QVC Royal Staff Corps?

[William]

In reading about Central Asia during the 19th Century, and British Indian Army officer Colonel Charles Stoddart, Royal Staff Corps.

Does this mean Provost? Engineers? Army Service Corps? Something else? Anyone know what a QVC Royal Staff Corps cap badge might look like?

All the best and thanks for any help.

William

[Mike_2817]

The Royal Staff Corps was a corps of the British Army responsible for military engineering which was founded in c.?1800 and disbanded in c.?1837. At the time, the Royal Engineers and Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners were administered as part of the Board of Ordnance.

[William]

Originally Posted by Mike_2817

The Royal Staff Corps was a corps of the British Army responsible for military engineering which was founded in c.?1800 and disbanded in c.?1837. At the time, the Royal Engineers and Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners were administered as part of the Board of Ordnance.

Many thanks!

Any idea what the Royal Staff Corps badge looked like?

William

[Mike_2817]

Has anybody got a copy of Kipling & King Vol One to see if it has an entry?

[REME1942]

Badge and Description037.jpg

038.jpg

[Mike_2817]

Knew someone would have a copy

[William]

Originally Posted by REME1942

Badge and DescriptionAttachment 296909

Attachment 296910

Thanks for going to the trouble of searching this out - much appreciated.

Does anyone actually own one of these rare badges? Or have any pictures of the real thing?

All the best and thanks again.

William

[mike_vee]

An interesting article about the Royal Staff Corps from a June 1943 edition of "The Royal Engineers Journal". (sorry no photo of badge)

https://www.nzsappers.org.nz/wp-cont.../1943-June.pdf

.

[William]

Thoroughly absorbing and interesting article from the RE Journal; many thanks for sharing, Mike Vee.

It seems that, almost from the very day the Royal Staff Corps was subsumed into The Sappers in 1830, it was almost instantly forgotten and right up to modern times, few have heard of this once vital corps of clever officers or the admirable works they supervised and created. As Lt Col Garwood also says in the article, Sic transit gloria mundi. Indeed.

Quoting 'The Life of Wellington' the author talks of 'Uniting intelligence with labour'. Perhaps this might still be an apposite motto for the old RE?

An image of the Royal Staff Corps cap-badge will eventually come to light, I'm sure. In the meantime, as a former Sapper, this article is the most interesting and entertaining thing I've read in a very long time. Thanks again, Mike!

[mike_vee]

As a former "Gunner" I really liked this quote :

It was the R.A. who made the R.E. a brainy Corps, for by the end of the century 70 R.A. officers had transferred to the R.E.

.

[Toby Purcell]

Here are some impressions of their uniform during the Napoleonic era.

[William]

Thanks, Toby!

[Toby Purcell]

Originally Posted by William

Thanks, Toby!

Caveat: the Cavalry Staff Corps were an entirely different corps with a different purpose (more a mounted Provost staff) to the Royal Staff Corps (engineers).

[William]

Thanks, Toby.

Every day is a school day at the moment as I try to learn more about the cap badges of that era in India.

It’s not my intention to become an expert in this field, or even to collect the cap badges of the time. Just trying to write a few pages on some specific officers who served in India around the 19th century.

Thanks again and all the best.

William

Originally Posted by Toby Purcell

Caveat: the Cavalry Staff Corps were an entirely different corps with a different purpose (more a mounted Provost staff) to the Royal Staff Corps (engineers).

[Toby Purcell]

Originally Posted by William

Thanks, Toby.

Every day is a school day at the moment as I try to learn more about the cap badges of that era in India.

It’s not my intention to become an expert in this field, or even to collect the cap badges of the time. Just trying to write a few pages on some specific officers who served in India around the 19th century.

Thanks again and all the best.

William

I’m glad to help William. One fascinating aspect is that the Royal Staff Corps (the clever engineers) wore scarlet uniform from the outset thus looking similar to infantry until one got up close enough to see subtle differences. Conversely the Board of Ordnance engineer department wore blue with red facings to match their brethren in the artillery and ordnance store department. It wasn’t until confusion and casualties during the early part of the Napoleonic Wars that they switched to scarlet too.