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.
Commissariat and Military Train 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. 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 was the responsibility of the
Military Store Department (formed following the abolition of the
Board of Ordnance in 1855).
Control Department 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 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, 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), 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. It was divided into Transport and Supply Branches. Before the
Second World War, RASC recruits were required to be at least 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 (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, the RCT and RAOC were merged to form the
Royal Logistic Corps, the modern descendant of the ASC. == Ranks ==