"The Quartermaster's Store" is a traditional song from England. It is

Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

no. 10508. The origins of both tune and words are uncertain. It was sung by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

soldiers during World War I, but may be an older song of the prewar British regular army, or even have origins dating back to the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

in the 17th century. In those World War I armies, the

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

's department was responsible for stores and supplies. The song lists its supposed characteristics, many of them slovenly or unhygienic. The song was known in the United States by the 1930s; it was sung by the

Lincoln Battalion The Lincoln Battalion ( es, Batallón Abraham Lincoln) was the 17th (later the 58th) battalion of the XV International Brigade, a mixed brigade of the International Brigades also known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It was organized by the C ...

, a unit of American volunteers who fought on the

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

side in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

(1936-39). During World War II, the song was popular in the

RAF 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 ...

as well as the Army. The song is also known as The Quartermaster Corps or The Quartermaster's Corps. See http://awe.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=4834. The song has gained wide popularity outside the military sphere, particularly as a campfire song in the

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

and Guiding movements. The Barmy Army, supporters of the England cricket team, have been known to sing about England international cricketers

Stuart Broad Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Norther ...

and his father

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

to the tune of "The Quartermaster's Store". As is common in oral tradition, the words vary widely; and it being a

list song A list song, also called a laundry list song or a catalog song, is a song based wholly or in part on a list. Unlike topical songs with a narrative and a cast of characters, list songs typically develop by working through a series of information, o ...

, there have been many verses. The military versions are often earthier than those intended for children or teenagers. Two typical military verses are: The song has been recorded several times: *

Murgatroyd and Winterbottom The comedy act Mr Murgatroyd and Mr Winterbottom ("Two minds with not a single thought") was a popular feature of BBC radio in the 1930s and 1940s. It was written and performed by Ronald Frankau (Murgatroyd) and Tommy Handley. Handley's biographe ...

(

Tommy Handley Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went o ...

and

Ronald Frankau Ronald Hugh Wyndham Frankau (22 February 1894 – 11 September 1951) was an English comedian who started in cabaret and made his way to radio and films. Family Frankau was born in London, the third child of Arthur Frankau, son of Joseph Fran ...

), British comedians, as a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

*1940s

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, American folksinger *1959?Les Cleveland and the D-Day Dodgers, New Zealand *1960

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

, British instrumental band, as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the No. 1 single "

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

"; Columbia DB4484 *1964

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

, American singer, on the album ''

Scouting Along with Burl Ives ''Scouting Along with Burl Ives'' is a 1964 album, subtitled ''The Official Boy Scout Album''. Ives was commissioned by the Boy Scouts of America to make this album, which is now available on CD at ScoutStuff.org. Ives is accompanied by a choir o ...

'' *1979

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

, Canadian singer-lyricist, on the album ''The Corner Grocery Store'', as "The Corner Grocery Store" *1985 The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals, as an item in a

musical medley In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumentals. A medley which is a remixed series is ...

*Other recordings have been made

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quartermaster's Store, The British songs Songs of World War I Satirical songs List songs English children's songs