Prior to the formation of the Army Service Corps (ASC), the Corps of Waggoners was raised under army auspices for service on the continent of Europe, becoming the Royal Waggon Corps in 1799 and the Royal Waggon Train in 1802. The Royal Waggon Train was disbanded in 1833, but in 1855 a Land Transport Corps was created, and in 1856 this became The Military Train. In 1869 The Military Train was redesignated the Army Service Corps. This contained only non-commissioned ranks, the officers being found by the Control Department. Various other changes followed until the formation of the Army Service Corps (ASC), that transport and supply support became the responsibility of a well organised permanent body, with it’s own specialist officers.

 

Royal Army Service Corps

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The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was the unit responsible for keeping the British Army supplied with provisions. The exceptions were weaponry and ammunition, which were supplied by the Royal Army Ordnance Corps.

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Beginnings

The first uniformed unit to carry out transport duties for the British Army was the Royal Waggoners. Established in the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars (1793-1802) to deliver a service previously provided by civil contractors, the Waggoners experiment proved unsuccessful. The unit was disbanded in 1795, less than a year after its formation.

With the French Revolutionary Wars continuing, a second attempt was not long in coming. It arrived in 1799 with the creation of the Royal Waggon Corps, later renamed the Royal Waggon Train. This unit proved more durable, being down sized after the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) but only fully disbanded in 1833.

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Other Units

The shortcomings of the supply chains during the early stages of the Crimean War (1854-56), and the ensuing public outrage, persuaded the Army to set up a new supply unit in 1855. This was known as the Land Transport Corps, before changing its name to the Military Train.

Army supply overall, however, was still in the hands of a unit of uniformed civilians known as the Commissariat. In 1869, this merged with the Military Train’s officers to form the Control Department. The Military Train thereby became a unit solely composed of other ranks who were commanded by officers from the Control Department. In 1870, the Military Train was renamed the Army Service Corps.

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Army Service Corps

In 1875, the Control Department split into the Commissariat and Transport Department (CTD) and the Ordnance Store Department (OSD), the latter forming the predecessor to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. In 1880, the CTD was renamed the Commissariat and Transport Staff (CTS), while the Army Service Corps became the Commissariat and Transport Corps (CTC).

In 1888, the CTS, the CTC and the War Department Fleet merged to form a new Army Service Corps, bringing officers and other ranks back together into one unit. That unit went on to absorb some of the Royal Engineers’ transport duties.

In recognition of its major undertakings in supplying troops during the First World War (1914-18), it was given the honour of a ‘Royal’ prefix. The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) subsequently went on to serve in all of the Army's operations.

At the outbreak of the First World War, the ASC numbered 6,500 men, by 1918 this number had grown to 325,000 men.

 

Legacy

In 1965, the RASC was merged with the Transportation and Movement Control Service of the Royal Engineers to form the Royal Corps of Transport. In 1993, this became part of the Royal Logistic Corps.

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Royal Corps of Transport

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Established in 1965, this unit was responsible for moving soldiers and materiel across the world. It continued in British Army service until 1993, when it became part of the Royal Logistic Corps.

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Beginnings

This unit was established in 1965 by merging the Transportation and Movement Control Service of the Corps of Royal Engineers (RE) and the transport functions of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC).

As mentioned earlier, its origins can be traced all the way back to the Royal Waggoners, the Army’s first uniformed transport unit, which had been formed in 1794 and merged into the Army Service Corps in 1869.

 

Roles

The role of the Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was to operate and organise motor vehicles, trains, landing craft, boats and aircraft for the transportation of Army personnel and materiel. It was made up several regiments whose names reflected their primary role, such as 7th Tank Transporter Regiment or 15th Air Dispatch Regiment.

For three decades, the corps deployed on almost every British Army operation at home and abroad, including Aden (1963-67), Northern Ireland (1969-1993) and the Falklands (1982).

Private soldiers of the corps held the rank of driver. But a range of different specialist trades and clerical roles were also available. RCT personnel were even deployed in special forces and intelligence roles.

During the Cold War (1945-89), one of the RCT’s responsibilities was the ‘Berliner’, a British military train providing a daily service between West Germany and the British sector of Berlin, passing through the Soviet zone.

In 1990-91, the RCT was heavily involved in the successful deployment, sustainment and recovery of the British fighting force during the Gulf War. This was the toughest logistical challenge the Army had faced since the Second World War (1939-45).

 

Legacy

In 1993, the Royal Corps of Transport was merged with several other corps to form the Royal Logistic Corps.

 

On formation, the RCT assumed responsibility for the RASC Association and expanded this to include soldiers from the newly formed RCT, creating the RASC & RCT Association. This remains a very active association which has more than 50 branches across the country.