The Intelligence Corps (Int Corps) is a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. It is responsible for gathering, analysing and disseminating

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

and also for

counter-intelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

and security. The Director of the Intelligence Corps is a

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

History

1814–1914

In the 19th century, British intelligence work was undertaken by the Intelligence Department of the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

. An important figure was Sir Charles Wilson, a

Royal Engineer The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

who successfully pushed for reform of the War Office's treatment of topographical work. In the early 1900s intelligence gathering was becoming better understood, to the point where a

organisation (

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...

) was formed by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DoMI) under Captain (later Major-General)

Vernon Kell Major General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was a British Army general and the founder and first Director of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Known as K, he was described in ...

; overseas intelligence gathering began in 1912 by

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

under Commander (later Captain)

Mansfield Smith-Cumming Captain Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming (1 April 1859 – 14 June 1923) was a British naval officer who served as the first chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Origins He was a great-great grandson of the prominent merchant John ...

1914–1929

Although the first proposals to create an intelligence corps came in 1905, the first Intelligence Corps was formed in August 1914 and originally included only officers and their servants. It left for France on 12 August 1914. The

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

was formed to monitor the ground, and provided aerial photographs for the Corps to analyse. During the Irish War of Independence, Intelligence Corps operatives were used to monitor the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

. Following the war the Intelligence Corps was gradually scaled down and disbanded entirely in 1929; intelligence matters were left to individual unit officers.

Second World War

On 19 July 1940 a new Intelligence Corps was created by Army Order 112 and has existed since that time. The Army had been unprepared for collecting intelligence for deployment to France, and the only intelligence had been collected by Major Sir

Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperi ...

. The Corps trained operatives to parachute at

RAF Ringway The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

; some of these were then dropped over France as part of the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE). Intelligence Corps officers were involved in forming the highly-effective

Long Range Desert Group The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Originally called the Long Range Patrol (LRP), the unit was founded in Egypt in June 1940 by Major Ralph Alger Bagnold, acti ...

, and Corps officer Lt Col Peter Clayton was one of the four founders of the Special Air Service (SAS). Around 40 per cent of British Army personnel at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years followin ...

were in the Intelligence Corps.History of the Intelligence Corps, p. 4 The Combined Allied Intelligence Corps as it was known in Malta, began recruiting in 1940 following Italy’s entry into the war on the side of Germany.Recorded interview with Captain “C.M.” (Rtd) of the Combined Allied Intelligence Corps (1941–1946) at Sliema, Malta on 7 November 2012 Among its many responsibilities in the Mediterranean Theatre were debriefing and interrogation of high-ranking prisoners of war in East Africa following

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's invasion of

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

(“Eldoret” P.O.W. Camp no. 365 being one example), counter-intelligence operations following

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

the Allied invasion of Sicily in August 1943, and implementation of the Allied Screening Commission. The Commission was established by Field-Marshal Sir Harold Alexander a few days after the fall of Rome in June 1944 to identify and reimburse Italian civilians who had assisted Allied escapees.

Cold War

Throughout the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, Intelligence Corps

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and

NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

(with changed insignia) were posted behind the Iron Curtain in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, to join in the intelligence-gathering activities of the British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (

Brixmis The British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS) was a Military liaison missions, military liaison mission which operated behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany during the Cold War. BRIXMIS existed from 1946 – ...

Northern Ireland

Many members of the Intelligence Corps served in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

during "

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

". Units such as the

Military Reaction Force The Military Reaction Force, Military Reconnaissance Force or Mobile Reconnaissance Force (MRF)Taylor, Peter (2001). ''Brits: The War Against the IRA''. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 128–130. was a covert intelligence gathering and counterinsurgenc ...

Special Reconnaissance Unit The Special Reconnaissance Unit, also known as the 14 Field Security and Intelligence Company (internally "The Det") was a part of the British Army Intelligence Corps involved in plainclothes operations in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwa ...

Force Research Unit The Force Research Unit (FRU) was a covert military intelligence unit of the British Army's Intelligence Corps. It was established in 1982 during the Troubles to obtain intelligence from terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland by recruiti ...

and 14 Intelligence Company contained Corps soldiers and officers.

Designation

On 1 February 1985 the corps was officially declared an 'Arm' (combat support) instead of a 'Service' (rear support).

Corps traditions

Intelligence Corps personnel wear a distinctive cypress green beret with a

cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as w ...

consisting of a union rose (a red rose with a white centre) between two

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

branches and surmounted by a crown. (According to the late Gavin Lyall, the Intelligence Corps cap badge is referred to jokingly as "a rampant pansy resting on its laurels".) Their motto is ''Manui Dat Cognitio Vires'' ("Knowledge gives Strength to the Arm"). The corps' quick march is ''The Rose & Laurel'' while its slow march is Henry Purcell's ''Trumpet Tune & Ayre''.History of the Intelligence Corps, p. 5 Due to the colour of the beret, Intelligence Corps personnel are often referred to as 'Green Slime', or simply 'Slime' by fellow soldiers.

Locations

Their headquarters, formerly at Maresfield, East Sussex, then Templer Barracks at Ashford, Kent, moved in 1997 to the former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

station at

Chicksands Chicksands is a village in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Campton and Chicksands, whose population in 2007 was estimated to be 2,510. By the 2011 census the figure was accurately place ...

in Bedfordshire along with the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC). DISC was renamed as Joint Intelligence Training Group in January 2015. The Intelligence Corps Museum was created in 1969, and later renamed as the Military Intelligence Museum, now also at Chicksands. As a working military base, the Museum can be visited by appointment only.

Training and promotion

The corps has a particularly high proportion of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

s, many of them commissioned from the ranks, and also a high percentage of female members. Non-commissioned personnel join as an Operator Military Intelligence (OPMI) or Operator Military Intelligence (Linguist) (OPMI(L)). They do basic 14-week military training at either the

Army Training Centre Pirbright The Army Training Centre Pirbright is an initial training establishment of the British Army, at Pirbright Camp. Scope The ATC, along with the Army Training Regiment Winchester and the Army Training Regiment Grantham, provides Phase 1 milita ...

, or the

Army Training Regiment An Army Training Regiment (ATR) provides Basic Training for elements of the British Army. History The British Army also used to have Army Training Regiments at Bassingbourn (closed in 2012), Harrogate (renamed the Army Foundation College), and Li ...

, Winchester. OPMI soldiers then will complete a 20-week special-to-arm training at Templer Training Delivery Wing, Chicksands, at the end of which they are promoted to

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

and posted to a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

Current units

All battalions of the Intelligence Corps fall under 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade of the 6th (UK) Division. Below are the current units of the corps. * Corps Headquarters, at

*Specialist Group Military Intelligence (Army Reserve), at

Denison Barracks Denison Barracks is a military installation at Hermitage in Berkshire, England. History The site was used as an American military hospital during the Second World War and became the home of Royal School of Military Survey in 1949. The barracks w ...

, Hermitage *Land Intelligence Fusion Centre, at Denison Barracks, Hermitage *

Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre The Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre (DIFC) is based at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. Largely created from the staff of the National Imagery Exploitation Centre (formerly known as the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC)) and th ...

, at

RAF Wyton Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and is now home to the Joint Forces Intelligence Group. History Flying station Wyton has b ...

*Army Element,

Defence Intelligence Training Group Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

, at

*1 Military Intelligence Battalion, at Gaza Barracks,

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10 ...

** Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company **11 Military Intelligence Company **12 Military Intelligence Company, at

Imphal Barracks Imphal Barracks is a military installation located in Fulford, York, England. History Cavalry barracks were built in Fulford as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution and were completed in 1795 but these have now bee ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

– supporting 1st (UK) Division **14 Military Intelligence Company **15 Military Intelligence Company **16 Military Intelligence Company, at Merville Barracks,

Colchester Garrison Colchester Garrison is a major garrison located in Colchester in the county of Essex, Eastern England. It has been an important military base since the Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was established by Legio XX ...

– supporting 16 Air Assault Brigade * 2 Military Intelligence (Exploitation) Battalion, at

Trenchard Lines Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993, ...

Upavon Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...

** Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company **21 Military Intelligence Company, at Dalton Barracks,

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historically the county town of Berkshire, since 1974 Abingdon has been ad ...

**22 Military Intelligence Company **23 Military Intelligence Company, at

Thiepval Barracks Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, County Antrim, is the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland and its 38th (Irish) Brigade. History The barracks were built in 1940. They are named after the village of Thiepval in Northern France, an im ...

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

**24 Military Intelligence Company **25 Military Intelligence Company ** * 3 Military Intelligence Battalion (Reserve), in Hackney,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

'''' ** Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company, in Hackney, London **31 Military Intelligence Company, in Hackney, London **32 Military Intelligence Company, in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

**33 Military Intelligence Company, in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London **34 Military Intelligence Company, in Hampstead, London * 4 Military Intelligence Battalion, at Ward Barracks,

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about northeast of the town of Amesbury. ...

(Regular Army) – supports 3rd UK Division'''' ** Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company ** 41 Military Intelligence Company ** 42 Military Intelligence Company ** 43 Military Intelligence Company ** Operations Support Military Intelligence Company ** Logistic Support Section, at Aldershot Garrison — supporting 101st Logistic Brigade **Detachments, at Bovington Camp and in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* 5 Military Intelligence Battalion (Reserve), at Edinburgh Castle,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

British Army Newsletter , Summer 2020 , Issue 5 , In Front
'''' – paired with 1 MI Bn ** Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company, at Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh **51 Military Intelligence Company, in

***Detachment in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

**52 Military Intelligence Company, at Napier Armoury, Gateshead **53 Military Intelligence Company, at

Carlton Barracks Carlton Barracks is a military installation in Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. History The barracks were opened as a base for the 4th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Militia in 1865. In 1887 the barracks were bought, with corps funds, to accomm ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

***Detachment, at

Wallis Barracks Wallis (derived from ''Wallace'') may refer to: People * Wallis (given name) **Wallis, Duchess of Windsor * Wallis (surname) Places * Wallis (Ambleston), a hamlet within the parish of Ambleston in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, United Kingdom * ...

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

* 6 Military Intelligence Battalion (Reserve), in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

'''' – paired with 2 MI Bn **Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company, in Manchester **61 Military Intelligence Company, in Manchester **62 Military Intelligence Company, at

***Manx Detachment in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

**63 Military Intelligence Company, in

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

***Detachment in

Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley. Bletchley is best know ...

* 7 Military Intelligence Battalion (Reserve), in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

'''' – paired with 4 MI Bn **Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company, in Bristol **71 Military Intelligence Company, in

***715 Military Intelligence Section, at

Wyvern Barracks Wyvern Barracks is a military installation on Topsham Road in Exeter. History The site was established as an artillery barracks for the Board of Ordnance under the name of Topsham Barracks around 1800. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

**72 Military Intelligence Company, in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

**73 Military Intelligence Company, at Denison Barracks, Hermitage **74 Military Intelligence Company, at Raglan Barracks, Newport

Notable personnel

* :Intelligence Corps officers

References

External links and further reading

Official website

Intelligence Corps Association

3 MI Bn (V) – London

5 MI Bn – Edinburgh

Military Intelligence MuseumThe Intelligence Corps in the Second World War
The Services 1930 – 1956 at www.BritishMilitaryHistory.co.uk * * {{The British Army Nationstate regiments/corps of military intelligence 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1929 Military units and formations established in 1940 Corps of the British Army in World War I Corps of the British Army in World War II