Quartermaster-General to the Forces explained

The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply refer to "Chief of Materiel (Land)".^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

A Quartermaster-General first appears in English Army records in 1667; as a permanently established post it dates from 1686.^[4]

Responsibilities

The Quartermaster-General was (like the Adjutant-General) a senior staff officer of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, responsible for the movement and quartering of troops. From the 1680s to the 1880s, the QMG periodically had responsibility for military intelligence in addition.

In 1888, the Quartermaster-General took over responsibility for the transport and supply of equipment, provisions and munitions,^[5] formerly overseen by the Commissariat and Transport Department and the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance. From 1904 the Quartermaster-General to the Forces was the Third Military Member of the Army Council (1904) and its successor, the Army Board.^{[6] [7]}

The appointment of a Deputy Quartermaster-General dates from 1710 and Assistant Quartermasters-General are recorded from as early as 1692.

Present day

In modern use, the QMG is the senior General Officer in the army holding a logistics appointment and is currently the Lieutenant General holding the post of Chief of Materiel (Land) (CoM(L)) within Defence Equipment and Support or also commonly referred to as Director General Land (DG(L)). The CoM(L) sits upon the highest committee within the army, the Army Board.

Recent holders of the post

Holders of the post have included:^[8]

• 1712–1742 Major-General John Armstrong
• 1742–1763 Lieutenant-General Humphrey Bland
• 1763–1796 Lieutenant-General George Morrison
• 1796–1803 Lieutenant-General Sir David Dundas
• 1803–1811 Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Brownrigg
• 1811–1851 General Sir James Gordon
• 1851–1855 Lieutenant-General Sir James Freeth
• 1855–1865 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Airey
• 1865–1870 Lieutenant-General Sir Hope Grant
• 1870–1871 General Sir Frederick Haines
• 1871–1876 General Sir Charles Ellice
• 1876–1880 General Sir Daniel Lysons
• 1880–1882 Lieutenant-General Sir Garnet Wolseley
• 1882–1887 General Sir Arthur Herbert
• 1887–1890 Major-General Sir Redvers Buller
• 1890–1893 Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Baker
• 1893 General Sir Robert Biddulph
• 1893–1897 General Sir Evelyn Wood
• 1897–1898 General Sir Richard Harrison
• 1898–1899 General Sir George Stuart White
• 1899–1903 General Sir Charles Clarke
• 1903–1904 General Sir Ian Hamilton
• 1904–1905 General Sir Herbert Plumer
• 1905–1908 General Sir William Nicholson
• 1908–1912 Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Miles
• 1912–1919 General Sir John Cowans
• 1919–1923 Lieutenant-General Sir Travers Clarke
• 1923–1927 Lieutenant-General Sir Walter Campbell
• 1927–1930 Lieutenant-General Sir Hastings Anderson
• 1931–1934 General Sir Felix Ready
• 1935–1939 General Sir Reginald May
• 1939–1942 General Sir Walter Venning
• 1942–1946 General Sir Thomas Riddell-Webster
• 1946–1947 General Sir Daril Watson
• 1947–1950 General Sir Sidney Kirkman
• 1950–1952 General Sir Ivor Thomas
• 1952–1955 General Sir Ouvry Roberts
• 1955–1956 Lieutenant-General Maurice Chilton
• 1956–1958 General Sir Nevil Brownjohn
• 1958–1961 General Sir Cecil Sugden
• 1961–1965 General Sir Gerald Lathbury
• 1965–1966 General Sir Charles Richardson
• 1966–1969 General Sir Alan Jolly
• 1969–1973 General Sir Anthony Read
• 1973–1977 General Sir William Jackson
• 1977–1979 General Sir Patrick Howard-Dobson
• 1979–1982 General Sir Richard Worsley
• 1982–1983 Lieutenant-General Sir Paul Travers
• 1983–1986 General Sir Richard Trant
• 1986–1988 General Sir Charles Huxtable
• 1988–1991 General Sir Edward Jones
• 1991–1994 General Sir John Learmont
• 1994–1996 Lieutenant General Sir William Rous
• 1996–1998 Lieutenant General Sir Samuel Cowan
• 1998–2000 Lieutenant General Sir Scott Grant
• 2000–2002 Major-General David Judd
• 2002–2006 Major-General Anthony Raper
• 2006–2007 Major-General Timothy Tyler
• 2007–2009 Lieutenant General Dick Applegate
• 2009–2012 Lieutenant General Gary Coward
• 2012–2016 Lieutenant General Sir Christopher Deverell^[9]
• 2016–2019 Lieutenant General Paul Jaques^[10]
• 2019–2024 Christopher Bushell
• 2024–Present Lieutenant General Simon Hamilton^[11]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Defence Equipment and Support Senior, as of September 2011. 14 April 2016.
2. Web site: Defence Equipment and Support senior, as of March 2012. 14 April 2016.
3. Web site: Defence Equipment and Support senior, as of September 2013. 14 April 2016.
4. Book: Roper . Michael . The Records of the War Office and Related Departments, 1660-1964 . 1998 . Public Record Office . Kew, Surrey .
5. Web site: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives . Kcl.ac.uk . 2005-08-08 . 2013-03-29.
6. https://books.google.com/books?id=nLdW_vkYPQQC&dq=%22Master-General+of+the+Ordnance%22+Member+of+the+Army+Council&pg=RA5-PA481 The Army in 1906: A Policy and a Vindication By Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster, Page 481
7. Web site: Defence Equipment and Support senior, as of March 2014. 14 April 2016.
8. Web site: Army Commands . 2013-03-29 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf . July 5, 2015 .
9. http://www.defenceviewpoints.co.uk/defence-news/up-and-out-june-2011 Defence View points
10. Web site: MOD and Royal Mail sign new agreement to keep personnel connected. 24 March 2016.
11. Web site: Lt Gen Simon Hamilton becomes DE&S’ new Director General Land . Ministry of Defence . 7 August 2024.