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[[Conductors]] were eligible for promotion to Departmental Officer, ie Deputy Assistant Commissary, Assistant Commissary etc, and these grades were eventually given complementary honorary officer ranks ranging from Honorary Lieutenant to Honorary Major."
{{Origin|text=This article was contributed to India list by Michael Quin-Conroy, 11 Nov 2003}}
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This is what Ian A Baxter says in his ''A Brief Guide to Biographical Sources'' under the heading "Departmental and Warrant Officers of The East India Company's Armies 1708-1861, and the Indian Army 1861-1947"
"Warrant officers in the Company's armies held the ranks of [[Sub-Conductor|Sub Conductor]] and [[Conductor]], serving mainly in the [[Ordnance]], [[Commissariat]] and [[Public Works Department|Public Works Departments]]. They were recruited from the [[Town Major's List]] (called [[Effective Supernumerary|Effective Supernumeraries]] in Madras) which in turn was largely recruited from the NCOs of the Company's European regiments (see p 9) although occasionally NCOs of British regiments stationed in India were appointed to it.
In 1859 the [[Town Major's List]] became the [[Unattached List]], and when the Company's European regiments were amalgamated with the [[British Army]] in 1860 new recruits to the [[Unattached List]] were appointed solely from NCOs of British regiments stationed in India.
{{Origin|text=This article was contributed to India list by Michael Quin-Conroy, 11 Nov 2003}}
== The Honourable and Ancient Appointment of Conductor - Royal Army Ordnace Ordnance Corps ==
The appointment of Conductor is said to be the highest non-commissioned in the British Army other than the Accadany Academy Sergeant Major at Sandhurst. Thus Conductors and ex-conductors guard the history, facts and figues figures with regard to it very closely.
I put the passage about conductors in the Honorable East India Compoany on the Royal Army Ordnance Corps website, and expected a wave, if not an explosion of replies. But I was disappointed.
''18th June 1858''
*Lieutanant Lieutenant (Assistant Commissary of Ordnance) Goarge George FORREST VC of the East India Company
*Lieutenant (Assistant Commissary of Ordnance) William RAYNOR VC of the East India Company
*Conductor (later Assistant Commissary of Ordnance) John BUCKLEY VC of the Bengal Ordnance Department
Even in the [[British Army]] in the Field Train Department (1792-1859) the Departmental Ranks were the same. There was nothing 'Honorary' about them!
For history links see [https://web.archive.org/web/20130106183704/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mike.comerford/ORDNANCE/05.htm "Significant landmarks in the Corps History"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20151005104924/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mike.comerford/ORDNANCE/ ''History and Insignia of the British Army Ordnance Services''], now archived.
*Conductor (acting in the role of Subaltern)
The appointments were still in use when Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley DALTON VC, of the Commissariat and Transport Department, was awarded the VC for action on 22 January 1879 at Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War. As he was a Commissary of Supplies, his VC should also have come over to the RAOC in 1965!
{{Origin|text=This article was contributed by Jim Parker from and added with permission from Mike Comerford}}==Also see==*[[Unattached List]]
== Recommended reading ==
*Peter Bailey, "The 'Unattached List'," ''FIBIS Journal'', No 12 (Autumn 2004). For details of how to access this article online, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
*Lawrie Butler , "The Army Rank of Conductor, and the History of an HEIC Conductor VC," ''FIBIS Journal'', No 18 (Autumn 2007). For details of how to access this article online, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
==External links==* [http://shopwww.fibisrlc-conductor.info rlc-conductor.info], including [http://www.rlc-conductor.info/home.htm rlc-conductor/home]. Click next on 'Articles, Features & Essays', then**A History of the Ancient and Honourable Appointment of Conductor**The History of Conductor of Stores and his Badge of Appointment*[http://en.wikipedia.org/journalwiki/Conductor_(British_Army) Conductor (British Army)] Wikipedia*[http://en.html FIBIS Journal 18wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Army_Ordnance_Corps British Army- Royal Army Ordnance Corps] "The Wikipedia*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Army_Service_Corps British Army-Royal Army Rank Service Corps] Wikipedia===Historical books online===*This [http://books.google.com/books?id=n1ABAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA164 Google Books link] gives details of Conductorthe Ordnance Department factories etc c 1864, pages 164-167 from ''Strength, Organisation and Composition of the Army of Great Britain'' by Martin Petrie, 2nd edition 1864. It indicates that in Bengal, the Stud Department was part of the History Ordnance Department.*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=26sEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA60 "Misconduct of an HEIC a Conductor and Sub Conductor VCpunished" by Lawrie Butler ] ''The Calcutta Annual Register'' 1821 (Research Co-ordinatorpage 60 of Chapter III Public Documents, which are separately numbered)Google Books.
