Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps - History

History

The unit was founded by William McMurdo 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. It 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.

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