All Change with the Royal Army Medical Service
All Change with the Royal Army Medical Service
All Change with the Royal Army Medical Service
With the news on 15 October 2024 that the British Army’s three healthcare corps are being amalgamated into a new modern corps called The Royal Army Medical Service, the announcement recalls that regiments and corps have come and gone over the years, and that the new Royal Army Medical Service has its antecedents. The new Service has come about owing to the Army’s need to modernise and to meet future threats, as the Armed Forces help keep Britain secure at home and abroad.
The current change is part of the Army’s Future Soldier programme and brings together the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), the Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) and the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC). His Majesty King Charles approved The Royal Army Medical Service name. The amalgamation will ensure that the next generation of the Army will continue to be supported by a modern corps capable of delivering healthcare on exercises and operations at home and around the world. The underlying ethos of its founding corps will remain.
Early medical organisation in the Army
With the founding of the Standing Army in 1660, medical provision within the British Army was the preserve of the Regimental Surgeon, with one attached to each regiment. The Regimental Surgeon was granted a commission in the regiment with the approval of the commanding officer and was responsible for the regimental hospital.
By the eighteenth century there was a division between the regimental surgeons and the medical staff officers, with the latter serving in the general hospitals and acting as garrison surgeons. Medical administration was overseen by the civilian-run Army Medical Board.
It was not until the reforms of Sir James McGrigor, Principal Medical Officer to the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular campaigns, that an organised medical service began. The Army Medical Department replaced the Army Medical Board, staffed by officers with its own Director General. This became part of the War Office after the Crimean War.
The Crimean War exposed the limitations of the system of regimental hospitals, and the lack of ‘rank and file’ support. In 1855 the Medical Staff Corps was formed, to provide medical orderlies of ‘other ranks,’ composed of “men able to read and write, of regular steady habits and good temper and of a kindly disposition.” These men were trained in ward nursing and first aid. The Medical Staff Corps was reorganised into the Army Hospital Corps in 1857.
With the Cardwell reorganisation of the 1870s, regimental surgeons were brought together with medical staff officers to form one corps. Henceforth, Regimental Medical Officers were only ‘attached’ to the regiment and were supervised by officers of their own service.
In spite of the various reforms during the nineteenth century, the conflicts of the 1880s and ‘90s led to concerns that the organisation of medical provision within the army was still inadequate. A group of influential doctors addressed a report to the Secretary of State for War, arguing for a new organisation to deliver medical capability within the army.
The Medical Staff Corps and the Army Medical Department were amalgamated into one Corps, the Royal Army Medical Corps, by Royal Warrant dated 23 June 1898. The first RAMC Training Manual of 1899 described the role of the new Corps as being “organised for the performance of duties in connection with the hospital and ambulance service of the army.”
Meanwhile, in 1881 the Army Nursing Service (ANS) was formed to care for soldiers of the British Army, both in the UK and overseas. A number of these nurses accompanied the army on campaign in Egypt and the Sudan in the Mahdist War of 1881-89. In 1887 Princess Christian, one of Queen Victoria’s daughters, gave her name to the Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service Reserve, which served with the British Army during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902.
The experience of the Boer War led to the reorganisation of the army nursing service with the formation (in 1902) of the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) followed by the QAIMNS Reserve and the Territorial Forces Nursing Service. In 1949, in recognition of the contribution women made to the war effort, the nursing Service became the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps.
Similarly, although dentistry had been practised within the British Army before 1921 as part of the medical service, the wastage of fit soldiers through lack of proper dental care during the Boer War and again in World War One highlighted the need for formal organisation and proper provision of dental care. The formation of the Royal Army Dental Corps meant that all serving personnel had free access to dental treatment.
The New Organisation
The Royal Army Medical Service will deliver modernised, multi-disciplinary healthcare offering opportunities for better organisation culture and a unified, inclusive, and representative corps. Personnel will be able to work across all areas of the Royal Army Medical Service, maximising the talents of our people to enhance our fighting power which is central to delivering the government’s first duty, that of keeping our nation safe.
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) will remain an independent corps outside of the Royal Army Medical Service due to their legal and operational combatant status which differs from the special protected status of the RAMC, RADC and QARANC.
All Change with the Royal Army Medical Service
All Change with the Royal Army Medical Service
With the news on 15 October 2024 that the British Army’s three healthcare corps are being amalgamated into a new modern corps called The Royal Army Medical Service, the announcement recalls that regiments and corps have come and gone over the years, and that the new Royal Army Medical Service has its antecedents. The new Service has come about owing to the Army’s need to modernise and to meet future threats, as the Armed Forces help keep Britain secure at home and abroad.
The current change is part of the Army’s Future Soldier programme and brings together the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), the Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) and the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC). His Majesty King Charles approved The Royal Army Medical Service name. The amalgamation will ensure that the next generation of the Army will continue to be supported by a modern corps capable of delivering healthcare on exercises and operations at home and around the world. The underlying ethos of its founding corps will remain.
Early medical organisation in the Army
With the founding of the Standing Army in 1660, medical provision within the British Army was the preserve of the Regimental Surgeon, with one attached to each regiment. The Regimental Surgeon was granted a commission in the regiment with the approval of the commanding officer and was responsible for the regimental hospital.
By the eighteenth century there was a division between the regimental surgeons and the medical staff officers, with the latter serving in the general hospitals and acting as garrison surgeons. Medical administration was overseen by the civilian-run Army Medical Board.
It was not until the reforms of Sir James McGrigor, Principal Medical Officer to the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular campaigns, that an organised medical service began. The Army Medical Department replaced the Army Medical Board, staffed by officers with its own Director General. This became part of the War Office after the Crimean War.
The Crimean War exposed the limitations of the system of regimental hospitals, and the lack of ‘rank and file’ support. In 1855 the Medical Staff Corps was formed, to provide medical orderlies of ‘other ranks,’ composed of “men able to read and write, of regular steady habits and good temper and of a kindly disposition.” These men were trained in ward nursing and first aid. The Medical Staff Corps was reorganised into the Army Hospital Corps in 1857.
With the Cardwell reorganisation of the 1870s, regimental surgeons were brought together with medical staff officers to form one corps. Henceforth, Regimental Medical Officers were only ‘attached’ to the regiment and were supervised by officers of their own service.
In spite of the various reforms during the nineteenth century, the conflicts of the 1880s and ‘90s led to concerns that the organisation of medical provision within the army was still inadequate. A group of influential doctors addressed a report to the Secretary of State for War, arguing for a new organisation to deliver medical capability within the army.
The Medical Staff Corps and the Army Medical Department were amalgamated into one Corps, the Royal Army Medical Corps, by Royal Warrant dated 23 June 1898. The first RAMC Training Manual of 1899 described the role of the new Corps as being “organised for the performance of duties in connection with the hospital and ambulance service of the army.”
Meanwhile, in 1881 the Army Nursing Service (ANS) was formed to care for soldiers of the British Army, both in the UK and overseas. A number of these nurses accompanied the army on campaign in Egypt and the Sudan in the Mahdist War of 1881-89. In 1887 Princess Christian, one of Queen Victoria’s daughters, gave her name to the Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service Reserve, which served with the British Army during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902.
The experience of the Boer War led to the reorganisation of the army nursing service with the formation (in 1902) of the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) followed by the QAIMNS Reserve and the Territorial Forces Nursing Service. In 1949, in recognition of the contribution women made to the war effort, the nursing Service became the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps.
Similarly, although dentistry had been practised within the British Army before 1921 as part of the medical service, the wastage of fit soldiers through lack of proper dental care during the Boer War and again in World War One highlighted the need for formal organisation and proper provision of dental care. The formation of the Royal Army Dental Corps meant that all serving personnel had free access to dental treatment.
The New Organisation
The Royal Army Medical Service will deliver modernised, multi-disciplinary healthcare offering opportunities for better organisation culture and a unified, inclusive, and representative corps. Personnel will be able to work across all areas of the Royal Army Medical Service, maximising the talents of our people to enhance our fighting power which is central to delivering the government’s first duty, that of keeping our nation safe.
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) will remain an independent corps outside of the Royal Army Medical Service due to their legal and operational combatant status which differs from the special protected status of the RAMC, RADC and QARANC.
All Change with the Royal Army Medical Service
