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The Royal Corps of Army Music
File:CAMUS cap badge.png
Cap badge of the Royal Corps of Army Music
Active 1994–Present
Country Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Flag of the British Army British Army
Size 753 regular musicians
Corps HQ (since 2021) Gibraltar Barracks, Minley
Motto(s) Nulli Secundus (Second to None)
March The Music Makers (quick)
Esprit De Corps (slow)
Commanders
Colonel in Chief The Countess of Wessex
Colonel Commandant Major General David Eastman MBE
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Corps of Army Music

The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music.

History[]

The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defence review known as Options for Change in 1991 and followed a 1993 announcement by the Chief of the General Staff that the number of regular army bands was to be reduced from 69 to 30. The period saw the number of personnel fall from 2,000 to 1,100, with Lieutenant Colonel Roger Tomlinson of the Royal Military School of Music describing it as "a gloomy time for those of us in the military music business".[1] The Queen signed a warrant on 13 August 1994 to allow the formation of the Corps of Army Music. All regular army officers who were Directors of Music in the various corps and regiments and all regular army musicians would transfer to the Corps of Army Music - now the newest and most junior corps in the army - on 1 September 1994.[2]

The home of the corps was established at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, a site that already encompassed the Royal Military School of Music. The school was founded by the Duke of Cambridge, soon after his appointment as Commander in Chief in 1857, when the first class of military musicians was formed, a 'Class of Music'. The establishment was retitled as The Royal Military School of Music by Queen Victoria in 1887.[2]

The Future Army Structures review of 2004 saw the bands of the Regular Army reduced from 30 to 23.[3] In 2019 the number of Regular Army bands was further reduced to 14.[4]

2019 restructuring[]

In 2019 the Corps of Army Music was restructured with a number of bands being co-located and re-named.[5] In a process of 'Military Music Optimization', the regular Army band laydown was adjusted to enable several smaller bands to train and perform as larger bands for more significant Army events: 'Co-locating 11 of the smaller bands in three major garrisons and Sandhurst has increased the flexibility of CAMUS to perform at a huge breadth of events without compromising any of the traditional bands that have been performing for many years'.[6]

Renaming and move[]

During a visit to Kneller Hall in December 2020, the Earl and Countess of Wessex announced the Corps of Army Music would be renamed the Royal Corps of Army Music from January 2021.[7] This change was formally marked with a new title presentation in January 2021 with the Countess in attendance.[8]

In September 2021, the Corps Headquarters moved to Gibraltar Barracks in Minley, whilst the Royal Military School of Music moved to HMS Nelson alongside the Royal Marines School of Music.[9]

Bands of the Corps[]

The 14 constituent bands of the Corps are as follows:[10]

In addition to providing personnel for all the above bands, the Corps of Army Music provides 'technical support' for the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas, based at Shorncliffe Camp, Folkestone, which is separately constituted.[14] Other bands may be formed from time to time by drawing together personnel from different ensembles; for example the British Army Brass Band (founded by two Army Bandmasters in 2007) is 'made up of players across all bands of the Army, Regulars and Reservists'.[15]

Army Reserve Bands[]

All Army Reserve bands report to their respective regimental/battalion headquarters and provide around 30% of all the Army's musical output. The current Army Reserve bands as of April 2021 are as follows:[16]

Army Volunteer Bands[]

All Army Volunteer Bands serve in a voluntary capacity and have no army reserves commitment but still perform for various mess functions, church parades and civic functions, supporting their regiment and the wider regimental family. The uniform worn is that of the regular regiment which is headquartered in the Tower of London.[17]

  • The Band and Drum Corps of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Lancashire)[18]
  • The Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Warwickshire)[17]

Order of Precedence[]

Preceded by
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Order of Precedence Succeeded by
Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers

Footnotes[]

  1. "TRADITION : Stop the Music! British Budget Cuts Out Many Military Bands". May 1, 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-01-mn-29800-story.html. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Corps of Army Music: history". http://www.army.mod.uk/music/23268.aspx. 
  3. "Army's axe to fall on the marching bands". The Telegraph. 12 December 2004. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1478794/Armys-axe-to-fall-on-the-marching-bands.html. 
  4. "British Army Music". https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/corps-of-army-music/. 
  5. "Forthcoming Events". http://www.armymusicfriends.co.uk/forthcoming-events.html. 
  6. "Bands of the Corps". Ministry of Defence. https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/corps-of-army-music/. 
  7. "A new Royal title for The Corps of Army Music". Ministry of Defence. 13 January 2020. https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2021/01/camus-royal-title/. 
  8. "New Title Presentation | Royal Corps of Army Music | British Army". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RqwGBJjdtw. 
  9. British Army, Soldier Magazine: August 2021, p. 11
  10. "British Army Music" (in en-GB). https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-corps-of-army-music/. 
  11. "Watch Kneller Hall – A Final Farewell Right Here" (in en). Forces Network. https://www.forces.net/celebratingmilitarymusic. 
  12. Harry Adams (9 September 2021). "Army Engineers To Return To Royal Duties After Nearly 30 Years" (in en). https://www.forces.net/news/army-engineers-return-royal-duties-after-nearly-30-years. 
  13. RRF Regimental Handbook, pp. 14–15.
  14. Corps of Army Music facebook page
  15. "British Army Brass Band makes Major return". 4barsrest. 11 May 2018. https://www.4barsrest.com/news/33214/british-army-brass-band-makes-major-return. Retrieved 14 February 2021. 
  16. "FOI(A) regarding Army Reserve Bands". 28 April 2021. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/744978/response/1779202/attach/3/20210428%20FOI03746%20Zacchi%20Response%20Letter%20ArmyPolSec.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1. 
  17. 17.0 17.1 "The Regimental Handbook". The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (5th, 6th, 7th, 20th). 2019. p. 15. https://thefusiliers.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Fusiliers-Regimental-Handbook-2019.pdf. 
  18. "Home". http://www.rrfbandlancs.org.uk/. 

References[]

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Royal Corps of Army Music and the edit history here.