THE
HONOURABLE
&
ANCIENT
APPOINTMENT
OF
CONDUCTOR
(First
published
in
‘Crown
Imperial’
and
at:
www.
pwstubbs.force9.co.uk/crownimp/articles/conduct.htm)
The appointment of a senior Warrant Officer (WO) Class 1 as a Conductor RLC is an old tradition and is unique to the Corps. He is the most senior WO in the Army and the history of the appointment can be traced back over 600 years.
The earliest record of the office of Conductor is contained in the Statute of Westminster of 1327 whereby King Edward III decreed that the wages of Conductors (conveyors) of soldiers from the Shires to the place of Assembly, would no longer be a charge upon the Shire.
During
the
siege
of
In
1683,
Charles
II
issued
“Instructions
for
our
Principal
Engineer”
which
included
the
provision
of
Conductors
to
see
to
the
“conducting
of
trenches
and
mines”.
Further
varieties
of
Conductor
were
recorded
for
a
Train
established
for
service
in
When
the
Land
Transport
Corps
was
re-organised
in
1856,
Conductors
were
included
in
the
establishment.
When
expeditions
were
formed
for
Conductors became a recognised military rank, when in 1879 a Royal Warrant decreed that Conductors of Supplies be appointed to the Commissariat and Transport Corps and Conductors of Stores be appointed to the Ordnance Store Corps (OSC). Their position in the Army was to be as junior officers, “inferior to that of all commissioned officers and superior to that of all non commissioned officers”. From 1881 to 1888 both Corps also had 1St Class Staff Sergeants who were next junior to Conductor.
In 1889 The Commissariat and Transport Corps was re-titled the Army Service Corps and Conductor of Supplies and of Stores were re-titled Conductors ASC and Conductors OSC respectively. Henceforth they were to be Regimental WO’s senior to all other WO’s and NCO’s. At the same time the title of 1st Class Staff Sergeant was changed to Staff Sergeant Major(SSM) for both the ASC and OSC. In 1892 the title Conductor ASC was abolished and replaced by SSM 1st Class ASC, leaving only the Conductor OSC.
In 1896 the OSC was re-titled Army Ordnance Corps(AOC), the title of SSM OSC was altered to Sub-Conductor AOC. Thus the appointment of Conductor was originally used by both the ASC and OSC and was the senior Warrant rank in the Army.
In 1965 when the RASC was dis-banded, Staff Clerks RASC were absorbed into the RAOC under the MacLeod re-organisation, the RAOC title of Sub-Conductor was replaced by S SM. Of course the rank of SSM 1st Class was discontinued.
With the amalgamation of the RAOC in 1993, the appointment of Conductor was carried on to the new Corps, “The Royal Logistic Corps”. With the integration of female soldiers into the one-time all male Corps, another old established tradition will disappear, as female Conductors RLC will, or already have been appointed.
Rank
Badges.
There appears to have been some confusion on badges for wear by Conductors and Sub-Conductors, however, I have a record of the following:
a.
b.
c.
I have photographic evidence that the Crown in Wreath badge and Gorget Patch was still being worn in 1913 I have been unable to discover when the Royal Arms within a Laurel Wreath was introduced, I think it would be after November 1918 when the AOC was accorded Royal status. Prior to 1896, Conductors were identified by various dress embellishments.
Click
here
to
go
to
a
critical
response
to
this
article,
first
published
in
the
Crown
Imperial.