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Royal Army Medical Corps

Royal Army Medical Corps

Overview
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps
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...

 in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...

 which provides medical services to all British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...

 personnel and their families in war and in peace. Together with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps
Royal Army Veterinary Corps
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and care of animals. It is a small but technically competent corps forming part of the Army Medical Services...

, the Royal Army Dental Corps
Royal Army Dental Corps
The Royal Army Dental Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army that provides dental care services to British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...

 and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps is the nursing branch of the British Army and part of the Army Medical Services....

, the RAMC forms the British Army's essential Army Medical Services
Army Medical Services
The Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate units that supply medical and nursing services in the British Army...

.

The RAMC does not carry a Regimental Colour or Queen's Colour, although it has a Regimental Flag. Nor does it have battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

s, as elements of the corps have been present in almost every single war the army has fought.
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Encyclopedia
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps
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...

 in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...

 which provides medical services to all British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...

 personnel and their families in war and in peace. Together with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps
Royal Army Veterinary Corps
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and care of animals. It is a small but technically competent corps forming part of the Army Medical Services...

, the Royal Army Dental Corps
Royal Army Dental Corps
The Royal Army Dental Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army that provides dental care services to British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...

 and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps is the nursing branch of the British Army and part of the Army Medical Services....

, the RAMC forms the British Army's essential Army Medical Services
Army Medical Services
The Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate units that supply medical and nursing services in the British Army...

.

The RAMC does not carry a Regimental Colour or Queen's Colour, although it has a Regimental Flag. Nor does it have battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

s, as elements of the corps have been present in almost every single war the army has fought. Because it is not a fighting arm, under the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of World War II, updating...

, members of the RAMC may only use their weapons for self-defence. For this reason, there are two traditions that the RAMC perform when on parade:
  • Officers do not draw their swords - instead they hold their scabbard with their left hand while saluting with their right.
  • Other Ranks
    Other Ranks
    Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers...

     do not fix bayonets.


Unlike medical officers in some other countries, medical officers in the RAMC (and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...

 and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...

) do not use the "Dr" prefix, in parentheses or otherwise, but only their rank, although they may be addressed informally as "Doctor".

Insignia


The RAMC, like every other British regiment, has its own distinctive unit insignia.
  • Dark blue beret
    Beret
    A beret is a soft round cap, usually of wool felt, with a flat crown, which is worn by both men and women and usually associated with France although it is also the traditional headgear of Northern Spain...

    , the default Army colour worn by units without distinctive coloured berets. The exceptions are members of 16 Medical Regiment, who wear the maroon beret, 225 Scottish General Support Medical Regiment (previously Field Ambulance) and members of 205 (Scottish) Field Hospital, who wear the traditional Scottish Tam O' Shanter headdress with Corps badge on tartan backing, and medical personnel attached to field units with distinctive coloured berets, who usually wear the beret of that unit (e.g. maroon for The Parachute Regiment and sky blue for the Army Air Corps).
  • Cap badge
    Cap badge
    A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy...

     depicting the Rod of Asclepius
    Rod of Asclepius
    __FORCETOC__ The rod of Asclepius , also known as the asklepian, is an ancient symbol associated with astrology, the Greek god Asclepius and with healing. It consists of a serpent entwined around a staff...

    , surmounted by a crown, enclosed within a laurel wreath, with the regimental motto In Arduis Fidelis, translated as "Faithful in Adversity" in a scroll beneath. The cap badge is worn 1 inch above the left eye on the beret. The cap badge of the other ranks must also be backed by an oval patch of dull cherry-red coloured cloth measuring 44mm wide and 55mm high sewn directly to the beret. Officers do not use the backing, but have a sewn-on cloth cap badge instead.
  • Silver regimental collar pins (collar dogs), a miniature of the cap badge. Worn with the serpents heads facing inwards.
  • Stable belt
    Stable belt
    A stable belt is an item of uniform used in the armed forces of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. Stable belts or similar derivatives are also worn by the armed forced of other nations such as the Danish army, Homeguard and Air Force....

     comprising equal horizontal bands of (from top to bottom) dull cherry, royal blue, and old gold, reflecting the old uniform worn in the 1900s (dull cherry and royal blue), the gold depicting the royal in the title. Members of 16 Medical Regiment stable belt is maroon with two sky blue bands.
  • Silver belt buckle with engraved regimental badge.

History


Medical services in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...

 military go as far back as the formation of the Standing Regular Army after the Restoration
English Restoration
The English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...

 of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...

 in 1660. This was the first time a career was provided for a Medical Officer (MO), known as the Regimental Surgeon, both in peacetime and in war. The Army was formed entirely on a regimental basis, and an MO with a Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
A Warrant Officer is a member of a military organization holding one of a specific group of ranks.The rank was first used in the English Royal Navy and is today used in many other countries, essentially the Commonwealth and USA...

 as his Assistant Surgeon was appointed to each regiment, which also provided a hospital. The MO was also for the first time concerned in the continuing health of his troops, and not limited to just battlefield medicine
Battlefield medicine
Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and more recently combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded soldiers in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first developed to treat the wounds inflicted during combat...

. This regimental basis of appointment for MOs continued until it was abolished in 1873.

In 1898, officers and soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

s providing medical services were incorporated into one body known by its present name, the Royal Army Medical Corps.

The RAMC began to develop during the Boer War, but it was during the First World War that it reached its apogee both in size and experience. During Britain's colonial days the RAMC had set up clinics and hospitals in countries where British troops could be found. Major-General Sir William Macpherson
William Macpherson
Major General Sir William Grant Macpherson KCMG, CB was the colonel-commandant of the Royal Army Medical Corps, and the author of its official history....

 of the RAMC wrote the official Medical History of the War (HMSO 1922).

In modern times it has once again contracted and its main bases, the Queen Alexandra Hospital Millbank has now closed.

The military medical services are now very much tri-service, with the hospital facilities of Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy combined. The main hospital facility is now the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham, a joint military-NHS centre. The former Royal Naval Hospital Haslar in Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough in Hampshire with around 79,000 resident inhabitants, with a further 5-10,000 during the summer months, situated on the south coast of England...

, near Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is a city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey...

, became the tri-service Royal Hospital Haslar
Royal Hospital Haslar
The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire, England, is one of several hospitals serving the Portsmouth Urban Area. The Royal Hospital Haslar officially closed as the last military hospital in the UK in 2007, and is now used by the Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust...

, however it was decommissioned in March 2007. The majority of injured service personnel are now treated in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham
Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham
Selly Oak Hospital, in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham, England, is one of two hospitals which form the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the other being the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston...

. Early negative press coverage has largely given way to an appreciation that the care provided injured troops has significantly improved and is best carried out in a large NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the publicly-funded health care services in Great Britain. In England the name National Health Service is used without further qualification whereas the services in Scotland and Wales are known as NHS Scotland and NHS Wales...

 Teaching Hospital environment.

Queen Alexandra Hospital
Queen Alexandra Hospital
The Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, Portsmouth, is one of several hospitals serving the city of Portsmouth. It is owned and administered by the Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust.- History :...

 in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is a city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey...

, Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital, is a medium-sized teaching hospital situated in Plymouth, England. The hospital serves Plymouth and nearby areas in Devon and Cornwall. It also provides tertiary Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery and Renal Transplant surgery for the whole of the South West Peninsula...

 in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, Friarage Hospital in Northallerton
Northallerton
Northallerton is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census...

 (near Catterick Garrison
Catterick Garrison
Catterick Garrison is a major Army base located in Northern England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world with a population of around 12,000, plus a large temporary population of soldiers, and is larger than its older neighbour...

) and Frimley Park Hospital
Frimley Park Hospital
Frimley Park Hospital is a large, 700-bed NHS hospital in Frimley, Surrey, part of the Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.It opened in 1974 to provide a full range of district general hospital services for North East Hampshire and West Surrey, a catchment population of about 365,000...

 (near Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about 60 km southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...

) also have military hospital units attached to them but they do not treat operational casualties.

Before the Second World War, RAMC recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches tall and could enlist up to 30 years of age. They initially enlisted for seven years with the colours and a further five years with the reserve, or three years and nine years. They trained for six months at the RAMC Depot, Crookham Camp, Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about 60 km southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...

, before proceeding to specialist trade training.

Colonels-in-Chief

  • FM HRH Arthur William Patrick Albert, 1st Duke of Connaught & Strathearn
    Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
    Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who, between 1911 and 1916, served as the Governor General of Canada...

     KG, KT, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, GBE, VD, TD (1919–1942)
  • HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
    Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
    Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 1936 until 1952 as the wife of King George VI. After her husband's death, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...

     LG, LT, CI, GCVO, GBE, CC, ONZ, CD (1942–2002)
  • HRH The Duke of Gloucester
    Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
    Prince Richard, 2nd Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974...

     KG, GCVO (2003–present)

Order of Precedence


Successive changes in title

  • Medical Staff Corps (1855–1857) (other ranks only)
  • Army Hospital Corps (1857–1884) (other ranks only)
  • Army Medical Department (1873–1898) (officers only)
  • Medical Staff Corps (1884–1898) (other ranks only)
  • Royal Army Medical Corps (1898–present)

Gallantry Awards


Since the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 was instituted in 1856 there have been 27 Victoria Crosses and two bars awarded to army medical personnel. A bar, indicating a subsequent award of a second Victoria Cross, has only ever been awarded three times, two of them to medical officers. Twenty-three of these Victoria Crosses are on display in the Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...

. The corps also has one recipient of both the Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross was a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813 in Breslau...

. One officer was awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

 in the Second World War. A young female member of the corps, Private Michelle Norris
Michelle Norris
Michelle Suzanne Claire “Chuck” Norris MC, RAMC is a British lance corporal and medic noted for heroism in the 2003 Iraq conflict.Norris was born at Stourbridge, West Midlands, England...

, became the first woman to be awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 following her actions in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...

 on 11 June 2006. One VC is in existence that is not counted in any official records. In 1856, Queen Victoria laid a Victoria Cross beneath the foundation stone of Netley Military hospital
Netley Hospital
The Royal Victoria Military Hospital, or Netley Hospital, was a large military hospital in Netley, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some controversy, chiefly from Florence Nightingale. Often visited by Queen Victoria, the...

. When the hospital was demolished in 1966 the VC, known as "The Netley VC", was retrieved and is now on display in the Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...

, Ash, near Aldershot.
Name Award Awarded while serving with Medal held by
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd The Royal Berkshire Regiment Lord Ashcroft Collection
Michael Ashcroft
Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, KCMG is an international businessman, philanthropist and politician. He was made a life peer in 2000, and is a Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd Royal Field Artillery Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 90th Regiment (The Cameronians) Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...


and Bar		 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
Bar: same		 Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 1st Imperial Light Horse (Natal) Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Army Hospital Corps Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd The Royal Welch Fusiliers Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd The Sherwood Foresters Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 7th Regiment (The Royal Fusiliers) Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd 45 Royal Marine Commando Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Cape Mounted Riflemen, SA Forces Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 90th Perthshire Light Infantry Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 78th Regiment (The Seaforth Highlanders) Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Medical Staff Corps Jersey Museum
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Army Medical Department Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd The Rifle Brigade Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...


Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross was a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813 in Breslau...

 Royal Regiment of Artillery
Awarded Iron Cross 1870		 Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...


and Bar		 VC: South African Constabulary
Bar: Royal Army Medical Corps		 Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 6th Dragoons (Inniskilling) Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps Privately held
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Royal Army Medical Corps att'd King's Royal Rifle Corps Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Army Medical Department Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 Indian Medical Service Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...

 23rd Regiment (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) Army Medical Services Museum
Army Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...

Although not serving with the RAMC, Irish born Surgeon John CRIMMIN VC, CB, CIE, VD is another military medic to win the country's highest award for gallantry. He won his medal in 1889 while serving with The Bombay Medical Service of The Indian Army in the Karen Ni Expedition. John Crimmin is buried in Wells Somerset. Other sources state the medal is held by The Army Medical Services Museum.

Trades/Careers in the 21st century


RAMC Officer Careers:
  • Doctor (Medical Officer)
    Physician
    A physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...

  • Pharmacist
    Pharmacist
    Pharmacists are health professionals who practice the science of pharmacy. In their traditional role, pharmacists typically take a request for medicines from a prescribing health care provider in the form of a medical prescription, evaluate the appropriateness of the prescription, dispense the...

  • Physiotherapist
  • Environmental Health Officer
    Environmental health officer
    Environmental health officers are usually employed by local government or state health authorities to advise on and enforce public health standards. However, many are employed in the private sector and in the military....

  • Medical Support Officer
    Medical Support Officer
    The term Medical Support Officer is the name given to Commissioned Officers within the British Army 's Royal Army Medical Corps who are principally responsible for the leadership, command, control and management of the RAMC.-General background:...

  • Technical
    Technology
    Technology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...

     Officer - Biomedical Scientist
    Biomedical scientist
    A biomedical scientist , is a scientist educated in the field of biological science, especially in the context of medicine...

    /Radiographer/Clinical Physiologist/Operating Department Practitioner
    Practitioner
    A practitioner is someone who engages in an occupation, profession, religion, or way of life.A medical practitioner or registered medical practitioner refers to occupations such as* Physician* General practitioner, a primary care physician...



RAMC Soldier Trades:
  • Clinical Physiologist
  • Combat Medical Technician
    Combat Medical Technician
    The Combat Medical Technician is a soldier with a specialist military trade within the Royal Army Medical Corps of the British Army and the Royal Air Force.-Role:The fully trained Combat Medical Technician is capable of:...

  • Operating Department Practitioner
  • Pharmacy Technician
    Pharmacy technician
    Pharmacy technician is a job title for a pharmacy staff member "who works under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist, and performs many pharmacy-related functions." In most cases, job duties include providing medication and other health care products to patients, as well as working with...

  • Environmental Health
    Environmental health
    Environmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...

     Technician
    Technician
    A technician is generally someone in a technological field who has a relatively practical understanding of the general theoretical principles of that field, e.g., as compared to an engineer in that field. They are generally much more versed in technique compared to the average layman, or even the...

  • Biomedical Scientist
    Biomedical scientist
    A biomedical scientist , is a scientist educated in the field of biological science, especially in the context of medicine...

  • Radiographer

Military abbreviations applicable to the Medical Corps


Within the military, Medical officers could occupy a number of roles that were dependent on experience, rank and location. Within military documentation numerous abbreviations were used to identify these roles of which the following are some of the most common:
  • ADMS = Assistant Director Medical Services
  • DADMS = Deputy Assistant Director of Medical Services
  • DDGMS = Deputy Director General Medical Services
  • DDMS = Deputy Director Medical Services
  • DG = Director General (Medical Services)
  • DGAMS = Director General Army Medical Services (at War Office, London)
  • DGMS = Director General Medical Services
  • DMS = Director Medical Services
  • EMO = Embarkation Medical Officer
  • GDMO = General Duties Medical Officer (a junior army doctor attached to a field unit before commencing higher specialist training)
  • MCD = Military Clinical Director (a senior army Consultant)
  • MSO = Medical Support Officer (a non-clinical military officer who hold command and staff positions)
  • MO = Medical Officer
  • OMO = Orderly Medical Officer
  • PMO = Principal Medical Officer
  • RMO = Regimental Medical Officer (normally an army General Practitioner
    General practitioner
    A general practitioner or GP is a medical practitioner who provides primary care and specializes in family medicine. A general practitioner treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes...

     with additional training in Pre-Hospital Emergency Care and Occupational Medicine)
  • SMO = Senior Medical Officer (normally a senior army General Practitioner)

See also


  • Structure of the British Army: The services
  • Combat medic
    Combat medic
    Combat medics are trained military personnel who are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injury...


:Category:Royal Army Medical Corps officers

External links