Royal School of Military Survey (DCI RSMS) is a

joint services The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...

training facility associated with the Corps of

Royal Engineers 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 ...

(RE) but attached to the United Kingdom

Defence Intelligence and Security Centre The Joint Intelligence Training Group (JITG) is the location of the headquarters of both the Defence College of Intelligence and the British Army Intelligence Corps. It is located at Chicksands, Bedfordshire, approximately north of London. Th ...

(DISC).

History

The Royal School of Military Survey (RSMS) originates from 1833 when it was established at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

as a survey training branch. After a period of stability the school moved to a number of locations including

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

Fort Southwick Fort Southwick is one of the forts found on Portsdown Hill, which overlooks the naval base of Portsmouth in the county of Hampshire, England. History Fort Southwick was built to defend the landward approaches to the naval base on the recommenda ...

Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...

and

Longleat Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster and Westbury in Wiltshire, ...

before finally settling at Hermitage, Berkshire in early 1949, when it was renamed the School of Military Survey. The Hermitage site (strictly speaking it is in

Curridge Curridge is a village in the civil parish of Chieveley in the English county of Berkshire. Geography Curridge is located in the south-east of the parish, adjoining Hermitage. The chief population areas are Curridge village, Longlane and Denis ...

) was home to 42 Survey Engineer Group (Royal Engineers) and maintained close links with the Survey Production Centres (Royal Engineers), abbreviated as SPC(RE), at Bushy Park, Teddington and

Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, partly in the London Borough of Brent and partly the London Borough of Ealing. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, toget ...

(which amalgamated at

Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs ...

in the 1960s and went through changes of name to Mapping and Charting Establishment (Royal Engineers) - MCE(RE) - in the 1970s before becoming part of Military Survey, later absorbed into The Intelligence Collection Group (ICG). In 1979 a major rebuild at Hermitage provided the school with purpose-built facilities. As part of Military Survey’s 250th Anniversary celebrations in 1997, Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

awarded the school the Royal accolade. In April 2006 the RSMS became one of four federated schools within the

(DISC) along with the Defence Schools of Intelligence (DSI), Languages (DSL) and Photography (DSOP). To exploit the growing synergies between Geoinformatics and Imagery Intelligence (IMINT) all Geospatial and Imagery analysis training and education is now the responsibility of RSMS. The school consists of three Training Wings: Geospatial Information Management and Geospatial Exploitation, based at Hermitage, and Imagery Intelligence, based at Chicksands in Bedfordshire.

Courses

Courses taught at RSMS range in duration from three days to 14 months. Geospatial education and training for Royal Engineer (RE) Geographic Officers, Defence personnel, and international students is provided through the

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

in Defence Geographic Information awarded by Cranfield University since 1993. From August 2009, this course has been developed into an MSc in Geospatial Intelligence to provide opportunities for Defence personnel to achieve an MSc through a variety of delivery modes including full-time at Hermitage, part-time, and distance learning. The change was in keeping with the evolution of defence survey and was very little more than a name change. The premier course offered by RSMS is the 14 month resident Army Survey Course (ASC). The ASC is designed to be a demanding program focusing on the various fields pertaining to geospatial information and its application within the defence community. Successful completion of the ASC results in the conferment of an MSc in Geospatial Intelligence from

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

. In this relationship RSMS is responsible for course content, while Cranfield University is involved with oversight and program accreditation. Cranfield University and RSMS faculty meet regularly to ensure that each student is attaining the high standards required for graduation. Fully successful students graduate from Cranfield Defence and Security (CDS), based at

Shrivenham Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about east-northeast of Swindon. The 2011 Census recorde ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, during the July following the course. Trade training for RE Geographic Technicians is recognised through a Foundation Degree in Applied Computing (Defence Geographic Information) accredited by

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

(SHU). A recent development has been the addition of a bachelor's degree in partnership with SHU to provide RE Geographic Technicians with the opportunity to further develop their technical and academic competencies. In addition to the accredited courses, RSMS also delivers a range of specialist courses to Defence personnel, including Imagery Analysis, Full Motion Video Interpretation, GPS, Map Reading, Land Navigation, Geographic Information Systems and Terrain Analysis. The school is based 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 ...

in Hermitage, Royal County of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

External links

Official website
*Intellipedia Page - https://intellipedia.intelink.gov/wiki/Royal_School_of_Military_Survey
Cranfield University websiteRE websiteMilitary Survey Unit Histories (Defence Surveyors' Association)Military Survey (Geographic) Branch, Royal Engineers Association

References

{{Authority control Training establishments of the British Army Military intelligence Geographic data and information organizations Further education colleges in Berkshire Royal Engineers Cranfield University Education in West Berkshire District Chieveley