots and Ammunition Sub-Depots

400-518: A Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equipment, ammunition and clothing and certain minor functions such as laundry, mobile baths and photography. The RAOC was also responsible for a major element of the repair of Army equipment. In 1942 the latter function was transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and

500-547: A consequent demand on personnel and equipment. Projectionists were trained at the Regent Street and Northern Polytechnics in central and east London, males at the former and females (who were part of the ATS ) at the latter. The course was rigorous, lasting six weeks and ending with a trade test after which those qualifying had to undergo a further two weeks' training on petrol generators. Those who were deemed able were sent on

600-447: A driving course and then on to a cine section. A mobile cine section typically comprised around seven 16mm units and two 35mm units. The 16mm units operated out of 15-cwt Bedford trucks, carrying two projectors, a generator and a portable screen. The 35mm units used 3-ton Bedford trucks, as the equipment and film were much bulkier and heavier; additionally, the 35mm units had to carry their own collapsible fireproof projection box, owing to

700-408: A gold stripe, worn with a gold- hilted sword and a cocked hat ; Clerks on the establishment wore the same uniform but without epaulettes. After Waterloo they were given relative rank (for the purpose of allotting appropriate quarters): Storekeepers to rank as lieutenant colonel, Deputy Storekeepers as major (if in independent charge) or else captain, Assistant Storekeepers as lieutenant and Clerks as

800-693: A less vulnerable site) and purpose-built depots for both tracked and wheeled vehicles were opened across the country. Woolwich then ceased operating as a COD (though by the end of 1942 it was again being used for bulk storage, albeit as a sub-depot of COD Greenford). In the 1930s virtually all the Army's stockpile of ammunition was held at Bramley, which was vulnerable to air attack, so three new Central Ammunition Depots (CAD) were built: Serving south, central and northern England respectively, these were CAD Monkton Farleigh , Wiltshire (also known as CAD Corsham , an underground depot); CAD Nesscliffe , Shropshire; and CAD Longtown , Cumbria. By 1942 more storage capacity

900-655: A non-commissioned officer. The Storekeepers and their Deputies had oversight of the Ordnance Yards , both at home and abroad, however they were never deployed in the theatre of war . By the mid-eighteenth century, Woolwich Warren (the future Royal Arsenal ) had outgrown the Tower of London as the main ordnance storage depot in the realm. In times of war, the Board of Ordnance Storekeepers found themselves responsible for conveying guns, ammunition and certain other items to

1000-590: A number of jobs including clerks, cooks, telephonists and waitresses. The WAAC was disbanded after four years in 1921. Prior to the Second World War, the government decided to establish a new Corps for women, and an advisory council, which included members of the Territorial Army (TA), a section of the Women's Transport Service (FANY) and the Women's Legion , was set up. The council decided that

1100-470: A production manager and spent most of his time directing, Peter Newbrook – a later president of the British Society of Cinematographers – began as a cameraman and became a director. This was all in the space of a little more than three years. The films produced covered a broad range of topics and were delivered in a wide variety of styles; from straightforward technical films on a subject such as

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1200-470: A repository of ancient arms and armour and as a small Ordnance centre for troops in London. In addition to these central depots, ordnance yards in the naval and garrison towns of Chatham , Portsmouth and Plymouth held reserve stocks of camp equipment, entrenching tools, small-arms and ammunition, accoutrements, harness and saddlery (similar stores were also provided at Dublin, Gibraltar and Malta). During

1300-644: A safe repository for guns and ammunition; and in 1813 a new Grand Storehouse was opened in the Royal Arsenal, containing multiple warehouses for all kinds of military stores. When Woolwich Dockyard closed in 1869, the entire dockyard site was taken over by the War Office to become a vast ordnance stores complex, annexed (and linked by rail ) to the ordnance stores in the Royal Arsenal; large stocks of barrack stores, harnesses , accoutrements and other general stores were transferred to Woolwich Dockyard from

1400-410: A separate rank system, that was somewhat modified. All uniforms and badges of rank remained the same, although crowns replaced laurel wreaths in the rank insignia. Members were now required to salute all superior officers. The only holders of the rank of chief controller were the first three directors, promoted to the rank on their appointment, and Princess Mary , who held it from 1939 and was appointed

1500-595: A small cadre of officers was maintained (at the headquarters in Woolwich), but in time of war they were supplemented by recruits from the Ordnance Storekeeper's department to serve in the field; thus the strength of the Department varied dramatically, from 4 or 5 (during the peaceful years 1828-1853) to 346 at its peak in 1813. Each recruit received special training in the handling of munitions. During

1600-798: A subordinate corps of warrant officers and sergeants, the Military Store Clerks Corps (MSC), was also created to carry out clerical duties. These small corps (235 officers in the MSD and 44 MSC) were based largely at the Tower of London , Woolwich Arsenal and Weedon Bec , but were also deployable on active service. They were supplemented in 1865 by the establishment at Woolwich of a Military Store Staff Corps (MSSC) to provide soldiers: initially 200-strong, it had more than doubled in size by 1869, with units in Portsmouth, Devonport, Aldershot, Dublin and Chatham as well as at Woolwich and

1700-581: The Anglo–Egyptian Agreement of 1954 , signed on 19 October, with Great Britain. The agreement stipulated a phased evacuation of British troops from the Suez base, agreed to withdrawal of all troops within 20 months (that is, June 1956); maintenance of the base was to be continued; and allowed Britain to hold the right to return for seven years. The compromise solution to retain British influence over

1800-580: The Army Fire Service , barrack services, sponsorship of NAAFI (EFI) and the management of staff clerks from the same Corps. On 5 April 1993, the RAOC was one of the corps that amalgamated to form The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC). The permanent establishment of an Ordnance Office long predated that of a standing army in Britain; it has therefore been claimed that 'in a wide sense, as heirs to

1900-528: The Army School of Ammunition became progressively more specialised during the 1950s and '60s. In May 1970 a section of 321 EOD Unit was sent to Northern Ireland to support the local ammunition inspectorate in dealing with improvised explosive devices ; what was initially a 6-month deployment marked the start of a much longer involvement through the Troubles . In the period 1945–93 the RAOC, as with

2000-1025: The Options for Change review, the Royal Army Ordnance Corps united with the Royal Corps of Transport , the Royal Pioneer Corps , the Army Catering Corps , and the Postal and Courier Service of the Royal Engineers , to form the Royal Logistic Corps . Later that year the RLC withdrew from the Tower of London, where the RAOC had continued to maintain a centuries-old link; and the following year

2100-568: The Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers (who were not at that time part of the British Army). The Storekeeper's department, on the other hand, was part of the civil establishment, though (as with much of the Board's activity) troops were involved in various aspects of its operation when not deployed elsewhere. In any case, modern distinctions between civilian and military personnel were not so clear cut for those serving under

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2200-514: The Second World War , RAOC recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches tall (5 feet 4 inches for Driver Mechanics) and could enlist up to 25 years of age. They initially enlisted for three years with the colours and a further nine years with the reserve. Fitters could also choose six years with the colours and six years in the reserve, or eight and four years. Clerks and Storemen enlisted for six years and six years. They trained at

2300-553: The Somerville Logistic Reorganisation Committee Report of 1977 the head of the corps was re-titled Director General Ordnance Services (DGOS). Following the huge expansion of the RAOC in the Second World War the senior RAOC major general was designated Controller Ordnance Services (COS) from 1942 to 1948 After 1980/1 most of these titles disappeared with the notable exception of CATO/SATO and DOWO/BOWO. All RAOC appointments gave

2400-451: The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and the Women's Transport Service . Married women were also later called up, although pregnant women and those with young children were exempt. Other options under the Act included joining the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS), which supplemented the emergency services at home, or the Women's Land Army , helping on farms. There was also provision made in

2500-417: The 1920s the RAOC's principal depots were Bramley (ammunition), Chilwell (general and surplus stores), Hereford (ammunition), Pimlico (clothing), Woolwich (gun stores and ammunition) and Weedon (small arms). In 1922 the RAOC headquarters, regimental depot and School of Instruction moved from Woolwich to Hilsea Barracks on the edge of Portsmouth. (The School provided education and training in all aspects of

2600-504: The AKS) and Peter Ustinov – both of whom appear in the film – it detailed the many different problems facing new recruits and the way they coped. Though at the time it did not have the wider impact of something like The Next of Kin , it is now considered a minor classic. Its influence was sufficient for it to be used as the basis for the 1944 feature film The Way Ahead . Between 1944-1946 a series of morale-boosting films were made on location in

2700-673: The ATS included Mary Churchill , youngest daughter of the prime minister , Winston Churchill , and Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II , eldest daughter of the King , who trained as a lorry driver, ambulance driver and mechanic. After the cessation of hostilities women continued to serve in the ATS, as well as in the WRNS and WAAF. It was succeeded by the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC), which formed on 1 February 1949 under Army Order 6. Initially ranks were completely different from those of

2800-502: The ATS represented 10 per cent of the Royal Corps of Signals , having taken over the major part of the signal office and operating duties in the War Office and Home Commands, and ATS companies were sent to work on the lines of communications of active overseas theatres. By VE Day and before demobilization of the British armed forces , there were over 190,000 members of the women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. Famous members of

2900-653: The ATS were employed as cooks, clerks and storekeepers. At the outbreak of the Second World War, 300 ATS members were billeted to France. As the German Army advanced through France, the British Expeditionary Force was driven back towards the English Channel. This led to the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in May 1940, and some ATS telephonists were among the last British personnel to leave

3000-547: The ATS would be attached to the Territorial Army, and the women serving would receive two thirds the pay of male soldiers. All women in the army joined the ATS except for nurses, who joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS), medical and dental officers, who were commissioned directly into the Army and held army ranks, and those remaining in the FANY, known as Free FANYs. The first recruits to

3100-589: The ATS's honorary controller-commandant in August 1941. When other ranks were assigned to mixed-sex Royal Artillery batteries of Anti-Aircraft Command starting in 1941, they were accorded the Royal Artillery ranks of gunner , lance-bombardier , and bombardier (instead of private, lance-corporal, and corporal), and wore the RA's braided white lanyard on the right shoulder and the 'grenade' collar badge above

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3200-598: The Army (the Royal Waggon Train , first established in 1794) had been disbanded as a cost-cutting measure in 1833, however, and its responsibilities devolved again to the Commissariat (which was by now more attuned to peacetime operations than warfare); after a well-publicised series of logistical failings the Commissariat and the Board of Ordnance, as well as the command-structure of the army itself, were all strongly criticised, leading (among other things) to

3300-761: The Army Catering Corps - though camp cinemas bore signs reading AKC Cinema; in 1969 the Services Kinema Corporation (SKC), reflecting its then relationship with all three services; in 1982 the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), responsible for all audio-visual services to the Forces. Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps ( RAOC ) was a corps of the British Army . At its renaming as

3400-694: The Army throughout the world (with the notable exception of India where the Indian Army managed its own parallel organisation in Ordnance Depot Quetta, Rawalpindi and Karachi (then British India and now Pakistan), the Indian Army Ordnance Corps (IAOC). In 1881 there were detachments in Dublin, Jersey , Gibraltar , Malta , Bermuda , Canada , St Helena , Cape of Good Hope , Mauritius and Straits Settlements . There

3500-896: The Board of Ordnance had first established a facility in 1704, was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1964; and the depot in Malta, dating from the 1830s, closed in March 1972. The Ordnance Depot in Cyprus became part of the Joint Logistic Unit in 1988. In Germany, 15 BOD and 3 Base Ammunition and Petrol Depot (BAPD) closed in 1992. Two post-war campaigns (Falklands 1982 and Gulf 1990/1) were unique in being fought in areas completely outside existing theatres. Temporary lines of communication were rapidly established that successfully managed huge surges in matériel. On 5 April 1993, following

3600-516: The Board sought to place this ad hoc arrangement on a permanent footing by establishing a Field Train Department . A Lieutenant-General of the Royal Artillery served as its Commandant and a Major-General as his Deputy, but otherwise its personnel were uniformed civilians: under a Senior Commissary based at Woolwich were Commissaries, Assistant Commissaries, Clerks of Stores and Conductors of Stores (equivalent to Majors , Captains , subalterns and NCOs respectively). In peace time nothing more than

3700-613: The Board's main ordnance storage depot; manufacture as well as storage of guns and ammunition took place on the site, which was later named the Royal Arsenal . In 1760 the Royal Gunpowder Magazine was established at Purfleet , replacing the Tower as Britain's central repository of gunpowder. In 1808 a modern purpose-built depot was constructed at Weedon , alongside the Grand Union Canal, to serve as

3800-641: The Board: its officers, engineers and artillerymen received their commissions or patents from the Master-General of the Ordnance , as did the Storekeepers, artificers and storemen. Though civilians, the Storekeepers were provided with uniform, akin to that of the Royal Artillery, described in 1833 as a blue coat with red stand-collar and cuffs, gold epaulettes indicating rank and blue trousers with

3900-718: The British Army'. Supply and repair of technical equipment, principally artillery and small arms, was the responsibility of the Master General of the Ordnance and the Board of Ordnance from the Middle Ages until they lost their independence in 1855. Thereafter followed thirty years of fluctuating allocation of responsibilities and a great variety of titles of both corps and individuals. This complex, convoluted and largely unsatisfactory period insofar as Army logistics

4000-472: The Corps' work, with the exception of ammunition which was taught at Bramley, where the Army School of Ammunition was opened that same year.) The Royal Army Clothing Depot , Pimlico, closed in 1932 and its stock was mostly transferred to Didcot. In the 1930s re-armament and the mechanisation of the Army led to a redesign of the UK base. A Central Ordnance Depot (COD) and workshop to support vehicles, built on

4100-651: The Crimean War a number of Sergeants were seconded from the Royal Artillery to serve as Military Conductors in addition to the civilian staff. With regard to the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers, the Field Train Department had additional responsibilities: it provided them with pay, clothing, medical supplies and camp equipment when deployed (while the Commissariat provided their food and forage ). The Field Train Department provided

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4200-408: The Crimean War, however, these arrangements proved unequal to the task of equipping an army with speed at a time of mobilization . After the war an Ordnance station was established as part of the new training camp at Aldershot : a hutted encampment was provided for troops to practise combined training, alongside a depot to furnish them with field stores. In the 1880s an effort was made to decentralise

4300-687: The Far East called Calling Blighty . These were filmed messages home from members of the "Forgotten Army" and provided a much-needed link between the UK and personnel stationed (and fighting) in places such as Burma, India and Ceylon. By 1943 there were over a hundred mobile cinema units in the UK and approximately four hundred 16mm ones, but only one overseas, in North Africa. After the Allied landings in Italy and Normandy this expanded enormously, with

4400-640: The Field Train served in thirty expeditions and campaigns. In peacetime, the civilians and sergeants returned to their former duties, but the cadre of officers was retained; they were based initially in the Royal Arsenal, and then in the Grand Depot (just off Woolwich Common ) where the guns were stored ready for deployment. At the start of the Crimean War, the Ordnance Field Train was mobilized once again. An parallel supply corps within

4500-452: The Mediterranean area, the Far East and in 1945 it took over the cinema activities of NAAFI and ENSA. The centralisation of activities under DAK meant an increasingly efficient supply of cinema facilities to the Army at war, worldwide. With the establishment of the AKS and its much improved production resources, the Army's increased needs could be more efficiently met; production units could be ordered out on location, at home and abroad; there

4600-443: The OSC was retitled the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) and at the same time absorbed the Corps of Armourers and the RA's Armament Artificers. In 1918 the AOD and AOC amalgamated to form the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and for the first time officers and soldiers served in the same organisation; the Corps received the "Royal" prefix in 1922 in recognition of its service during the First World War . The earliest depot for military stores

4700-533: The Ordnance department; From March that year until July 1856 he was sent to Balaklava to take charge of all stores for all branches of the army: the first time an Ordnance Storekeeper had been appointed in the field of battle. The following year, a memorandum was issued making it clear that, in future, a staff of Military Store officers, clerks, artificers and labourers should accompany troops at time of war to ensure abundant provision of equipment for immediate use together with effective maintenance of reserve stocks in

4800-654: The RAOC Depot, Hilsea Barracks , Portsmouth , before proceeding to specialist trade training. Armourers were only recruited from boy entrants and enlisted for twelve years. Armament Artificers trained at the Military College of Science , Woolwich for fifteen months. Half of them were serving soldiers who were already qualified fitters. Armament Artificers had to be at least 22 years of age and could enlist up to 30; they enlisted for twelve years and were promoted to Staff Sergeant as soon as they had completed training. Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service ( ATS ; often pronounced as an acronym )

4900-512: The Restoration and the Revolution until it fell, at last, in the panic that followed in the disasters of the Crimean War . ...the many alterations in administration that followed the abolition of the Board of Ordnance, through the last 30 years, can only be read as a negative evidence in favour of the organisation, and as positive proof that the machinery of effective Army Store administration has yet to be evolved from its ruins.' The Board of Ordnance had its own military establishment consisting of

5000-445: The Rhine (BAOR), the standard NATO system was adopted with all appointments elsewhere changing the following year. The senior RAOC appointment was Director Equipment and Ordnance Stores (DEOS) − always a Major-General − which during the 1920s became Director Ordnance Services (DOS). DOS was also a title given to senior RAOC officers at major commands such as Middle East Command , 21st Army Group and in more recent times BAOR. After

5100-478: The Royal Engineers with their pontoon bridges and other specialist equipment, and (until the formation of a separate Corps of Artillery Drivers) provided for the movement of artillery pieces in the field (other than those pertaining to the Royal Horse Artillery ). For the duration of conflict the Department's personnel accompanied the Artillery and Engineer units in the field providing them with logistic support (including repair facilities). Between 1795 and 1815,

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5200-428: The Suez Canal base area, seen as vital in the event of any future Middle East war with the Soviet Union, was to arrange the Canal Zone depot area to be taken over by specially arranged British civilian contractors. As the risk of British-Egyptian ruptures over the Suez Canal rose, between September 20, 1955, and December 30, 1955, almost all the Middle East Land Forces Canal Zone depots and workshops were handed over to

5300-400: The Tower at this time. At the same time the Military Store Department moved its headquarters from the Tower to the Red Barracks at Woolwich . The barracks went on to serve as the regimental depot , headquarters and home of the ordnance corps for the next fifty years. Finally, by about 1887, large stocks of small arms were moved from the Tower of London to Weedon, leaving the Tower to serve as

5400-403: The Tower. In 1870 a further reorganisation, ostensibly to simplify management, resulted in the MSD, MSC and MSSC being grouped with the Army Service Corps (ASC) under the Control Department . The officers remained a separate branch (Ordnance or Military Stores) in the Control Department but the soldiers were absorbed into the ASC. This arrangement lasted until 1876. The Control Department

5500-553: The US Army during the war, continued to be used (alongside Deepcut) as a training facility for RAOC-enlisted National Service recruits; with National Service coming to an end the Barracks closed in 1962 (but not before serving again, temporarily, as the regimental depot from 1960-1962 while Deepcut was being rebuilt). A major task that fell to the RAOC in the wake of the war was disposal of ammunition. As well as disposing of large amounts of surplus stock from depots at home, and returning in good order sites that had been requisitioned for

5600-430: The Western Front a highly successful logistic infrastructure, largely rail based, was created to support the front. Parallel systems, but of less complexity, supported operations in Italy. Other expeditions such as Gallipoli, Salonika, Palestine and Mesopotamia brought supply challenges and a large logistic bases were established on the Egyptian Canal Zone and Basra . After the war there was considerable retrenchment. In

5700-409: The abolition of the Board (in 1855) and its Field Train Department (in 1859, its officers having transferred to the new Military Store Department). In the years following the Crimean War three corps can be identified as the direct predecessors of the RAOC. The Military Store Department (MSD) created in 1861 granted military commissions and provided officers to manage stores inventories. In parallel

5800-416: The act for objection to service on moral grounds, as about a third of those on the conscientious objectors list were women. A number of women were prosecuted as a result of the act, some even being imprisoned. Despite this, by 1943 about nine out of ten women were taking an active part in the war effort. Women were barred from serving in battle, but due to shortages of men, ATS members, as well as members of

5900-409: The all-women 301 Battery was transferred to the new 93rd (Mixed) Searchlight Regiment , the last searchlight regiment formed during World War II, which by August 1943 comprised about 1500 women out of an establishment of 1674. Many other searchlight and anti-aircraft regiments on Home Defence followed, freeing men aged under 30 of medical category A1 for transfer to the infantry. Similarly, by 1943

6000-404: The armed forces – the Directorate of Public Relations retained control over this area – the AKS continued to provide much-needed cinema and production facilities up to the end of the war and beyond. Post-war it went through several name and organisational changes: in 1946 it became the Army Kinema Corporation (AKC) - retaining the, by then, archaic spelling of Kinema to differentiate it from the ACC,

6100-498: The army, but used the same rank insignia, although the crown was replaced by a laurel wreath. Members were required to salute their own superior officers, but not other organisations' officers, although it was considered courteous to do so. On 9 May 1941, the ATS rank structure was reorganised, and as of July 1941 the ATS was given full military status and members were no longer volunteers. The other ranks now held almost identical ranks to army personnel, but officers continued to have

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6200-404: The contractors. Among them were 2 Base Workshop, 5 Base Ordnance Depot, and the Base Vehicle Depot all at Tel el Kebir ; 9 Base Ammunition Depot at Abu Sultan near Deversoir Air Base ; and the engineering base group (probably including Nos 8 and 9 Engineer Stores Base Depots at Suez and Fanara respectively). Other establishments included 33 Supply Reserve Depot and 10 Base Ordnance Depot. In

6300-405: The corps' amalgamation. The RAOC Band had first been formed in 1922; the regimental march (chosen by its first Bandmaster, WOI R. T. Stevens, as appropriate to the Corps' role and to its artisans) was The Village Blacksmith . In common with the Royal Artillery, the RAOC had St Barbara as its patron saint . The garrison church, first at Hilsea and then at Deepcut, was dedicated in her name;

6400-421: The country. As more men joined the war effort, it was decided to increase the size of the ATS, with numbers reaching 65,000 by September 1941. Women between the ages of 17 and 43 were allowed to join, although these rules were relaxed in order to allow WAAC veterans to join up to the age of 50. The duties of members were also expanded, seeing ATS orderlies, drivers, postal workers and ammunition inspectors. Over

6500-410: The duration of the war, RAOC units were heavily involved in clearing ammunition from Germany's former depots and dealing with live devices still in the field. The RAOC's skills in bomb disposal were later put to increasing use in dealing with terrorist devices at home as well as in conflict zones overseas. The training of Ammunition Examiners, Ammunition Technicians and Ammunition Technical Officers at

6600-447: The field. These arrangements were put into practice both in China and in New Zealand in 1860. The labourers and artificers were civilians, until the establishment of the Military Store Staff Corps in 1865. There was substantial support by the RAOC's predecessors for every late Victorian expedition with the major efforts being the campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan (1882-5 and 1898) and the Boer War (1899-1902). All campaigns required

6700-410: The filmed location of the shells' detonation and the target, accurate calculations of their relative position could be made that would reveal any systematic error in the gunsights . In December 1941, Parliament passed the National Service Act, which called up unmarried women between 20 and 30 years old to join one of the auxiliary services. These were the ATS, the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS),

6800-527: The high flammability of nitrate film . The two crew – a corporal and private – endured a nomadic life, going almost daily to different venues and being "in the field" for up to a month at a time. During this period they not only had to make do with what they found to show their films – damaged buildings, barns and sometimes just the open air – but also depended on their location for food and billet. This sometimes meant going without and on occasions coming under fire. Always distinct from other filmmaking sections of

6900-447: The last vestige of the once-vast ordnance depot left Woolwich, with the closure of Royal Arsenal (West) and departure of the Ordnance QAD (Quality Assurance Directorate). Prior to 1981/82 the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, in common with the rest of the British Army , used the idiosyncratic system of staff titles that was unique to British and most Commonwealth armies. After 1981 in NATO assigned units, principally those in British Army of

7000-416: The master- bowyers , master- fletchers , master- carpenters and master- smiths who, in mediaeval days, were responsible as Officers of Ordnance for the care and provision of warlike matériel, and to their successors the storekeepers, clerks , artificers , armourers and storemen of the Board of Ordnance, the R.A.O.C. can claim a far longer continuous history and more ancient lineage than any other unit of

7100-457: The mid-1960s new recruits were informed that 'The RAOC occupies nearly 90 different locations in the UK alone and world wide uses 86,000,000 square feet of storage space. Over 1,000,000 different items are held in stock and over 11,000,000 issues are made in a year'. By 1980 the RAOC was reduced to two CODs at Bicester and Donnington (COD Chilwell was closing, CODs Branston and Didcot had closed in 1963 and Weedon in 1965 after being downgraded from

7200-502: The often desolate searchlight sites, members of the ATS began training at Rhyl to replace male personnel in searchlight regiments. At first they were employed in searchlight Troop headquarters, but in July 1942 the 26th (London Electrical Engineers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery became the first 'Mixed' regiment, with seven Troops of ATS women posted to it, forming the whole of 301 Battery and half of 339 Battery. In October that year

7300-479: The one who is Thundering", but commonly translated as "To the Warrior his Arms"). The full-dress uniform of the RAOC had evolved from that worn by the Field Train Department in the eighteenth century, itself derived from the uniform of the Royal Artillery. Consisting of a blue tunic with red collar and cuffs and blue trousers with a double red stripe, it continued to be worn by the band (and in mess-dress form) until

7400-481: The other women's voluntary services, took over many support tasks, such as radar operators, forming part of the crews of anti-aircraft guns and military police . However, these roles were not without risk, and there were, according to the Imperial War Museum , 717 casualties during World War II. The first 'Mixed' Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) battery of the Royal Artillery ( 435 (Mixed) HAA Battery )

7500-578: The outbreak of the Second World War there were five CODs: Branston, Chilwell, Didcot, Weedon and Woolwich. Woolwich was prone to aerial bombardment , so from September 1939 the War Department leased part of an industrial estate in Greenford , which provided 632,000 square feet of covered accommodation. A further COD to hold non-vehicle technical stores opened at Donnington , Shropshire in 1940 (in order to remove critical items from Woolwich to

7600-591: The pulpit, organ, stained glass windows and several memorials were transferred from the former to the latter when Hilsea Barracks closed in 1962. There was also a St Barbara's Church at CAD Bramley, which had originally come from the depot in Pimlico; having done service in Bramley for 52 years it was again disassembled in 1978 and moved to Didcot. The official journal of the corps was the RAOC Gazette. Before

7700-493: The quality of AKS training films" and some fairly well-known names contributed, others developing skills that assisted their post-war eminence; Eric Ambler , Roy Ward Baker , Thorold Dickinson, Freddie Francis , Carol Reed , Peter Ustinov and Freddie Young to name but a few. The Directorate of Kinematography (DAK) started in April 1941 with only two branches. In October 1941, it moved to Curzon Street House, London W1 where it

7800-407: The reserves of equipment; as many as sixty-two small regional centres were set up, in an effort to bring stores closer to the units that would use them. Later, with the establishment of larger camps and garrisons in the early 20th century, these were consolidated into eighteen larger Ordnance stations. At the same time, during the period from the 1860s to 1914, various depots were established to support

7900-427: The rest of the Army, reduced greatly in size and closed its worldwide bases as garrisons withdrew. At the same time, there was considerable development of warehousing techniques and information technology (the first move towards computerisation came with the opening of an Automated Data Processing Installation at Chilwell in 1963 and one at Bicester the following year.) The Free Officers Movement (Egypt) concluded

8000-517: The site of the First World War National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell , opened in 1937. The operation of this depot was notable in that it mirrored and tried to improve on best civilian practice at the time; this became a hallmark of RAOC development in the following decades. COD Branston was established in 1938, initially to serve as the Army's main clothing store, freeing up space at COD Didcot. At

8100-553: The six-year period of the War, about 500 ATS personnel were trained to operate the Cinetheodolite , with the highest number being in 1943–44, when 305 ATS were in active service using this equipment. One application of this specialist camera was in gunnery practice, where a pair of Cinetheodolites a known distance apart filmed the shell bursts from anti-aircraft artillery against target drones towed by an aircraft. By comparing

8200-647: The staff grade (e.g. Staff Officer Grade 2: SO2 suffixed with the word Sup), the head of corps in a headquarters irrespective of rank was titled Comd Sup. In MOD the titles of DGOS and DDOS were retained. This is a list of heads of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps This is a list of directors of Supply Management of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps The RAOC's motto was that of the Board of Ordnance: Sua tela tonanti (literally "His [i.e. Jupiter's ] Missiles to

8300-639: The support of very large numbers of troops, animals and equipment in hostile environments. They produced a well-developed system of stores dumps and repair facilities along extended lines of communication. As with the rest of the British Army the AOD/AOC was transformed by the First World War . Both the sheer scale of the war and the increasing technical complexity created an organisational structure that, in its outlines, survives until today. The depots at Woolwich, Weedon and Pimlico were supplemented by

8400-548: The troops in the field (whereas provision of food, supplies and other equipment was largely dependent on the Commissariat , a department of HM Treasury ). Until 1792, the transport and issue of weapons and ammunition to troops in the theatre of war was achieved by the formation of artillery trains , as and where required. In that year, with Britain about to engage in the French Revolutionary Wars ,

8500-635: The vehicle storage and spares responsibilities of the Royal Army Service Corps were in turn passed over to the RAOC. The RAOC retained repair responsibilities for ammunition, clothing and certain ranges of general stores. In 1964 the McLeod Reorganisation of Army Logistics resulted in the RAOC absorbing petroleum, rations and accommodation stores functions from the Royal Army Service Corps as well as

8600-427: The wholesale takeover of warehouses throughout the country and in early 1915 a depot was established at Didcot to be the major focus for the receipt and distribution of RAOC stores. Ammunition storage was also expanded dramatically and the former peacetime magazines at places such as Purfleet, Portsmouth and Plymouth were supplemented by purpose built depots at Bramley , Altrincham , Credenhill and Didcot. On

8700-493: The world wherever a major line of communication was established. Major changes took place after 1942 when the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) absorbed most of the RAOC repair functions and the RAOC in turn took over the RASC's vehicle organisation. The more mobile nature of the Second World War also led to the creation of units at divisional and corps level with higher levels of mobility. The most notable of these

8800-434: Was Head of Production (a role acquired partly through his involvement in the making of the highly successful The Next of Kin in early 1942, a film requested by the War Office and made at Ealing Studios ), and he was initially instrumental in recruiting many of those who had been involved in the film industry. The result has been described as "a roll call of many of the finest film technicians whose skills were reflected in

8900-783: Was a major logistic facility but is now much reduced. Overseas, 3 BOD in Singapore closed in 1972 leaving a Composite Ordnance Depot in Hong Kong (that finally closed shortly before handover in 1997). The Middle East logistic base withdrew from Egypt in 1956 – 5 BOD and 9 BAD closing in 1955 – and was partially re-established in Aden ; in turn this closed in 1967 with facilities being established in Sharjah and Bahrain (these, in turn, closed in 1971). The Ordnance depot in Gibraltar, where

9000-713: Was also a substantial detachment supporting the Anglo-Zulu War in Natal . In 1895 the Royal Army Clothing Department , with its factory and depot at Pimlico , was taken over by the AOD which then became responsible for the provision of uniforms and other items of clothing for much of the army. In 1855 Captain Henry Gordon (brother of the famous Gordon of Khartoum ) left the Army and joined

9100-560: Was based for the duration of World War II . In November 1941 it requisitioned the Curzon Cinema partly to meet its own screening needs, but also as a showpiece cinema for the services and for those of other government departments. By mid-1942 DAK had increased to five branches to deal with the growing demands of the war, covering such areas as policy, planning and production, finance, distribution and exhibition. In 1944 it assumed full responsibility for cinema facilities in North Africa,

9200-578: Was concerned was summarised in 1889 as follows: 'The English Ordnance Department goes back into an older history than the Army. There were Master Generals of the Ordnance and Boards of Ordnance centuries before there were Secretaries of State for War or Commanders-in-Chief . Begun under the Tudors the Board of Ordnance lived through the changes of the Great Rebellion , the Commonwealth,

9300-661: Was disbanded in 1876. The Ordnance/Military Store officers joined a newly created Ordnance Stores Department (OSD). Five years later, in 1881, the soldiers also left the ASC and became the Ordnance Store Corps (OSC). In 1894 there were further changes. The OSD was retitled the Army Ordnance Department (AOD) and absorbed the Inspectors of Machinery from the Royal Artillery (RA). In parallel

9400-664: Was formed on 25 June 1941, and took over an operational gun site in Richmond Park , south-west London, in August. It was the forerunner of hundreds of similar units with the ATS supplying two-thirds of the personnel: at its height in 1943 three-quarters of Anti-Aircraft Command 's HAA batteries were mixed. Several Heavy Anti-Aircraft regiments deployed to North West Europe with 21st Army Group in 1944–45 were 'Mixed' regiments. A secret trial (the 'Newark Experiment' in April 1941) having shown that women were capable of operating heavy searchlight equipment and coping with conditions on

9500-484: Was greater security when making films on subjects that were deemed secret; high-priority films could be rushed through as necessary. What became an enormous output of films gave opportunities to young and relatively inexperienced film personnel which they were unlikely to have received in peacetime, at least over such a short period. For example, Freddie Francis entered as a camera assistant and subsequently covered everything from writing to directing, Roy Ward Baker entered as

9600-510: Was required and another CAD was opened: Kineton . That same year a very large COD, widely spread out across the Oxfordshire countryside to mitigate the risk of bomb damage, opened at Bicester to hold stores principally to support the invasion of France. Forward of the UK base, a huge array of temporary depots were built to meet the rapidly changing pace of war. Base Ordnance Depots (BOD) and Base Ammunition Depots (BAD) sprung up all over

9700-588: Was steadily run down. A reconfiguration in the late 1960s provided four Regional Depots ( Thatcham , Hereford, Catterick and Stirling ) and nine OSUs: Aldershot, Ashford , Burscough , Colchester , Feltham , Old Dalby , Thetford, Tidworth and Woolwich (which had been downgraded following the closure of the Royal Ordnance Factory and the sale of the old Dockyard). At the height of the Northern Ireland troubles Ordnance Depot Kinnegar

9800-473: Was the Tower of London , headquarters of the Ordnance Office , which for many centuries sufficed to hold the country's central stocks of artillery, gunpowder, small arms and ammunition albeit in unsatisfactory circumstances. The Tower continued to be used for storage into the 19th century, but in 1671 the Board of Ordnance acquired a parcel of land at Woolwich which soon supplanted the Tower to become

9900-570: Was the ordnance field park, principally carrying vehicle and technical stores spares. During the war the RAOC HQ (together with the RAOC School) had moved from Hilsea to Middleton Stoney (Bicester); in 1946 it moved again to Matthew Barracks, Tidworth and shortly afterwards to Deepcut . The regimental depot was also moved from Hilsea, in 1946, to Feltham Barracks , Middlesex; in 1955 it too moved to Deepcut. Hilsea, which had been used by

10000-413: Was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War . It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 February 1949, when it was merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps . The ATS had its roots in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), which was formed in 1917 as a voluntary service. During the First World War its members served in

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