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[[Image: Royal Engineers Cypher.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Royal Engineer Cypher as used by the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps]]
The '''Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps''' is a part of the [[Royal Engineers]] in the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Army Reserve]]. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the [[British Army]] at a senior level. Following its work creating the [[NHS Nightingale Hospitals]] the Corps was described as 'probably the greatest military unit you've never heard of'.<ref name='DT'>{{cite news |last1=Nicholls |first1=Dominic |title=Revealed: the top bosses in secret Forces unit that built Nightingale hospitals |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/17/revealed-top-bosses-secret-forces-unit-built-nightingale-hospitals/ |accessdate=1 June 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=17 May 2020}}</ref>
== History ==
[[Image:Sir William McMurdo.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Sir William McMurdo, Honorary Colonel of the Corps from 1865&ndash;1894]]
In 1859 there was considerable public interest in the creation of a [[Volunteer Force]] to assist the British Army, and the creation of volunteer corps were authorised in [[War Office]] circulars that year.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=Hugh |title=The Volunteer Force: A Social and Political History 1859-1908 |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0367233204 |chapter=Chapter 1:The Formation of the Force}}</ref> In response, a "Volunteer Engineering Staff Corps for the Arrangement of Transport of Troops and Stores, the Construction of defensive works and the destruction of other works in case of Invasion" was proposed in 1860 by [[Charles Manby]], then honorary secretary of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] (ICE).<ref name=brigade>{{cite web |title=77th Brigade |url=https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/formations-divisions-brigades/6th-united-kingdom-division/77-brigade/groups/ |website=British Army |publisher=Ministry of Defence |accessdate=2 May 2020}}</ref> He submitted his scheme to the War Office through the [[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury|Marquess of Salisbury]], as [[Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex]]. The then [[Secretary of State for War]], [[Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea|Sidney Herbert]], replied to say that he believed such a Corps would be a great advantage to the public service and that he would recommend Her Majesty to accept its formation as soon as the principal features had been agreed.<ref>Townsend pp 3-4</ref>
Negotiations with the numerous [[History of rail transport in Great Britain 1830–1922|independent railway companies]] took some time but in September 1864 the Inspector General of Volunteers, Colonel [[William McMurdo]] conveyed the approval of the Secretary of State, now [[George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon|Earl de Grey and Ripon]], and went on to set out the objects and duties the Secretary of State would require of the Corps.  On 7 November Manby submitted the names of 12 [[civil engineers]] and 9 general managers who would form the nucleus of the Corps. Once [[Queen Victoria|the Queen]] had accepted the services of the Corps on 4 January 1865 the first 21 officers were [[commissioned officer|commissioned]] on 21 January 1865.<ref name="LG">{{London Gazette |issue=22935 |date=3 February 1865|page=504 }}</ref>
The founding civil engineers comprised [[George Parker Bidder]], [[John Hawkshaw]], [[John Robinson McClean]], [[Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet|John Fowler]], [[Charles Hutton Gregory]], [[Joseph Cubitt]], [[Thomas Elliot Harrison]], [[G. W. Hemans|George Willoughby Hemans]], [[George Robert Stephenson]], [[Charles Blacker Vignoles]], [[William Henry Barlow]], [[Charles Manby]] and the general managers included [[James Joseph Allport]].<ref name="LG"/>
Bidder, a former [[List of presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers|ICE President]], was designated Lieutenant Colonel Commandant, a post he would hold until 1878, Manby was Acting Adjutant (until 1884) and a week later McMurdo became Honorary Colonel (until 1894) - he presided over the initial Council meeting in April.<ref>Townsend pp 4-6, 106</ref><ref>Sinclair and Hindle pp 3-5</ref>
The objective of the '''Engineer and Railway Staff Corps''' was to ensure "the combined action among all the railways when the country is in danger" and tasked particularly with "the preparation, during peace, of schemes for drawing troops from given distant parts and for concentrating them within given areas in the shortest possible time".<ref name="dnb">Lloyd, E M, 'McMurdo, Sir William Montagu Scott (1819-1894)', rev Roger T Stearn, ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17698] accessed 25 February 2007</ref><ref name="mod">{{cite web|title=Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps: A Network of Advisers to Defence|url=http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/network_of_advisors.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Defence|accessdate=24 October 2010}}</ref>  The original establishment of 21 officers was expanded to 110 in 1908 before being subsequently reduced to a strength of 60 officers.<ref name="mod"/>  The unit was always a volunteer unit, with members retaining their civilian jobs.<ref name="mod"/>  Until its reorganisation in 1943 its members were entitled to wear a uniform similar to that of the [[Royal Engineers]].<ref name="mod"/>
In recent times recruitment has diversified from road, rail and port specialists to cover almost all aspects of engineering.<ref name="mod"/>  It also began to advise the [[Royal Corps of Transport]] (in addition to the [[Royal Engineers]]) and was renamed the '''Engineer and Transport Staff Corps''' in 1984 to reflect this.  Following the creation of the [[Royal Logistic Corps]] in 1993 the unit was renamed again to the '''Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps'''.<ref name="mod"/>  Until 2015 the unit was organisationally part of HQ Engineer in Chief (Army), constituted under the [[Reserve Forces Act 1996]] and administered by the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]].<ref name="mod"/>
In 2015 the Staff Corps marked its 150th anniversary<ref> Sinclair and Hindle. Foreword message from HM The Queen </ref> and celebratory events included a dinner at [[One Great George Street]] on 26 November at which the guest of honour was [[Anne, Princess Royal|HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Howard |first1=Victoria |title=Royal Diary –The latest Royal engagements: 23-28 November |url=https://thecrownchronicles.co.uk/royal-diary/latest-royal-engagements-23-28th-november/ |accessdate=22 June 2020}}</ref>
== Current work ==
In 2015 the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps, together with the General Service Corps, were incorporated into the [[77th Brigade (United Kingdom)|77th Brigade]].<ref name=brigade/> Both the Staff Corps and the General Service Corps have been expanded and now provide not only a body of board level leaders in engineering, logistics, data & digital, finance & commerce but also a cohort of senior managers in communications, advertising, marketing and academia able to advise the army.<ref name=brigade/> “The beauty of them is they think like a military person but have industrial experience; it’s a perfect blend,” said Brigadier [[Phil Prosser]], commander of [[101st Logistic Brigade|101 Logistic Brigade]] in 2020, “they're always challenging us. They’re the backstagers. They’ll always be the unsung heroes but will never be catapulted into the limelight”.<ref name='DT'/>
Members of the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps hold their commissions as officers in the Royal Engineers (Volunteers) and are grouped into six directorates: engineering, infrastructure and systems; logistics; cyber and communications; corporate support and healthcare.<ref name="mod"/>
The establishment strength of 120 officers, increased from 60 in 2021, consists of 25 [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonels]], 50 [[Lieutenant Colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant Colonels]] and 45 [[Major (United Kingdom)|Majors]].<ref name="mod"/>  Membership is by invitation only and promotion generally follows seniority with some discretion to allow for individual officers' statuses in their profession and their level of participation in the corps.<ref name="mod"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Staff Corps Membership|url=http://www.army.mod.uk/royalengineers/units/28737.aspx|publisher=Ministry of Defence|accessdate=1 January 2013}}</ref>   Officers who cease to be engaged in a relevant profession must offer to resign their commissions but may retain their appointment on the Commanding Officer's recommendation and with the approval of the [[Army Board]] of the [[Defence Council of the United Kingdom|Defence Council]].<ref name="mod"/>  All officers of the corps are briefed to expect calls at any time to provide impartial and confidential advice to the British Armed Forces.<ref name="mod"/>
Officers are regularly invited to relevant army conferences and equipment demonstrations to keep them up to date with current capabilities.<ref name="mod"/> However, members are rarely seen in uniform and enjoy an independence not seen elsewhere in the military. “If I have to sit in front of a three-star General and explain that he or she may be wrong, I need to be able to do that without wearing a [[Shoulder mark|rank slide]]” said the Commanding Officer, Gary Sullivan, in 2020.<ref name='DT'/>
The corps is administered by a Board of senior corps officers, chaired by the Commander (a Colonel as Commanding Officer) and assisted by the Chief of Staff (formerly Acting Adjutant), normally a Lieutenant Colonel who also acts as the Board’s secretary.<ref name="mod"/>  The Chief of Staff is always a retired army officer currently working in a relevant profession who acts as a point of contact for advice.<ref name="mod"/>  The current officers are mainly [[chief executive]]s, [[Technical director|director]]s and senior [[Management|managers]] of 60 different [[engineering]], [[transport]] and [[logistics]] organisations, which together employ 100,000 people.<ref name="mod"/>
Recent Commanders include:
Colonel Keith White CBE 2008-2017
Colonel Richard Hunt CBE 2017-2019
Colonel Gary Sullivan OBE 2019-2023
Since July 2024 the Corps’ current Honorary Colonel is Lt General David Eastman MBE, Deputy Chief of the General Staff who succeeded Lt General (rtd) [[Ivan Jones (British Army officer)|Ivan Jones]] CB, Commander Field Army 2019-2021
== Operations ==
The corps has advised British forces in the following operations, amongst others:
* [[Gulf War]]
* [[Bosnian War]]
* [[Kosovo War]]
* [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan War]]
* [[Iraq War]]
In addition to peacetime roles in infrastructure, training, planning and logistics.<ref name="mod"/>
In April 2020 the Corps was singled out at a [[Downing Street]] briefing by the [[Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)|chief of the defence staff]], [[Nick Carter (British Army officer)|General Sir Nick Carter]], who said of the military response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom]] “in all my more than 40 years of service this is the single greatest logistic challenge that I’ve come across. It has been a whole-force effort including not just regular military from all the three services but reservists as well; some 15% of the force has been reservists. It has involved defence civilians, defence contractors, scientists from [[Porton Down]] and something called the Engineer and Logistics Staff Corps, where we bring in people from industry who work inside the military in times of crisis and provide expert support for how we might link into the civilian community to bring forward skills and indeed industrial support.”<ref>{{cite web |title=UK Chief of Defence Staff participates in daily coronavirus briefing |url=https://www.army-technology.com/news/uk-chief-of-defence-staff-participates-in-daily-coronavirus-briefing/ |website=Army Technology |accessdate=1 June 2020}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[No. 601 Squadron RAF]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Townsend, Major C.E.C.: ''All Rank and No File: A History of the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps RE 1865-1965'', The Engineer & Railway Staff Corps RE (TAVR) (1969). This work contains a full list of the 417 officers appointed to the Corps from January 1865 until February 1969
* Sinclair, Major-General G.B.: ''The Staff Corps: The History of the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps RE'', The Royal Engineers Museum (2001); {{ISBN|978-0950645391}}
* Sinclair, Major-General G.B. and Hindle, Colonel D.J.(Ed.): ''The Staff Corps: The History of the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps RE (V), 150-year Anniversary 2nd Edition'', The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps RE (V) (2015); {{ISBN|978-0993267406}}
==External links==
*[http://www.army.mod.uk/royalengineers/units/21204.aspx Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps website]
*[https://www.wilsonjames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CILT-Focus-February-2016-Back-to-the-future.pdf ''Back to the future'' - 2016 Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport article on the corps]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZiUnmRta-E The Royal Engineers song "Hurrah for the CRE"]
[[Category:British administrative corps]]
[[Category:Royal Engineers]]
[[Category:Army Reserve (United Kingdom)]]