Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps
Encyclopedia
The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers
in the British
Territorial Army. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army
at a senior level.
as the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps in 1865 to ensure "the combined action among all the railways when the country is in danger"and tasked particularly with "the preparation, during peace, of schemes for drawing troops from given distant parts and for concentrating them within given areas in the shortest possible time". The original establishment was 21 commissioned officers made up mainly of civil engineers alongside a few railway company managers. The number of officers was expanded to 110 in 1908 before being subsequently reduced to the current strength of 60 officers. The unit was always a volunteer unit, with members retaining their civilian jobs. Until its reorganisation in 1943 its members were entitled to wear a uniform similar to that of the Royal Engineers
In recent times recruitment has diversified from road, rail and port specialists to cover almost all aspects of engineering. The also began to advise the Royal Corps of Transport
(in addition to the Royal Engineers
)and was renamed the Engineer and Transport Staff Corps in 1984 to reflect this. Following the creation of the Royal Logistic Corps
in 1993 the unit was renamed again to the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps.
. Members hold their commissions as officers in the Royal Engineers (Volunteers), have no official military duties and are unpaid. The establishment strength of 60 officers consists of 10 Colonels, 20 Lieutenant Colonels and 30 Majors. Membership is by invitation only and promotion generally follows seniority with some discretion to allow for individual officers' statuses in their profession and their level of participation in the corps. Officers who cease to be engaged in a relevant profession must offer to resign their commissions but may retain their appointment on the Commanding Officer's recommendation and with the approval of the Army Board
of the Defence Council
. All officers of the corps are briefed to expect calls at any time to provide impartial, free and confidential advice to the British Armed Forces. Officers are regularly invited to relevant army conferences and equipment demonstrations to keep them up to date with current capabilities.
The corps is administered by a council of senior corps officers, chaired by the Commanding Officer (a Colonel) and assisted by the Acting Adjutant
, (normally a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel
) who also acts as the council's secretary. The Acting Adjutant is always a retired army officer currently working in a relevant profession who acts as a point of contact for advice. The current officers are mainly chief executives, director
s and senior managers
of 60 different engineering
, transport
and logistics
organisations, which together employ 100,000 people.
In addition to peacetime roles in infrastructure, training, planning and logistics.
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 the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Territorial Army. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to 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...
at a senior level.
History
The unit was founded by William McMurdoWilliam McMurdo
Sir William Montagu Scott McMurdo KCB was a British army officer who rose to the rank of general. He saw active service in India, helped to run a military railway in the Crimean War and then managed various groups of volunteers working with the army...
as the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps in 1865 to ensure "the combined action among all the railways when the country is in danger"and tasked particularly with "the preparation, during peace, of schemes for drawing troops from given distant parts and for concentrating them within given areas in the shortest possible time". The original establishment was 21 commissioned officers made up mainly of civil engineers alongside a few railway company managers. The number of officers was expanded to 110 in 1908 before being subsequently reduced to the current strength of 60 officers. The unit was always a volunteer unit, with members retaining their civilian jobs. Until its reorganisation in 1943 its members were entitled to wear a uniform similar to that 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 recent times recruitment has diversified from road, rail and port specialists to cover almost all aspects of engineering. The also began to advise 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...
(in addition to 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....
)and was renamed the Engineer and Transport Staff Corps in 1984 to reflect this. Following the creation of 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...
in 1993 the unit was renamed again to the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps.
Current work
The unit is organisationally part of HQ Engineer in Chief (Army), is constituted under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 and administered by the Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. Members hold their commissions as officers in the Royal Engineers (Volunteers), have no official military duties and are unpaid. The establishment strength of 60 officers consists of 10 Colonels, 20 Lieutenant Colonels and 30 Majors. Membership is by invitation only and promotion generally follows seniority with some discretion to allow for individual officers' statuses in their profession and their level of participation in the corps. Officers who cease to be engaged in a relevant profession must offer to resign their commissions but may retain their appointment on the Commanding Officer's recommendation and with the approval of the Army Board
Army Board
The Army Board is the senior single-service management committee of the British Army:-Army Board members:*Civilian** The Secretary of State for Defence** Minister for the Armed Forces** Minister for Defence Equipment and Support...
of the Defence Council
Defence Council of the United Kingdom
The Defence Council of the United Kingdom is the body legally entrusted with the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories and with control over the British armed forces, and is part of the Ministry of Defence.-Functions:...
. All officers of the corps are briefed to expect calls at any time to provide impartial, free and confidential advice to the British Armed Forces. Officers are regularly invited to relevant army conferences and equipment demonstrations to keep them up to date with current capabilities.
The corps is administered by a council of senior corps officers, chaired by the Commanding Officer (a Colonel) and assisted by the Acting Adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
, (normally a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
) who also acts as the council's secretary. The Acting Adjutant is always a retired army officer currently working in a relevant profession who acts as a point of contact for advice. The current officers are mainly chief executives, director
Technical director
The Technical Director or Technical Manager is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film studio, theatrical company or television studio...
s and senior managers
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
of 60 different engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
and logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
organisations, which together employ 100,000 people.
Operations
The corps has advised British forces in the following operations, amongst others:- Gulf WarGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
- Bosnian WarBosnian WarThe Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
- Kosovo WarKosovo WarThe term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
- Afghanistan WarWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
- Iraq War
In addition to peacetime roles in infrastructure, training, planning and logistics.
Commanding Officers
- John Elliot
- Alexander ValentineAlexander ValentineSir Alexander Balmain Bruce Valentine OStJ MA , was Chairman of the London Transport Executive from 1959 to 1963 and Chairman of the London Transport Board from 1963 to 1965.-Family:...
- Kirby LaingKirby LaingSir William "Kirby" Laing, DL, JP, FREng was a British civil engineer.-Career:Laing was born in Carlisle in 1916. He is a member of the Laing Family, famous in the British construction industry for running John Laing plc. He is the son of Sir John Laing and the brother of Sir Maurice Laing...
- Vernon RobertsonVernon RobertsonVernon Alec Murray Robertson CBE MC was a British civil engineer.Robertson was born in 1890 at Calcutta in India. He was elected president of the Institution of Civil Engineers for the November 1949 to November 1950 session.- References :...
- Robert Elliott-CooperRobert Elliott-CooperSir Robert Elliott-Cooper KCB was a British civil engineer.Elliott-Cooper was born in Leeds in 1845. On 27 September 1870 he was commissioned into the 1st Yorkshire Artillery Volunteer Corps as a First Lieutenant, a rank replaced by that of Lieutenant during British Army standardisation in 1871...
- John Clarke HawkshawJohn Clarke HawkshawJohn Clarke Hawkshaw was a British civil engineer.Hawkshaw was born in Manchester, England in 1841 and was the son of civil engineer Sir John Hawkshaw and Lady Ann Hawkshaw...
Colonels
- Ian McDonald CampbellIan McDonald CampbellIan McDonald Campbell is a British civil engineer. He was born in Edinburgh in 1922 and has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Campbell was a member of the British Army's Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, an unpaid, volunteer unit that provides technical expertise to the armed forces...
- George HumphreysGeorge HumphreysSir George William Humphreys KBE was a British civil engineer.Humohreys was born in London in 1863. He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers on 7 March 1908. He became a member of the council of that institution on November 1917 and served as vice-president from November 1927...
- Henry CroninHenry CroninHenry Francis Cronin CBE, MC, BSc was a British civil engineer and army officer.Henry Francis Cronin was born in Ketton, Rutland in 1894 and was the holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering...
- Charles Langbridge MorganCharles Langbridge Morgan (engineer)Sir Charles Langbridge Morgan CBE was a British civil engineer.Morgan was born in 1855 in Worcester, England. He married Mary Watkins in Australia to which her parents had emigrated. Their son, also called Charles Langbridge Morgan, was a playwright and novelist...
- Allan QuartermaineAllan QuartermaineSir Allan Stephen Quartermaine CBE, MC, BSc was a British civil engineer.Allan Stephen Quartermaine was born in London on 9 November 1888 and was the holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering...
- Ernest Crosbie TrenchErnest Crosbie TrenchErnest Frederic Crosbie Trench CBE, TD was a British civil engineer.Ernest was born on 6 August 1869 to George Frederic Trench and Frances Charlotte Talbot Crosbie. Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter, sister to Edward IV and Richard III was an ancestor of Ernest's mother...
- Albert Stanley, 1st Baron AshfieldAlbert Stanley, 1st Baron AshfieldAlbert Henry Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, PC, TD , born Albert Henry Knattriess, was a British-American who was managing director, then chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London from 1910 to 1933 and chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board from 1933 to 1947.Although...
- William McMurdoWilliam McMurdoSir William Montagu Scott McMurdo KCB was a British army officer who rose to the rank of general. He saw active service in India, helped to run a military railway in the Crimean War and then managed various groups of volunteers working with the army...
- David Mowat WatsonDavid Mowat WatsonDavid Mowat Watson was a British civil engineer.David was born in Aberdeen in 1891. His father was John Duncan Watson, a civil engineer regarded as a pioneer in the development of sewage treatment...
- Wilfred Shepherd-BarronWilfred Shepherd-BarronWilfred Philip Shepherd-Barron, MC, TD, LlD was a British civil engineer and army officer. Shepherd-Barron was born John Barron in Caithness, Scotland in 1888. Shepherd-Barron served in the Royal Engineers and received the Military Cross, he was also awarded the Territorial Decoration...
- Jonathan DavidsonJonathan DavidsonColonel Sir Jonathan Roberts Davidson, CMG, TD, MSc, MICE was a British civil engineer and army officer. Davidson pursued a professional career as an engineer which resulted in him being elected president of both the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers...
- William PollittWilliam PollittColonel Sir William Pollitt was general manager of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from 1886 to 1902, the final three years being as General Manager of the renamed Great Central Railway....
Lieutenant-Colonels
- William Henry BarlowWilliam Henry BarlowOn 28 December 1879, the central section of the North British Railway's bridge across the River Tay near Dundee collapsed in the Tay Bridge disaster as an express train crossed it in a heavy storm. All 75 passengers and crew on the train were killed...
- Benjamin Blyth IIBenjamin Blyth IIBenjamin Hall Blyth II FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer.Blyth, who was born in St Cuthbert's Parish, Edinburgh, was the eldest of the nine children of the railway engineer Benjamin Blyth...
- Cuthbert A. BreretonCuthbert A. BreretonCuthbert Arthur Brereton was a civil engineer and a partner of Sir John Wolfe Barry. Together they completed numerous projects in England and Wales, the most prominent being the King Edward VII Bridge over the Thames at Kew, London.Also with Barry he had been involved with the construction of...
- Alexander RossAlexander Ross (engineer)Alexander Ross was a British civil engineer particularly noted for his work with the railway industry.Ross was born in Laggan, County of Inverness in Scotland on 20 April 1845. He was educated in Aberdeen and at Owen's College in Manchester, an institution now a part of the University of Manchester...
- Sam FaySam FaySir Sam Fay , born in Hamble-le-Rice, Hampshire, England, was a career railwayman who joined the London and South Western Railway as a clerk in 1872 and rose to become the last General Manager of the Great Central Railway after a successful stint in charge of the almost bankrupt Midland and South...
- Maurice FitzmauriceMaurice FitzmauriceSir Maurice Fitzmaurice CMG was an Irish civil engineer. He was apprenticed to Benjamin Baker and worked with him on the Forth Railway Bridge before going to Egypt to build the Aswan Dam for which he was appointed both a member of the Ottoman Order of the Mejidiye and a companion of the British...
- Harrison HayterHarrison HayterHarrison Hayter was a British engineer, participating in many significant railway construction projects in Britain and many harbour and dock constructions worldwide....
- James Charles InglisJames Charles InglisSir James Charles Inglis was a British civil engineer.Inglis was born in Aberdeen in 1851. He served in the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, an unpaid volunteer unit of the Volunteer Force which provided technical advise to the British Army...
- Ernest LemonErnest LemonSir Ernest John Hutchings Lemon, OBE was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and later one of its three Vice-Presidents...
- John Robinson McCleanJohn Robinson McCleanJohn Robinson McClean CB FRS , was a British civil engineer and Liberal Party politician.-Early life:He was born in Belfast. Educated at Belfast Academical Institution and University of Glasgow.-Engineering career:...
Majors
- William GriersonWilliam GriersonWilliam Wylie Grierson was a British civil engineer.William was born to James Grierson and Margaret Emily Grierson and was educated at Rugby School. William married Aleen Isabel Bell on 14 September 1927 at St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge...
- John Holmes JellettJohn Holmes JellettJohn Holmes Jellett OBE, DSc, MA was a British civil engineer.Jellett was appointed assistant civil engineer to the Admiralty on 22 June 1933. He served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War and was commissioned as a Temporary Captain...
- Ralph Freeman
- Hubert Shirley-SmithHubert Shirley-SmithSir Hubert Shirley-Smith, OBE, BSc, MICE was a British civil engineer.Shirley-Smith is perhaps most famous for helping to design the Howrah Bridge in Calcutta for the Indian Public Works Department in 1943...
- Francis Wentworth-ShieldsFrancis Wentworth-ShieldsSir Francis Ernest Wentworth-Shields OBE was a British civil engineer.Francis Ernest Wentworth-Shields was born in London in 1869. He was appointed to be a Major of the Territorial Army's Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, an unpaid, volunteer unit which provides technical expertise to the British...
- Augustus Charles NewmanAugustus Charles NewmanLieutenant-Colonel Augustus Charles Newman VC, OBE, TD, DL was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....