The Director of the Royal Artillery is the professional head of the Royal Regiment of Artillery the artillery arm of the British Army. [1] The title and the responsibility of the Director of the Royal Artillery have varied over time and at times the title has been abandoned. [lower-alpha 1]
A post of Director General existed for most of the first half of the 19th century.
A post of Director of Artillery existed over most of the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. The rank and duties of the Director varied over the decades according to how broadly the term "artillery" was defined by the War Office. [2]
In 1855 a Fortification Branch was established in the War Office. In 1877, an Armaments Division had been established under a Director of Artillery within the Commander-in-Chief's Military Department, but by 1879 there was an Inspector-General of Artillery in the Military Department, and the Armaments Department had become the Ordnance Department including, as one of its senior posts, the Director of Artillery and Stores. [2]
In 1887 Fortification Branch became a division of the Commander-in-Chief's Military Department, having within it both an Inspector-General of Fortifications (a lieutenant-general), and a Director of Artillery (a major-general). In 1895, in the reorganisation of that year, the Branch became an independent department within the War Office, and the post of Director of Artillery lapsed. [2]
In 1904 the Ordnance Department and the Fortifications and Works Department were brought together within the Master-General of the Ordnance's organisation, with Directors of Artillery and Fortifications and Works supporting the Master-General of the Ordnance. The post of Inspector-General of Fortifications was abolished. [2]
In June 1915 the Directorate of Artillery's responsibility for munitions supply, contracts and inspection, and for the Royal Ordnance Factories passed to the Ministry of Munitions, and that for munitions design, pattern and testing followed in March 1916. From October 1917, the Master-General of the Ordnance was an additional member of the Munitions Council. After the war the various functions which had been transferred to the Ministry of Munitions returned gradually. [2]
In October 1924, owing to the increasing range of duties of the Artillery Directorate it was found necessary to sub-divide the existing directorate into two, and a second post of Director of Artillery was created with direct responsibility to the Master-General of the Ordnance. [2]
On 1 October 1927, the distribution of duties between the Quartermaster-General to the Forces and the Master-General of the Ordnance was modified. Thereafter the Master-General of the Ordnance became responsible for all duties relating to military stores (other than building, railway and transport, medical and veterinary stores), while the Quartermaster-General took over from the Master-General of the Ordnance responsibility for all duties in connection with building works. The Directorate of Fortifications and Works became the Directorate of Works, and the second Directorate of Artillery became the Directorate of Mechanization. In October 1935 the Directorate of Works was again styled Directorate of Fortifications and Works. [2]
The post of Director of Artillery continued under the Master-General of the Ordnance until 1938, thence in the Directorate of Munitions Production until 1940 when that Directorate was absorbed by the Ministry of Supply, and the post of Director of Artillery again lapsed. [2]
In 1942 the post of the (by then) Director of Royal Artillery was revived within the War Office, in the department of the Assistant-Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He had responsibility for organisation and weapon policy, co-ordination of progress and development, weapons and controlled equipment at home and overseas, and ammunition at home and overseas. This continued as a general staff post into the post-war period, and thereafter in the unified Ministry of Defence after 1964. [2]
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The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). It was equivalent to the Admiralty, responsible for the Royal Navy (RN), and the Air Ministry, which oversaw the Royal Air Force (RAF). The name 'War Office' is also given to the former home of the department, located at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. The landmark building was sold on 1 March 2016 by HM Government for more than £350 million, on a 250 year lease for conversion into a luxury hotel and residential apartments.
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence of the realm and its overseas possessions, and as the supplier of munitions and equipment to both the Army and the Navy'. The Board also maintained and directed the Artillery and Engineer corps, which it founded in the 18th century. By the 19th century, the Board of Ordnance was second in size only to HM Treasury among government departments. The Board lasted until 1855, at which point it was disbanded.
The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was originally known as the Woolwich Warren, having begun on land previously used as a domestic warren in the grounds of a mid-16th century Tudor house, Tower Place. Much of the initial history of the site is linked with that of the Office of Ordnance, which purchased the Warren in the late 17th century in order to expand an earlier base at Gun Wharf in Woolwich Dockyard.
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equipment, ammunition and clothing and certain minor functions such as laundry, mobile baths and photography. The RAOC was also responsible for a major element of the repair of Army equipment. In 1942 the latter function was transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and the vehicle storage and spares responsibilities of the Royal Army Service Corps were in turn passed over to the RAOC. The RAOC retained repair responsibilities for ammunition, clothing and certain ranges of general stores. In 1964 the McLeod Reorganisation of Army Logistics resulted in the RAOC absorbing petroleum, rations and accommodation stores functions from the Royal Army Service Corps as well as the Army Fire Service, barrack services, sponsorship of NAAFI (EFI) and the management of staff clerks from the same Corps. On 5 April 1993, the RAOC was one of the corps that amalgamated to form The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC).
The Esher Report of 1904, issued by a committee chaired by Lord Esher, recommended radical reform of the British Army, such as the creation of an Army Council, General Staff and Chief of the General Staff and the abolition of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.
General Sir John Houghton Gibbon, was a British Army officer who served as Master-General of the Ordnance from 1974 until his retirement in 1977.
The King's Birthday Honours 1939 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King. They were announced on 6 June 1939 for the United Kingdom and Colonies.
The King's Birthday Honours 1923 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King. They were published on 1 and 29 June 1923.
The King's Birthday Honours 1942 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 5 June 1942 for the United Kingdom and Canada.
The King's Birthday Honours 1933 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire.
The King's Birthday Honours 1930 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King. They were published on 30 May 1930.
The King's Birthday Honours 1943 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the British Empire. They were published on 2 June 1943 for the United Kingdom and Canada.
The 1927 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were published in The London Gazette on 3 June 1927.
The 1928 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were published in The London Gazette on 4 June 1928.
The Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (RNZAOC) concerned itself with the provisioning of troops with the means to fight; specifically uniforms, weapons and equipment. Ordnance functions go back hundreds of years; the first Ordnance Officer in the British military appeared in the year 1299. Designated "Keeper of the King's Wardrobe", his duties included the care and accounting of heavy equipment such as battering rams and catapults.
The Defence Stores Department was a department of the New Zealand Defence Department responsible for the purchase, receipt, issue and repair of stores, initially for the Armed Constabulary and then the Permanent and Volunteer Forces of New Zealand from 1862 to 1917.
This is a list of MBEs awarded in the 1919 New Years Honours.
This is a list of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) awards in the 1918 Birthday Honours.
The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in The London Gazette and The Times in January 1919.
This is a list of Member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) awards in the 1918 Birthday Honours.
Attribution
This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v2.0: National Archives (12 August 2009), War Office: Director of Artillery, later Director of Royal Artillery: Reports and Appreciations , retrieved 12 August 2014