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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military unit
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=General Service Corps
| unit_name = General Service Corps
| image= British Army General Service Cap Badge.jpg
| image = British Army General Service Cap Badge.jpg
| image_size = 180
| image_size = 180
|caption=Cap Badge of the General Service Corps
| caption = Cap Badge of the General Service Corps
| dates = 1942–
|dates= 1914–
|country=
| country =
|allegiance= {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
|branch= {{army|United Kingdom}}
| branch = {{army|United Kingdom}}
|command_structure=
| command_structure =
| type =
|type=
|role= For specialists, not allocated to a regiment or corps
| role = For specialists, not allocated to a regiment or corps.
| size =
|size=
|current_commander=
| current_commander =
|ceremonial_chief=
| ceremonial_chief =
|ceremonial_chief_label=Colonel in Chief
| ceremonial_chief_label = Colonel in Chief
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
| colonel_of_the_regiment =
|colonel_of_the_regiment_label=
| colonel_of_the_regiment_label =
|nickname=
| nickname =
|motto=
| motto =
|colors= Dark blue
| colors = Dark blue
|colors_label= Beret
| colors_label = Beret
|march=
| march =
|mascot=
| mascot =
|battles=
| battles =
|notable_commanders=
| notable_commanders =
|identification_symbol=
| identification_symbol = [[File:GSC TRF.png|GSC TRF|75px]]
|identification_symbol_label=
| identification_symbol_label = Tactical recognition flash
|anniversaries=
| anniversaries =
}}
}}
The '''General Service Corps''' ('''GSC''') is a [[corps]] of the [[British Army]].
The '''General Service Corps''' ('''GSC''') is a [[corps]] of the [[British Army]].


==Role==
==Role==
The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the '''Special List''' or '''General List'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.armedforces.co.uk/army/listings/l0079.html|title=Combat Service Support|last=|first=|date=|website=armedforces.co.uk|accessdate=10 May 2014}}</ref>
The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the '''Special List''' or '''General List'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.armedforces.co.uk/army/listings/l0079.html|title=Combat Service Support|website=armedforces.co.uk|access-date=10 May 2014}}</ref> These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allocated to other regiments or corps.<ref>{{cite web|author=Imperial War Museum|title=Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30102953|access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref> In [[World War II]], they were used for male operatives of the [[Special Operations Executive]] (female operatives joined the [[First Aid Nursing Yeomanry|FANY]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Foot|first1=M R D|title=SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944|date=2006|publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tillotson|first1=M|title=SOE and the Resistance as Told in the Times Obituaries|date=2001|publisher=Continuum|location=London|page=xii}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
⚫
The General Service Corps itself was formed in February 1942.<ref>"New General Service Corps Created", ''The Times'', 21 February 1942</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDqcBQAAQBAJ|title=The Pillars of Security (Works of William H. Beveridge)|author=William H. Beveridge|date=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-57304-3|orig-year=1943}}</ref><ref>"Sorting Out Recruits: Work of General Service Corps", ''The Times'', 17 July 1942</ref> A similar role, holding some recruits pending allocation to their units, continues today.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vila|first1=Maurice|title=WW2 People's War|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/65/a7855365.shtml|website=BBC|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Pigott|first1=A J K|title=Manpower Problems: The Second World War 1939–1945|date=1960|publisher=The War Office|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Crang|first1=J A|title=The British Army and the People's War 1939–1945|date=2000|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0719047411|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Heyman|first1=C|title=The British Army Guide 2012–2013|date=2012|publisher=Pen and Sword Military|page=144}}</ref>
The corps was founded in 1914 at the outbreak of [[World War I]] for specialists and those not allocated to other regiments or corps.<ref>{{cite web|author=Imperial War Museum|title=Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30102953|accessdate=8 November 2017}}</ref> It was used for similar purposes in [[World War II]], including for male operatives of the [[Special Operations Executive]] (female operatives joined the [[First Aid Nursing Yeomanry|FANY]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Foot|first1=M R D|title=SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944|date=2006|publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tillotson|first1=M|title=SOE and the Resistance as Told in the Times Obituaries|date=2001|publisher=Continuum|location=London|page=xii}}</ref>
[[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.<ref>[http://www.bermudaregiment.bm/about/history The Bermuda Regiment website: ''Brief History of the Bermuda Regiment'']</ref>

⚫
From 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.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDqcBQAAQBAJ|title=The Pillars of Security (Works of William H. Beveridge)|author=William H. Beveridge|date=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-57304-3|location=|pages=|orig-year=1943}}</ref> A similar role, holding some recruits pending allocation to their units, continues today.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vila|first1=Maurice|title=WW2 People's War|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/65/a7855365.shtml|website=BBC|accessdate=9 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Pigott|first1=A J K|title=Manpower Problems: The Second World War 1939–1945|date=1960|publisher=The War Office|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Crang|first1=J A|title=The British Army and the People's War 1939–1945|date=2000|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0719047411|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Heyman|first1=C|title=The British Army Guide 2012–2013|date=2012|publisher=Pen and Sword Military|page=144}}</ref>


==Insignia==
==Insignia==
[[File:Bermuda Militia Infantry soldiers in camp.jpg|thumb|Bermuda Militia Infantry soldiers wearing the General Service Corps cap badge]]
[[File:Bermuda Militia Infantry soldiers in camp.jpg|thumb|Bermuda Militia Infantry soldiers wearing the General Service Corps cap badge]]
From 1914, the cap badge has been the [[royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom|Royal Arms]], with variously a king's or a queen's crown, depending on the reigning monarch. It bears the motto of the monarch ''[[Dieu et mon droit]]'' and the [[Order of the Garter]] motto ''[[Honi soit qui mal y pense]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Imperial War Museum|title=Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30102953|accessdate=8 November 2017}}</ref> As a result, a GSC nickname was 'Crosse and Blackwell' after [[Crosse & Blackwell|the firm]] whose tins and jar labels had a prominent royal coat of arms.<ref>{{cite book|title=Put Out More Flags |first=Evelyn|last= Waugh|year= 1977|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0316926157}}</ref>
From 1914, for the General List and later the General Service Corps, the cap badge has been the [[royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom|Royal Arms]], with variously a king's or a queen's crown, depending on the reigning monarch. It bears the motto of the monarch ''[[Dieu et mon droit]]'' and the [[Order of the Garter]] motto ''[[Honi soit qui mal y pense]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Imperial War Museum|title=Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30102953|access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref> As a result, a GSC nickname was 'Crosse and Blackwell' after [[Crosse & Blackwell|the firm]] whose tins and jar labels had a prominent royal coat of arms.<ref>{{cite book|title=Put Out More Flags |url=https://archive.org/details/putoutmoreflags0000waug |url-access=registration |first=Evelyn|last= Waugh|year= 1977|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0316926157}}</ref> The same capbadge has been used for other British Army regiments and corps for which no unique badge has been authorised, including the [[Royal Reserve Regiments]], the later [[Royal Garrison Regiment]], and the [[Bermuda Militia Infantry]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nickmetcalfe.co.uk/the-royal-reserve-regiments-and-the-royal-garrison-regiment/ |title=The Royal Reserve Regiments and The Royal Garrison Regiment |last=Metcalfe |first=Nick |date=2016-11-04 |website=Nick Metcalfe: Author & Researcher |publisher=Nick Metcalfe |access-date=2022-05-13}}</ref>

In the [[British Overseas Territory|British colony]] of [[Bermuda]], there were three Territorial Army units at the outbreak of war, which were mobilised for the duration. Of these, the only one which accepted ''coloured'' (anyone who was not entirely of European heritage) recruits (as other ranks, with its officers either seconded from the regular army or commissioned from the ranks of the [[Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps]] or [[Bermuda Volunteer Engineers]]) was the [[Bermuda Militia Artillery]], a reserve of the [[Royal Artillery]] that manned a single coastal artillery battery ([[St David's Battery]]). Although a second battery was immediately added at [[Warwick Camp (Bermuda)|Warwick Camp]], the BMA could not make use of the available coloured manpower and a new regiment, the [[Bermuda Militia Infantry]] was formed in October 1939, and split the infantry duties of the [[Bermuda Garrison]] with the BVRC and the resident regular army infantry company. The BMI was formed out of the BMA, was grouped administratively with it, and its personnel were absorbed into the BMA before demobilisation in 1946, but wore the General Service Corps cap badge instead of the Royal Artillery cap badge.<ref>[http://www.bermudaregiment.bm/about/history The Bermuda Regiment website: ''Brief History of the Bermuda Regiment'']</ref>


==Notable personnel==
==Notable personnel==
Notable members of the General Service Corps include:
Notable members of the General List/General Service Corps include:
* [[Terence Atherton]]<ref name=hw>{{cite book
⚫
* [[Walter Freud]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=van den Vat|first1=Dan|title=Walter Freud Obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/mar/09/guardianobituaries.military1|newspaper=THe Guardian|accessdate=9 November 2017|date=2004-03-09}}</ref>
| last = Williams
⚫
* Peter Lake<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lake|first1=Peter|title=Daily Telegraph Obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/5811738/Peter-Lake.html|publisher=Daily Telegraph|accessdate=9 November 2017|date=2009-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Perrin|first1=Nigel|title=Peter Lake|url=http://nigelperrin.com/peterlake.htm#.WgQdm1u0PX4|accessdate=9 November 2017}}</ref>
| first = Heather
⚫
* [[T. E. Lawrence]] (Lawrence of Arabia)<ref>{{cite web|title=Major Thomas Edward LAWRENCE|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C711206|website=The National Archives|publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=8 November 2017}}</ref>
| title = Parachutes, patriots and partisans: the Special Operations Executive and Yugoslavia, 1941 - 1945
⚫
* [[Bob Maloubier]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Davidson|first1=Phil|title=Bob Maloubier Obituary|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/bob-maloubier-french-soe-agent-who-led-sabotage-missions-on-nazi-installations-and-helped-the-10207891.html|publisher=The Independent|accessdate=9 November 2017|date=2015-04-27}}</ref>
| publisher = C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
| year = 2002
| pages = 65–69
| isbn = 1-85065-592-8 }}</ref>
⚫
* [[Walter Freud]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=van den Vat|first1=Dan|title=Walter Freud Obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/mar/09/guardianobituaries.military1|newspaper=THe Guardian|access-date=9 November 2017|date=2004-03-09}}</ref>
⚫
* Peter Lake<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lake|first1=Peter|title=Daily Telegraph Obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/5811738/Peter-Lake.html|publisher=Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2017|date=2009-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Perrin|first1=Nigel|title=Peter Lake|url=http://nigelperrin.com/peterlake.htm#.WgQdm1u0PX4|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref>
⚫
* [[T. E. Lawrence]] (Lawrence of Arabia)<ref>{{cite web|title=Major Thomas Edward LAWRENCE|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C711206|website=The National Archives|publisher=The National Archives|access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref>
⚫
* [[Bob Maloubier]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Davidson|first1=Phil|title=Bob Maloubier Obituary|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/bob-maloubier-french-soe-agent-who-led-sabotage-missions-on-nazi-installations-and-helped-the-10207891.html|publisher=The Independent|access-date=9 November 2017|date=2015-04-27}}</ref>
* [[John Pendlebury]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grundon|first1=Imogen|title=The Rash Adventurer: A Life of John Pendlebury|date=2007|publisher=Libri|isbn=978-1901965063}}</ref>
* [[John Pendlebury]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grundon|first1=Imogen|title=The Rash Adventurer: A Life of John Pendlebury|date=2007|publisher=Libri|isbn=978-1901965063}}</ref>
* [[Tracy Philipps]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 February, 1922 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32600/supplement/1062/data.pdf |website=The London Gazette |accessdate=17 August 2019 |page=1062}}</ref>
* [[Tracy Philipps]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 February, 1922 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32600/supplement/1062/data.pdf |website=The London Gazette |access-date=17 August 2019 |page=1062}}</ref>
* Arthur Staggs<ref>{{cite news|last1=Staggs|first1=Arthur|title=Arthur Staggs Obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10385710/Arthur-Staggs.html|website=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=9 November 2017|date=2013-10-20}}</ref>
* Arthur Staggs<ref>{{cite news|last1=Staggs|first1=Arthur|title=Arthur Staggs Obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10385710/Arthur-Staggs.html|website=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2017|date=2013-10-20}}</ref>
* [[Patrick Leigh Fermor]]


==Order of Precedence==
==Order of precedence==
The corps is twenty-second in the British Army's order of precedence.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Queen's Regulations for the Army, Chapter 8, Ceremonial|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440632/20150529-QR_Army_Amdt_31_Jul_2013.pdf|accessdate=9 November 2017}}</ref>
The corps is twenty-second in the British Army's order of precedence.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Queen's Regulations for the Army, Chapter 8, Ceremonial|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440632/20150529-QR_Army_Amdt_31_Jul_2013.pdf|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref>
{{S-start}}
{{S-start}}
{{Order of precedence |
{{Order of precedence |
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[[Category:British administrative corps]]
[[Category:British administrative corps]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1914]]




Latest revision as of 09:30, 3 April 2023

General Service Corps
Cap Badge of the General Service Corps
Active1942–
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch British Army
RoleFor specialists, not allocated to a regiment or corps.
BeretDark blue
Insignia
Tactical recognition flashGSC TRF

The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army.

Role[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Bermuda Militia Infantry soldiers wearing the General Service Corps cap badge

From 1914, for the General List and later the General Service Corps, the cap badge has been the Royal Arms, with variously a king's or a queen's crown, depending on the reigning monarch. It bears the motto of the monarch Dieu et mon droit and the Order of the Garter motto Honi soit qui mal y pense.[13] As a result, a GSC nickname was 'Crosse and Blackwell' after the firm whose tins and jar labels had a prominent royal coat of arms.[14] The same capbadge has been used for other British Army regiments and corps for which no unique badge has been authorised, including the Royal Reserve Regiments, the later Royal Garrison Regiment, and the Bermuda Militia Infantry.[15]

Notable personnel[edit]

Notable members of the General List/General Service Corps include:

Order of precedence[edit]

The corps is twenty-second in the British Army's order of precedence.[25]

Preceded by Order of Precedence Succeeded by

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Combat Service Support". armedforces.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. ^ Imperial War Museum. "Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  3. ^ Foot, M R D (2006). SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944. Routledge.
  4. ^ Tillotson, M (2001). SOE and the Resistance as Told in the Times Obituaries. London: Continuum. p. xii.
  5. ^ "New General Service Corps Created", The Times, 21 February 1942
  6. ^ William H. Beveridge (2014) [1943]. The Pillars of Security (Works of William H. Beveridge). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-57304-3.
  7. ^ "Sorting Out Recruits: Work of General Service Corps", The Times, 17 July 1942
  8. ^ Vila, Maurice. "WW2 People's War". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  9. ^ Pigott, A J K (1960). Manpower Problems: The Second World War 1939–1945. London: The War Office.
  10. ^ Crang, J A (2000). The British Army and the People's War 1939–1945. Manchester University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0719047411.
  11. ^ Heyman, C (2012). The British Army Guide 2012–2013. Pen and Sword Military. p. 144.
  12. ^ The Bermuda Regiment website: Brief History of the Bermuda Regiment
  13. ^ Imperial War Museum. "Badge, Headdress, British, General Service Corps". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  14. ^ Waugh, Evelyn (1977). Put Out More Flags. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0316926157.
  15. ^ Metcalfe, Nick (4 November 2016). "The Royal Reserve Regiments and The Royal Garrison Regiment". Nick Metcalfe: Author & Researcher. Nick Metcalfe. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  16. ^ Williams, Heather (2002). Parachutes, patriots and partisans: the Special Operations Executive and Yugoslavia, 1941 - 1945. C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd. pp. 65–69. ISBN 1-85065-592-8.
  17. ^ van den Vat, Dan (9 March 2004). "Walter Freud Obituary". THe Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  18. ^ Lake, Peter (12 July 2009). "Daily Telegraph Obituary". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  19. ^ Perrin, Nigel. "Peter Lake". Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Major Thomas Edward LAWRENCE". The National Archives. The National Archives. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  21. ^ Davidson, Phil (27 April 2015). "Bob Maloubier Obituary". The Independent. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  22. ^ Grundon, Imogen (2007). The Rash Adventurer: A Life of John Pendlebury. Libri. ISBN 978-1901965063.
  23. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 February, 1922" (PDF). The London Gazette. p. 1062. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  24. ^ Staggs, Arthur (20 October 2013). "Arthur Staggs Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  25. ^ The Queen's Regulations for the Army, Chapter 8, Ceremonial (PDF). Retrieved 9 November 2017.


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