Royal Corps of Army Music

Last updated

The Royal Corps of Army Music
CAMUS cap badge.png
Cap badge of the Royal Corps of Army Music
Active1994–Present
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Size753 regular musicians
Headquarters Gibraltar Barracks, Minley
Motto(s)Unity Through Excellence
MarchThe Music Makers (quick)
Esprit De Corps (slow)
Commanders
Colonel in Chief The Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO CD
Colonel CommandantMajor General David Eastman MBE

The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music.

Contents

History

The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defence review known as Options for Change in 1991 and followed a 1993 announcement by the Chief of the General Staff that the number of regular army bands was to be reduced from 69 to 30. The period saw the number of personnel fall from 2,000 to 1,100, with Lieutenant Colonel Roger Tomlinson of the Royal Military School of Music describing it as "a gloomy time for those of us in the military music business". [1] The Queen signed a warrant on 13 August 1994 to allow the formation of the Corps of Army Music. All regular army officers who were Directors of Music in the various corps and regiments and all regular army musicians would transfer to the Corps of Army Music - now the newest and most junior corps in the army - on 1 September 1994. [2]

The home of the corps was established at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, a site that already encompassed the Royal Military School of Music. The school was founded by the Duke of Cambridge, soon after his appointment as Commander in Chief in 1857, when the first class of military musicians was formed, a 'Class of Music'. The establishment was retitled as The Royal Military School of Music by Queen Victoria in 1887. [2]

The Future Army Structure review of 2004 saw the bands of the Regular Army reduced from 30 to 23. [3] In 2019 the number of Regular Army bands was further reduced to 14. [4]

2019 restructuring

In 2019, the Corps of Army Music was restructured with a number of bands being co-located and re-named. [5] In a process of 'Military Music Optimization', the regular Army band laydown was adjusted to enable several smaller bands to train and perform as larger bands for more significant Army events: 'Co-locating 11 of the smaller bands in three major garrisons and Sandhurst has increased the flexibility of CAMUS to perform at a huge breadth of events without compromising any of the traditional bands that have been performing for many years'. [6]

Renaming and move

During a visit to Kneller Hall in December 2020, the Earl and Countess of Wessex announced the Corps of Army Music would be renamed the Royal Corps of Army Music from January 2021. [7] This change was formally marked with a new title presentation in January 2021 with the Countess in attendance. [8]

In September 2021, the Corps Headquarters moved to Gibraltar Barracks in Minley, whilst the Royal Military School of Music moved to HMS Nelson alongside the Royal Marines School of Music. [9]

Bands of the Corps

The 14 constituent bands of the Corps are as follows: [10]

In addition to providing personnel for all the above bands, the Corps of Army Music provides 'technical support' for the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas, based at Shorncliffe Camp, Folkestone, which is separately constituted. [14] Other bands may be formed from time to time by drawing together personnel from different ensembles; for example the British Army Brass Band (founded by two Army Bandmasters in 2007) is 'made up of players across all bands of the Army, Regulars and Reservists'. [15]

Army Reserve bands

All Army Reserve bands are not part of RCAM, reporting to their respective regimental/battalion headquarters, and provide around 30% of all the Army's musical output. The current Army Reserve bands, as of April 2021, are as follows: [16]

Army Volunteer bands

All Army Volunteer Bands serve in a voluntary capacity and have no army reserves commitment but still perform for various mess functions, church parades and civic functions, supporting their regiment and the wider regimental family. The uniform worn is that of the regular regiment which is headquartered in the Tower of London. [18]

Order of precedence

Preceded by Order of Precedence Succeeded by

Footnotes

  1. "TRADITION : Stop the Music! British Budget Cuts Out Many Military Bands". Los Angeles Times. 1 May 1993.
  2. 1 2 "Corps of Army Music: history" . Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  3. "Army's axe to fall on the marching bands". The Telegraph. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  4. "British Army Music". MoD. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  5. "Forthcoming Events". Friends of The Museum of Army Music. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. "Bands of the Corps". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  7. "A new Royal title for The Corps of Army Music". Ministry of Defence. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  8. "New Title Presentation | Royal Corps of Army Music | British Army". Youtube.
  9. British Army, Soldier Magazine: August 2021, p. 11
  10. "British Army Music". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. "Watch Kneller Hall – A Final Farewell Right Here". Forces Network. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  12. Harry Adams (9 September 2021). "Army Engineers To Return To Royal Duties After Nearly 30 Years". Forces Network. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  13. RRF Regimental Handbook, pp. 14–15.
  14. Corps of Army Music facebook page
  15. "British Army Brass Band makes Major return". 4barsrest. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  16. "FOI(A) regarding Army Reserve Bands" (PDF). What do they know?. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  17. "71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  18. 1 2 "The Regimental Handbook" (PDF). The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (5th, 6th, 7th, 20th). 2019. p. 15. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  19. "Home". The Band & Corp of Drums of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Armoured Corps</span> Armour arm of the British Army

The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Army's armoured regiments, both the Royal Tank Regiment and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments. Today it comprises twelve regiments, eight regular and four reserve. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment provide an armoured regiment, they are not part of the RAC.

Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Yeomanry</span> British Army reserve regiment

The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Equipped with Supacat Jackal variants, their role is to conduct mounted and dismounted formation reconnaissance. The Regimental Headquarters is located in Leicester, with squadrons in Fulham, Nottingham, Dudley, Croydon, Telford, and Leicester. The regiment is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is only reserve cavalry regiment to resubordinate into regular brigade as part of the Future Soldier Programme, which in turn arose from the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy published in March 2021.

The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming is a British Army training establishment that provides instruction on Scottish pipe band music to military pipers and drummers.

The British Army is listed according to an order of precedence for the purposes of parading. This is the order in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being highest. Under ordinary circumstances, the Household Cavalry parades at the extreme right of the line. Militia and Army Reserve units take precedence after Regular units with the exception of The Honourable Artillery Company and The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniforms of the British Army</span> Military dress

The uniforms of the British Army currently exist in twelve categories ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress. Uniforms in the British Army are specific to the regiment to which a soldier belongs. Full dress presents the most differentiation between units, and there are fewer regimental distinctions between ceremonial dress, service dress, barrack dress and combat dress, though a level of regimental distinction runs throughout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Inactive British Army formation

The 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army with a long history including service during both the First and the Second World Wars. It was based at Tidworth Camp. Previously, it has been designated 1st (Guards) Brigade, 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Mechanised Brigade, and under the initial Army 2020 reforms assumed the title of 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade. Under the Future Soldier programme, the brigade merged with the 1st Artillery Brigade to form the 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Regiment of Scotland</span> Infantry regiment of the British Army

The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only current Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an individual regiment. However, three regular battalions maintain their former regimental pipes and drums to carry on the traditions of their antecedent regiments.

In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment.

In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regimental marches of the British Army</span>

The following is a list of the notable Regimental Marches for military regiments of the British Army. In addition, all regiments have additional pieces for slow marches, marches for mounted parades and pipe marches.

During the First World War the British Armed Forces was enlarged to many times its peacetime strength. This was done mainly by adding new battalions to existing regiments. Although sometimes identified by shoulder titles, generally the new battalions could not be identified from appearance. Consequently, the units in this list have been assembled considering only those as having a uniquely different cap badge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Artillery Band</span> Military unit

The Royal Artillery Band was the first official, and permanent British military band originating in 1557, but granted official status in 1762. Consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, it represented both the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and the state. The Royal Artillery Orchestra [disbanded on 9 February 2014] was Britain's first permanent professional orchestra. All other bands in the British Army received official, permanent status from 1763 onward. Now that the band's overall history of over four and a half centuries has come to an end, it is now claimed that the Band of the Grenadier Guards are the oldest band, with their overall history of over three hundred and thirty years. It is however, important to consider that until 1762, all military bands were formed as and when required, and then immediately disbanded when not, and that they consisted only of hired, civilian musicians; becoming integrated professional soldiers in 1762 and from 1763.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Structure of the British Army</span> Organisation of the British Army

The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military bands of the United Kingdom</span> Musical ensembles maintained by the British uniformed services

The military bands of the United Kingdom are musical units that serve for protocol and ceremonial duties as part of the British Armed Forces. They have been the basis and inspiration for many military bands in the former British Empire and the larger Commonwealth of Nations as well as musical organizations in other countries. Military musical units with British influence include United States military bands, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Music Corps and the Military Band of Athens. British military bands are controlled by the military music departments of the three services that compose the armed forces. These include the Royal Marines Band Service, the Royal Corps of Army Music, and the Royal Air Force Music Services. British style brass bands and carnival bands were then and are currently inspired by the British Armed Forces and its brass bands, especially of the Army's regular and reserve formations, as they follow a similar format as it relates to brass and percussion instruments.

Future Soldier is a reform of the British Army resulting from the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy published in March 2021. The aim of the reform is to create a more lethal, agile and expeditionary force, able to fight and win wars and to operate in the grey-zone between peace and war. Future Soldier was published on 25 November 2021 and deals with the organizational changes of the British Army, with changes to personnel and equipment were set out in the Defence in a Competitive Age paper published on 22 March 2021.

References