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32-690: For centuries, army transport was operated by contracted civilians. The first uniformed transport corps in the British Army was the Royal Waggoners formed in 1794. It was not a success and was disbanded the following year. In 1799, the Royal Waggon Corps was formed; by August 1802, it had been renamed the Royal Waggon Train . This was reduced to only two troops in 1818 and finally disbanded in 1833. A transport corps

64-834: A Controller-in-Chief. The following year, other ranks of the Military Train were combined with those of the Commissariat Staff Corps and the Military Store Staff Corps to form a body of soldiers, officered by the Control Department, which was named the Army Service Corps ( ASC ). By 1871, the new corps numbered twelve transport companies , seven supply companies and three ordnance store companies, each of around 105 non-commissioned officers and men. From 1870,

96-724: A permanently established post it dates from 1686. The Quartermaster -General was (like the Adjutant-General ) a senior staff officer of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces , responsible for the movement and quartering of troops. From the 1680s to the 1880s, the QMG periodically had responsibility for military intelligence in addition. In 1888, the Quartermaster-General took over responsibility for

128-748: Is still the headquarters of 151 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps. Quartermaster-General to the Forces The Quartermaster-General to the Forces ( QMG ) is a senior general in the British Army . The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply refer to " Chief of Materiel (Land) ". A Quartermaster-General first appears in English Army records in 1667; as

160-545: The Battle of Waterloo . Eight companies from the Royal Waggon Train were involved, along with four companies of the Foreign Waggon Train. During the battle, allied forces took up defence of Hougoumont , a chateau and farm 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Waterloo. Along with supporting the front lines, the Royal Waggon Train drove much-needed supplies through enemy lines to the desperate Third Guard defending

192-636: The Royal Engineers (which was responsible for railway transport, inland water transport, port operations, and movements) to form the Royal Corps of Transport . All its supply functions (including the supply of vehicles, their care and preservation in storage and delivery), along with the staff clerks, were transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, leaving the new RCT solely responsible for transport and movements. In 1993,

224-671: The bar "Corunna" for the Army Gold Medal . After Napoleon's exile, the Royal Waggon Train was reduced to five Troops. However, a year later Napoleon escaped Elba and resumed power, rekindling hostilities with the British. Plans to rebuild the Train were fast-tracked; Wellington well-aware of its importance to military success overseas. The Train expanded once more to twelve Troops, which included 1,400 horses. On 18 June 1815, allied British and Prussian forces faced Napoleon's army at

256-689: The Control Department was placed within the new Department of the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance , who took over as Controller-in-Chief. The Department of the Surveyor General of the Ordnance retained the Control Department and further restructured it into four new divisions superintended by a director: the first was the Supply and Transport Division (formed from the merging of the former commissariat, purveyors and barrack departments),

288-554: The French Army from the battlefield. For their service during the battle, the Royal Waggon Train received their second battle honour: "Waterloo" Victory at Waterloo brought an end to the Napoleonic Wars , and with it, 22 years of conflict between France and much of Europe. After the battle, the Royal Waggon Train was responsible for clearing over 4,000 allied dead from the battlefield. Napoleon abdicated shortly after and

320-594: The Ordnance and its head was abolished; its former functions were then distributed among the several divisions of the Military and Civil Departments: the work of the Supply and Transport Division was allocated to the Quartermaster General 's Division. In December 1888, the Commissariat and Transport Staff and the Commissariat and Transport Corps amalgamated to form a new Army Service Corps, and for

352-786: The RCT and RAOC were merged to form the Royal Logistic Corps , the modern descendant of the ASC. Officers of the Control Department, Commissariat and Transport Department, and Commissariat and Transport Staff held different ranks from the rest of the Army. From February 1885 they were given honorary military ranks, which they held in conjunction with their commissary ranks. Officers of the ASC and RASC held full military rank. The Royal Waggon Train The Royal Waggon Train

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384-443: The Train was again involved, shepherding the wounded and transporting supplies for British forces in the retreat at Corunna ; a 300-mile (480 km) trek through treacherous conditions that ended in a triumphant battle against Napoleon’s forces. Moore did not survive the battle, but his tactics and planning allowed many of his forces to evacuate Spain and set sail for England. At Wellington's request, Commissary General John Bissett

416-619: The Transport Companies (whose depot was at Woolwich). Initially, the Commissariat and Transport Department remained part of the Department of Surveyor General of the Ordnance (in 1878 the Control Establishments Subdivision’s name was altered to the Commissariat and Transport Establishments Division under the supervision of a Commissary General). In 1887, however, the Department of the Surveyor General of

448-516: The battlefield and lines of communication. The animals pulling the wagons frequently died of starvation or exhaustion. The Train was heavily involved in the Peninsular War , supporting Sir Arthur Wellesley's forces as they sailed from Ireland to retake the French naval base at Lisbon in 1808. After command of the British forces temporarily passed to Sir John Moore in the winter of 1809,

480-532: The chateau. The Train's heroics at Hougoumont were included in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's 1891 play Waterloo . Wellington's forces were outnumbered and outgunned, withstanding a barrage of attacks from French forces throughout the day. That evening, Prussian forces led by Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher broke through Napoleon's right flank. This planned attack allowed Britain and her remaining allied forces to counter-attack, driving

512-528: The colours and a further six years with the reserve (seven years and five years for tradesmen and clerks, three years and nine years for butchers, bakers and supply issuers). They trained at Aldershot . Alone among the "Services" (i.e. rear echelon support corps), RASC personnel were considered to be combatant personnel. In 1965, the RASC was merged with the Transportation and Movement Control Service of

544-705: The corps headquarters. In 1918, the corps received the "Royal" prefix for its service in the First World War and became the Royal Army Service Corps. It was divided into Transport and Supply Branches. Before the Second World War , RASC recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches tall and could enlist up to 30 years of age (or 35 for tradesmen in the Transport Branch). They initially enlisted for six years with

576-474: The description of the Royal Waggon Train A prolonged peace followed for Britain, until the beginning of the Crimean War in 1854. After the Train's disbandment, logistical support fell solely onto the Commissariat's shoulders. British forces suffered, as the refined infrastructure of the Royal Waggon Train was no more. The Headquarters of the Royal Waggon Train is at Croydon and two hundred years later it

608-522: The first time officers and other ranks served in a single unified organisation. The War Department Fleet was transferred to the Corps in 1891, and the ASC also absorbed some transport elements of the Royal Engineers . Furthermore, the Corps of Military Staff Clerks was amalgamated into the Supply branch of the ASC in 1893. After it was opened in 1895, Buller Barracks in Aldershot came to be regarded as

640-596: The first uniformed Transport Corps, named the Royal Waggoners, was created on 7 March 1794. One year later, after British forces withdrew from the Low Countries, the Royal Waggoners were disbanded. In 1799, Sir Ralph Abercromby led a British expedition into North Holland to break the French hold on the strategically important Scheldt estuary. Another Transport Corps, overseen by Waggon Master General Digby Hamilton , Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel),

672-515: The second was an Artillery and Stores Division (that absorbed the former contracts, clothing, ordnance and stores departments) and the third was a Contracts Division. The fourth division created was called the Control Establishments Subdivision that became responsible for the administration of the Control Department's staff. In November 1875, the Control Department was abolished and its work in regard to field service

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704-733: The transport and supply of equipment, provisions and munitions, formerly overseen by the Commissariat and Transport Department and the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance . From 1904 the Quartermaster-General to the Forces was the Third Military Member of the Army Council (1904) and its successor, the Army Board . The appointment of a Deputy Quartermaster-General dates from 1710 and Assistant Quartermasters-General are recorded from as early as 1692. In modern use,

736-619: Was allocated to two new departments: the Commissariat and Transport Department and the Ordnance Store Department . Following failures in the Anglo-Zulu War , the Commissariat and Transport Department was disbanded in January 1880, and replaced with the Commissariat and Transport Staff . Although the officers of the former Control Department had been split between the two new departments in 1875, no parallel action

768-575: Was controlled by the Treasury rather than the military, which did not always suit the army's requirements. It was more sophisticated than the existing transport used by the Army Medical Department and was able to ferry many of the wounded, injured and sick to safety in large convoys. However, the convoys were limited by the technology of the age; wagons were prone to breakdown and often unable to cope with rough and tortuous terrain of

800-543: Was created to support this effort. Initially titled the Royal Waggon Corps, it was renamed the Royal Waggon Train, ranking as a "Mounted Corps" after the 29th Dragoons . Due to the success of Abercrombie's expedition, the Royal Wagon Train of five Squadrons was reinforced by a further seven Squadrons/troops and Hamilton was promoted to Major General. The train was required because civilian transport

832-462: Was exiled on Saint Helena, a mid-Atlantic island, where he remained until his death in 1821. Following Napoleon's defeat, the Train was reduced to five troops, primarily utilised for mundane transport tasks. By 1818, only two troops remained, with one stationed in Gibraltar. The Train was finally disbanded in 1833. No person can be more impressed than I am of the absolute necessity of a corps of

864-690: Was not formed again until the Crimean War . In 1855, the Land Transport Corps was formed. This was renamed the Military Train the following year. The corps was initially based at Horfield Barracks in Bristol, but in 1859 the 'Brigade Office' and Depot moved to Woolwich . At this time, supply duties were the responsibility of the Commissariat (a uniformed civilian body, principally responsible for food, forage and fuel); while provision of arms, ammunition and other critical stores

896-463: Was responsible for transporting supplies and wounded during these key battles and throughout the Peninsular War. With public opinion against him, Emperor Napoleon was forced to abdicate on 31 March 1814, leading to his exile on the island of Elba. For its efforts in the Peninsular War, the Royal Waggon Train was awarded the battle honour "Peninsula", and over thirty officers were also awarded

928-828: Was taken with regard to other ranks at that time; the Army Service Corps continued to serve both departments until 1881, whereupon it too was split along similar lines to form two distinct units: and the Ordnance Store Corps (which, together with the Ordnance Store Department, would go on to form the Royal Army Ordnance Corps ) and the Commissariat and Transport Corps . The latter retained the Supply Companies (which had their depot at Aldershot ) and

960-535: Was the name originally given to the Supply and Transport branch of the British Armed Forces , which would eventually become the Royal Logistic Corps . In 1793, Revolutionary French Forces invaded the Low Countries and declared war on Britain. Existing military plans relied on local men to provide supplies and transport for the British Army overseas, which proved to be inadequate. Therefore,

992-630: Was the responsibility of the Military Store Department (formed following the abolition of the Board of Ordnance in 1855). In 1869, there was a major reorganisation of army supply and transport capabilities: the commissaries of the Commissariat and the officers of the Military Train were amalgamated together with the officers of the Military Store Department to form what was called the Control Department under

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1024-789: Was then brought in to oversee the Royal Waggon Train. By 1810, newly ennobled Viscount Wellington had ordered the construction of the Lines of Torres Vedras ; a series of secret forts that repelled an offensive by French commander André Masséna . Other key successes at the Siege of Badajoz between March and April 1812, the Battle of Salamanca in July of the same year, and the Storming of Saint Sebastian in August 1813 allowed Wellington's forces to drive Napoleon's forces back into France. The Royal Waggon Train

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