General Service Corps
General Service Corps | |
---|---|
Active | 1942– |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Role | For specialists, not allocated to a regiment or corps. |
Beret | Dark blue |
Insignia | |
Tactical recognition flash |
The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army.
Role
The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List.[1] These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allocated to other regiments or corps.[2] In World War II, they were used for male operatives of the Special Operations Executive (female operatives joined the FANY).[3][4]
History
The General Service Corps itself was formed in February 1942.[5] From 2 July 1942, army recruits were enlisted in the corps for their first six weeks so that their subsequent posting could take account of their skills and the Army's needs.[6][7] A similar role, holding some recruits pending allocation to their units, continues today.[8][9][10][11] Bermuda Militia Infantry soldiers absorbed into the Bermuda Militia Artillery before demobilisation in 1946 wore the General Service Corps cap badge instead of the Royal Artillery cap badge.[12]
Insignia
From 1914, for the General List and later the General Service Corps, the cap badge has been the
Notable personnel
Notable members of the General List/General Service Corps include:
- Terence Atherton[16]
- Walter Freud[17]
- Peter Lake[18][19]
- T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)[20]
- Bob Maloubier[21]
- John Pendlebury[22]
- Tracy Philipps[23]
- Arthur Staggs[24]
Order of precedence
The corps is twenty-second in the British Army's order of precedence.[25]
References
- ^ "Combat Service Support". armedforces.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ^ Imperial War Museum. "Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ^ Foot, M R D (2006). SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944. Routledge.
- ^ Tillotson, M (2001). SOE and the Resistance as Told in the Times Obituaries. London: Continuum. p. xii.
- ^ "New General Service Corps Created", The Times, 21 February 1942
- ISBN 978-1-317-57304-3.
- ^ "Sorting Out Recruits: Work of General Service Corps", The Times, 17 July 1942
- ^ Vila, Maurice. "WW2 People's War". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ Pigott, A J K (1960). Manpower Problems: The Second World War 1939–1945. London: The War Office.
- ISBN 978-0719047411.
- ^ Heyman, C (2012). The British Army Guide 2012–2013. Pen and Sword Military. p. 144.
- ^ The Bermuda Regiment website: Brief History of the Bermuda Regiment
- ^ Imperial War Museum. "Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ISBN 978-0316926157.
- ^ Metcalfe, Nick (4 November 2016). "The Royal Reserve Regiments and The Royal Garrison Regiment". Nick Metcalfe: Author & Researcher. Nick Metcalfe. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ISBN 1-85065-592-8.
- ^ van den Vat, Dan (9 March 2004). "Walter Freud Obituary". THe Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ Lake, Peter (12 July 2009). "Daily Telegraph Obituary". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ Perrin, Nigel. "Peter Lake". Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "Major Thomas Edward LAWRENCE". The National Archives. The National Archives. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ^ Davidson, Phil (27 April 2015). "Bob Maloubier Obituary". The Independent. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ISBN 978-1901965063.
- ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 February, 1922" (PDF). The London Gazette. p. 1062. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ Staggs, Arthur (20 October 2013). "Arthur Staggs Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ The Queen's Regulations for the Army, Chapter 8, Ceremonial (PDF). Retrieved 9 November 2017.