Ordnance Department

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The Ordnance Department was the part of the military responsible for the supply of weapons and ammunition. It appears that, at least in Bengal, it was also responsible for the Stud Department.[1]

In the days of the EIC, it was part of the Town Major's List (Bengal & Bombay) and Effective Supernumeraries (Madras). Initially part of the Unattached List (B) in the Indian Army, it became the Indian Army Ordnance Department in 1884 and was headed by the Commissariat General - Ordnance and then became the Indian Army Ordnance Corps in 1922.

History of the Ordinance Department

In 1775 the East India Company established the 'Board of Ordinance' at Fort William, in Calcutta. In 1787 a gunpowder factory was established at Ishapore which started production in 1791. In 1801 a 'Gun Carriage Agency' was set up at Cossipore that started production in 1802. In 1906 the administration of Indian Ordinance factories came under the 'Inspector General of Ordinance Factories'. This changed again in 1936 to the 'Director of Ordinance Factories [2].

The following Ordinance Factories have been identified as having railways (see separate pages for more information):-

Also the following Arsenals and Ordinance Depots:-

FIBIS resources

  • "John Braddock- Powder Master" by Sylvia Murphy FIBIS Journal Number 28 (Autumn 2012) pages 25-31. John Braddock arrived in Madras in 1813. See FIBIS Journals for details of how to access this article.

Also see

Occupations

Carnatic Ordnance Artificers

In June 1821, the Governor in Council authorised the formation of a corps of Carnatic Ordnance Artificers, to be recruited from the sons of Europeans born in India and to be enlisted as European soldiers. They were to come from the Orphan Asylum, the fort school, and from other charitable institutions. One of the reasons for the establishment was the desirability of providing suitable employment for a portion of the Eurasian (mixed race) population.[3] The Corps was attached to the Gun Carriage Manufactory[4]

An artificer, or artifier, has the general meaning of craftsman, and the meanings also include ‘A military mechanic, as a blacksmith, carpenter, etc.; also, one who prepares the shells, fuses, grenades, etc., in a military laboratory’ and 'A member of the military who specializes in manufacturing and repairing weapon systems' (Carnatic is a term for South India, and refers to Madras Presidency)

Civil Chief Master Armourer

They appear to be persons who went around inspecting weapons in places which held them, such as police stations and prisons. ‪ [5]

Articles about the stud farm at Pusa

  • "The Origin of "the Pusa Experiment" : The East India Company and Horse-Breeding in Bengal, 1793-1808" by Garry John Adler. Bengal Past & Present, 98 (1979), 10-32. Publisher: Calcutta Historical Society.
  • "A government stud farm [1798-1811] in the days of the company bahadur" by R A Addington Cavalry Journal Issue No 18, 1928.

External links

Historical books online

  • Strength, Organisation and Composition of the Army of Great Britain, Martin Petrie (1864) gives details of the Ordnance Department factories, pp164-167.
  • The Ordnance Department Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume  4, page 362. Mentions the various factories.
  • Page 187Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command‬, Volume 24, Part 2 East India (Education) II- Madras 1859, session 2. This report refers to the attempt made by Lieutenant Braddock in 1830 to improve Carnatic Ordnance Artificers by theoretical instruction.

Notes

  1. Strength, Organisation and Composition of the Army of Great Britain by Martin Petrie (1864) p165
  2. “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry IA15 page ....
  3. Page 194 The East India Company’s Arsenals & Manufactories by Brigadier-General H. A. Young, Director of Ordnance Factories in India 1917-1920 Google Books
  4. "The Anglo-Indians of Madras" from Madras Musings dated October 1-15, 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2014
  5. Peter et al. Role of a Civil Chief Master Armourer (India)‬ Victorian Wars Forum 12 September 2013 et al. Retrieved 10 November 2014