Description
Physical description
A gold anodised aluminium Royal Pioneer Corps headdress badge, being a "pile" of a pick standing upright, a shovel to the right, both head downwards, and a rifle to the left, over which a laurel wreath, top downwards, all surmounted by Queen's crown. Below all a scroll bearing LABOR OMNIA VINCIT (Work Conquers All). A slider on the reverse.
History note
The symbolism of the various elements of the badge is obvious, the pick and the shovel piled in consort with the rifle with the laurel of victory, all under the crown.
The motto has equally obvious connections with the work of the Corps but also traces its ancestry back to classical times, being taken from a poem by Virgil.
Identical badge worn by Labour Corps 1918 to 1919, Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps 1939 – 1940, Pioneer Corps 1940 – 1946 and Royal Pioneer Corps 1946 – 1985, but with a change from King's to Queen's crown from about 1954.
The Labour Corps was created in February 1917 to bring together the, by then, large array of units employed in labouring duties in support of the Army. No provision for labour services had been made prior to the outbreak of war and initially the British Army relied on employing French civilians. By 1915 it had become necessary to raise and send overseas a labour force from Britain, and to raise similar support from around the world. Eventually there was a 98,000 strong Chinese labour force, 10,000 Africans, six battalions of the British West India Regiment and contingents from Egypt and Fiji. These all came under the Labour Corps, as did the numerous Works and Labour Battalions initially raised by Infantry Regiments. Also included were the various non-combatant and "Alien" companies. By 1918 the Corps numbered around 325,000.
Initially those men from infantry Labour and Works Battalions were to wear the General Service cap badge. This was not a popular decision and many retained their original cap badges. In October 1918 the Labour Corps was granted its own badge. The Corps was disbanded towards the end of 1919.
A second labour corps was raised in October 1939 but, to avoid any political connotations, the word "Labour" was avoided and it was called the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. In November 1939 it inherited the same badge as its predecessor. On 22 November 1940 it was re-designated The Pioneer Corps and all men were armed as opposed to just one quarter of them as originally planned. For its service during the war the Royal prefix was granted in November 1946. The badge with the Queen's crown was sealed in July 1954.
The Corps became part of the Regular Army in 1950 and over the ensuing years its role changed. This led to proposals to change the cap badge to better reflect the Regular status and role of the Corps and this was effected in February 1985.
In 1993 the Royal Pioneer Corps became part of the newly formed Royal Logistics Corps. The crossed axes of the 1985 Corps badge was incorporated into that of the RLC.
Inscription
LABOR OMNIA VINCIT