The British Army

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British Army Battle Flag

The British Military of the 18th Century was comprised of two major land forces and the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy stayed under the control of the Admiralty while the Land Forces included:

The Army, primarily infantry with some cavalry units
The Ordnance Military Corps under the Board of Ordnance. This included technical and specialist units such as the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and the Royal Sappers and Miners. Also included under this command was the civilian Commissariat Department, and other sections dealing with barracks, stores, and supplies.

Boar War Artillery

In 1855 the Board of Ordnance was abolished as a result of its’ perceived failures in the Crimean War, and absorbed into the War Office. The War Office was created in 1857 under the Secretary at War and the military districts were designated as:

North America and North Atlantic

Bermuda

Canada

West Indies

Islands of:

Bahamas

Barbados

British Honduras

Jamaica

Trinidad & Tobago

Mediterranean

Corfu

Gibraltar

Malta

West Coast of Africa and South Atlantic

Gambia

Gold Coast (Ghana)

Sierra Leone

St Helena

South Africa

South Africa including

Cape Colony

Natal

Egypt and Sudan

Aswan and Korosko in Egypt

Wadi Halfa in Sudan

Indian Ocean

Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

Mauritius

Singapore

Australasia

New Zealand

Australia

China

Hong Kong

Somewhat confusingly, part of the War Office was the War Department which was responsible for the supply of equipment and all military activity. The WD logo was used on boundary stones and other markers to delineate the land held by the War Department. Some examples of Admiralty and War Department Boundary Stones are given below. As well a keep the public from encroaching on military land, these boundary stones were also significant is inter-services rivalry between the Army and Navy. For more on Boundary Stones and the WD logo click the button on the right.

Boundary Stones

The British Indian Army was a significant component of the British Armed Forces and they were actively engaged in many campaigns in the Far East, Middle East and East Africa. In the early part of the 19th Century, the British Indian Army was about one quarter of a million men with the three separate Presidential Armies of Bombay, Madras and Bengal. Between 1895 and 1902 the Presidential Armies were dispensed with. From 1903 onward Lord Kitchener made substantial reforms creating a unified military force that was given three different names depending on the composition:

The Indian Army

Locally recruited troops (Sepoys) with expatriate British Officers. Based permanently in India expect if on campaign.

BRITISH ARMY IN INDIA

Regular British Army Regiments posted to India for a tour of duty. Soldiers largely recruited in the United Kingdom where they maintained a Depot.

ARMY OF INDIA

The joint Indian Army and British Army in India. For campaigns such as those in China the force was usually an Army of India with naval contingents such as Marines and gunners.

For more details on the Army of India, please see here.