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The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel policies and supporting its people. [1] The Adjutant-General usually held the rank of general or lieutenant general. Despite his administrative role, the Adjutant-General, like most officers above the rank of major general, was invariably drawn from one of the combat arms, not from the support corps.
In origin the Adjutant-General was chief staff officer to the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. [2] The post of Adjutant-General is first recorded in 1673 and it was established on a permanent basis in the English Army from 1680. [2] For a time there were two Adjutants-General, one 'for the Foot' and one 'for the Horse' until the two were consolidated into a single appointment 'of the Forces' in 1701. Until the passing of the respective Acts of Union there were Scottish and Irish Adjutants-General; on occasions a separate Adjutant-General would be appointed for deployments overseas; and the Board of Ordnance had an independent Adjutant-General and Deputy for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers (respectively) until they were integrated into the British Army in the 1850s. [2]
In the 18th century the Adjutant-General was tasked with issuing orders to the Army, receiving monthly returns from the Regiments, regulation of officers' appointments and leave of absence, and oversight of military reviews, exercises, manoeuvres and matters of discipline. [2] By the early 1800s the Adjutant-General had responsibility for 'all subjects connected with the Discipline, Equipment and Efficiency of the Army'; the AG also took on general responsibility for recruitment at this time. [3] A century later the AG is described as 'a general officer and at the head of his department of the War Office, which is charged with all duties relative to personnel'. [4]
In the 20th century the Adjutant-General was the Second Military Member of the Army Council and its successor the Army Board. [5] Headquarters Adjutant-General was latterly based at the former RAF Upavon, now known as Trenchard Lines, Upavon, Wiltshire. On 1 April 2008 it amalgamated with HQ Land Command to form HQ Land Forces under 'Project Hyperion'. [6]
In December 2009 it was announced that the responsibilities of the Commander Regional Forces (i.e. responsibility for support) would be subsumed within those of the Adjutant-General to the Forces who henceforth would take responsibility for both personnel and support. [1] In 2015 the post was re-designated Commander Personnel and Support Command (renamed Commander Home Command the following year). [7] In evidence to the House of Commons Defence Committee, General Sir Nick Carter, the then Chief of the General Staff explained:
The appointment of a Deputy Adjutant-General is first recorded in 1757, with Assistant Adjutants-General being appointed from 1806. [2]
Holders of the post include: [9]
For subsequent equivalent appointments see Commander Home Command.
Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley,, was an Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, West Africa and Egypt, followed by a central role in modernizing the British Army in promoting efficiency.
The Military Secretary is the British Army office with responsibility for appointments, promotion, postings and discipline of high ranking officers of the British Army. It is a senior British Army appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of major-general. The position of Deputy Military Secretary is held by an officer holding the rank of brigadier. The Military Secretary's counterpart in the Royal Navy is the Naval Secretary. The Royal Air Force equivalent is the Air Secretary.
Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood,, DL was a British Army officer. After an early career in the Royal Navy, Wood joined the British Army in 1855. He served in several major conflicts including the Indian Mutiny where, as a lieutenant, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that is awarded to British and Imperial forces, for rescuing a local merchant from a band of robbers who had taken their captive into the jungle, where they intended to hang him. Wood further served as a commander in several other conflicts, notably the Third Anglo-Ashanti War, the Anglo-Zulu War, the First Boer War and the Mahdist War. His service in Egypt led to his appointment as Sirdar where he reorganised the Egyptian Army. He returned to Britain to serve as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Aldershot Command from 1889, as Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1893 and as Adjutant General from 1897. His last appointment was as commander of 2nd Army Corps from 1901 to 1904.
Major-General Sir Henry Hugh Clifford, was a British Army officer and a 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.
Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not to be confused with Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the counterpart to the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, was title of the commander of the British forces in Ireland before 1922. Until the Act of Union in 1800, the position involved command of the distinct Irish Army of the Kingdom of Ireland.
Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Thomas Henry Hutton, was a British military commander, who pioneered the use of mounted infantry in the British Army and later commanded the Canadian Militia and the Australian Army.
Field Marshal Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen,, was a British Army officer. He served in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War in 1873 and then in the expedition of Sir Charles Warren to Bechuanaland in the mid-1880s. He took a prominent role as General Officer Commanding the 1st Division in the Second Boer War. He suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Magersfontein, during which he failed to carry out adequate reconnaissance and accordingly his artillery bombarded the wrong place leading to the Highland Brigade taking heavy casualties. He was later captured by the Boers at Tweebosch. After the war, he became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in South Africa in 1908, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Natal in 1910 and then Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Malta in 1915.
General Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey,, known as Sir Richard Airey between 1855 and 1876, was a senior British Army officer of the 19th century.
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The Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) was a department of the British War Office.
Home Command, previously Personnel and Support Command, is a personnel support and UK operations command of the British Army. The post of Commander PSC previously replaced that of Adjutant-General to the Forces, and then had British Isles responsibilities, including Support Command and civil contingencies tasks, added to it.
General Sir Beauchamp Duff, was a Scottish officer with a distinguished career in the British Indian Army. He served as Commander-in-Chief of India during the First World War. His role in the disastrous expedition to Mesopotamia was criticised, helping to end a long career.
The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply refer to "Chief of Materiel (Land)".
General Sir Neville Gerald Lyttelton, was a British Army officer from the Lyttelton family who served against the Fenian Raids, and in the Anglo-Egyptian War, the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War. He was Chief of the General Staff at the time of the Haldane Reforms and then became Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.
Lieutenant General Sir Mark Francis Noel Mans, is a senior British Army officer, who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces of the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2012.
General Sir Richard Chambré Hayes Taylor was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second Anglo-Burmese War, the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. Joining the General Staff in 1860, he was the British Army's Inspector General of Recruiting, then Deputy Adjutant-General to the Forces, briefly Adjutant-General, and finally for three years Governor of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was also Colonel of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and the East Surrey Regiment.
Lieutenant-General Sir George Benjamin Wolseley was an Anglo-Irish officer in the Indian Army.