It is a remarkable fact that the Ordnance Department has a greater
antiquity than any other branch of the Army, its history being
traceable to the earliest military organisation of England. At one
time it was a civilian department, then a branch of the Artillery,
then a branch of the Engineers, and so curiously interwoven that it
is very difficult to establish its actual origin. The first official
record of an Ordnance Department dates back to 1418, when John Louth
was appointed "Clerk to the Ordnance." The Master Bowyer, Master
Fletcher, Master Carpenter, etc., were styled Officers of the Ordnance,
which about 1455 became centralised at the Tower of London, where
the Department continued for four hundred years under "The Master
of the Ordnance," until removed to Woolwich. The duties have been,
as now, closely associated with the provision and care of war-like
stores, especially arms and ammunition, and the designation of the
Department has varied considerably, the efficiency of the Department
being steadily increased and splendidly maintained in the face of great
difficulties.
Nicknamed "The Ordnance" and "The Sugar Stick Brigade" from the
peculiar red and white piping of the braid.
[Illustration]
_Uniform_, Blue.
_Facings_, Yellow.
_Head-dress_, Helmet.
_Cap_, Blue with yellow band.