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GR024 - Edition 2,000

  Royal Ordinance

The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a former corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment until 1965, when it took over most other supply functions, as well as the provision of staff clerks, from the Royal Army Service Corps.
Although a Corps of Armourer-Sergeants had been raised in 1858, the real history of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps began in 1875, when the Control Department was disbanded and its members (all commissioned officers) were divided between two new departments: the Commissariat and Transport Department (which later became the Royal Army Service Corps) and the Ordnance Store Department. In 1877 the Ordnance Store Branch, consisting only of other ranks, was formed to support the Ordnance Store Department (previously other ranks in ordnance trades had belonged to the Army Service Corps and its predecessors). In 1881, this latter branch was replaced by the Ordnance Store Corps, still officered by the Ordnance Store Department. In 1896 these two were superseded by the Army Ordnance Department (AOD) and the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC). In 1918 the two amalgamated as the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, receiving the "Royal" prefix for their service during World War I, and for the first time officers and soldiers served in the same organisation.
On the 5th April 1993, the RAOC was one of the corps that amalgamated to form the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC).
The RAOC was organised into companies. Although they were not formally organised into a battalion, the RAOC units of a division were collected under a headquarters and a commander known as the Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (DADOS). Officers with the designations of Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (ADOS) and Deputy Director of Ordnance Services (DDOS) served at corps level and above. The Director of Ordnance Services (DOS), a Major-General, was the head of ordnance at the War Office in London. After World War II, RAOC companies were formally collected into battalions.
Until 1920 the AOC and later RAOC, in common only with the Royal Engineers, maintained a rank of Second Corporal.
The RAOC's motto was Sua tela tonanti (literally "His Missiles Thundering", but commonly translated as "To the Warrior his Arms").

Dear Taff / Michael,
With great interest I see we now have a Logo of as you state Royal Ordnance Corps, I think this is wrong as this Badge did not come into use till 1951 and by then the Corps was known as the ROYAL ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS.
I joined the R.A.O.C. in 1950 and served for over 22 years, the badge then was more a triangular shape.
The canon balls did not fit the canons even then, That was one of the jokes in the corps as we sometimes did make mistakes.
Please do not worry as I will still order GR024 soon.
I hope this has helped in some small way as it has rekindled my memories of the good old days when I was young and fit.
Please keep up the good work and I will keep my membership up for as long as I can, my only critacisten is that I have too many of some of the models and when displayed you don't see the Logos to the full, never mind I can't have it all ways.
Thanks again for the good work.
Alan Chart (156506)

Click this link for a letter received on the Tibbett & Britten. Letter about Royal Ordnance Corps