The War Department was the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857, it became 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 ...

. Within the War Office, the name 'War Department' remained in use to describe the military transport services of the War Department Fleet and the War Department Railways.

History

In 1794, the position of

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

was created. The Secretary's department was at first unofficially known as the War Department. Colonial affairs were later added and it became the Colony Department. After the outbreak of war with

revolutionary France The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

it became Colony and War Department and on the restoration of peace in 1815 the Colonial Department. In February 1855, the offices of the

, and

Secretary at War The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...

were merged and the new department and became the War Department once again until 1857 when it became the

. In 1964, the department became the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

War Department Railways

One aspect of the War Department's work was the supply of locomotives and rolling stock for use on railways in the United Kingdom, other parts of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, and in theatres of conflict. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the War Department ran the

War Department Light Railways The War Department Light Railways were a system of narrow gauge trench railways run by the British War Department in World War I. Light railways made an important contribution to the Allied war effort in the First World War, and were used for the ...

which were a system of

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

trench railways Trench railways represented military adaptation of early 20th-century railway technology to the problem of keeping soldiers supplied during the static trench warfare phase of World War I. The large concentrations of soldiers and artillery at the ...

used for the supply of ammunition and stores, the transport of troops and the evacuation of the wounded. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, large numbers of steam locomotives were produced, as well as some diesel locomotives, of varying gauges to suit the area of planned operation. After the end of the war, these locomotives were largely disposed of to various railways around the world, though some were retained for peacetime use on UK military railways. Of those that were sold, examples of three types ended up as part of the

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

fleet (where they were often referred to as 'Austerity' locos): *

Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST The Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST is a class of steam locomotive designed by Hunslet Engine Company for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at vari ...

, BR numbers 68006–68080 * WD Austerity Class 8F 2-8-0, BR numbers 90000–90732 * WD Austerity Class 8F 2-10-0, BR numbers 90750–90774 For more details see the

Steam locomotives of British Railways The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the " Big Four". In addition, BR built 2,537 steam locomotives in ...

References

* ''Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War, R. Tourret
Tourret Publishing
{{ISBN, 0-905878-06-X.'' Military history of the United Kingdom

History

War Department Railways

See also

References