Royal Army Service Corps
Encyclopedia
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps
of the British Army
. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture
and stationery
(but not ammunition
and military and technical equipment, which were the responsibility of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
); administration of barracks
; the Army Fire Service
; and provision of staff clerk
s to headquarters units.
A transport corps 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.
In 1869 there was a major reorganisation of army supply and transport capabilities. Before 1869, supply duties had been the responsibility of the Commissariat
, a uniformed civilian body. In 1869 the commissaries of the Commissariat and the officers of the Military Train amalgamated into the Control Department. The following year the other ranks of the Military Train were redesignated the Army Service Corps (ASC), officered by the Control Department. In November 1875, the Control Department was divided into the Commissariat and Transport Department and the Ordnance Store Department (which developed into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
). In January 1880, the Commissariat and Transport Department was renamed the Commissariat and Transport Staff and the Army Service Corps was renamed the Commissariat and Transport Corps. Finally, in December 1888, these two bodies amalgamated with the War Department Fleet to form a new Army Service Corps, and for the first time officers and other ranks served in a single unified organisation.
The ASC subsequently absorbed some transport elements of the Royal Engineers
. 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 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 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, 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, the RCT and RAOC were merged to form the Royal Logistic Corps
, the modern descendant of the ASC.
:Category:Royal Army Service Corps officers
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
and stationery
Stationery
Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...
(but not ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
and military and technical equipment, which were the responsibility of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps was a corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment until 1965, when it took over most other supply functions, as well as the provision of staff clerks, from the Royal Army Service...
); administration of barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
; the Army Fire Service
Army Fire Service
The Army Fire Service , later called the Army Department Fire Service, was the fire service which performed firefighting duties on British Army camps. Its personnel were largely soldiers until 1959, when the fire service was civilianised...
; and provision of staff clerk
Staff clerk
A staff clerk is a professional specialist clerk in the British Army who is a member of an administrative corps, as opposed to a unit clerk, who is a member of the corps or regiment in which he or she works and is trained first and foremost in the duties of that unit .Staff clerks used to...
s to headquarters units.
History
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 was not formed again until the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. In 1855, the Land Transport Corps was formed. This was renamed the Military Train the following year.
In 1869 there was a major reorganisation of army supply and transport capabilities. Before 1869, supply duties had been the responsibility of the Commissariat
Commissariat
A commissariat is the department of an army charged with the provision of supplies, both food and forage, for the troops. The supply of military stores such as ammunition is not included in the duties of a commissariat. In almost every army the duties of transport and supply are performed by the...
, a uniformed civilian body. In 1869 the commissaries of the Commissariat and the officers of the Military Train amalgamated into the Control Department. The following year the other ranks of the Military Train were redesignated the Army Service Corps (ASC), officered by the Control Department. In November 1875, the Control Department was divided into the Commissariat and Transport Department and the Ordnance Store Department (which developed into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps was a corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment until 1965, when it took over most other supply functions, as well as the provision of staff clerks, from the Royal Army Service...
). In January 1880, the Commissariat and Transport Department was renamed the Commissariat and Transport Staff and the Army Service Corps was renamed the Commissariat and Transport Corps. Finally, in December 1888, these two bodies amalgamated with the War Department Fleet to form a new Army Service Corps, and for the first time officers and other ranks served in a single unified organisation.
The ASC subsequently absorbed some transport elements of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
. 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 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
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
.
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 the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
(which was responsible for railway transport, inland water transport, port operations, and movements) to form the Royal Corps of Transport
Royal Corps of Transport
The Royal Corps of Transport was a British Army Corps formed in 1965 from the transport elements of the Royal Army Service Corps and the movement control element of the Royal Engineers . The depot was Buller Barracks in Aldershot...
. All its supply functions, along with the staff clerks, were transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps was a corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment until 1965, when it took over most other supply functions, as well as the provision of staff clerks, from the Royal Army Service...
, leaving the new RCT solely responsible for transport and movements. In 1993, the RCT and RAOC were merged to form the Royal Logistic Corps
Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
, the modern descendant of the ASC.
Ranks
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.| Army rank | Control Department rank | Commissariat & Transport Department rank | Commissariat & Transport Staff rank |
| Second Lieutenant Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal... |
Sub-Assistant Commissary | Sub-Assistant Commissary | Quartermaster |
| Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank... |
Assistant Commissary | Assistant Commissary | Deputy Assistant Commissary-General |
| Captain Captain (British Army and Royal Marines) Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force... |
Deputy Commissary | Deputy Commissary | Deputy Assistant Commissary-General |
| Major Major Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ... |
Commissary | Commissary | Assistant Commissary-General |
| Lieutenant-Colonel | Assistant Controller | Assistant Commissary-General | Assistant Commissary-General |
| Colonel Colonel Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures... |
Deputy Controller | Deputy Commissary-General | Deputy Commissary-General |
| Controller | Commissary-General | Commissary-General |
Notable personnel
:Category:Royal Army Service Corps soldiers:Category:Royal Army Service Corps officers