History

Almighty God, you call your people to serve you in many different ways; help us, the members of the Royal Australian Corps of Transport, to be equal to our particular tasks.

Make us physically strong and mentally alert, and help us to put moral values before personal interests so that we will be better able to serve you our God, and our Queen, and our country; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The RAASC March Tune 'Wait for the Waggon', itself taken from the RASC, has been retained. This tune had its origin in 1875 at Aldershot, UK. As the size of the RASC grew, the tune was expanded by including the South African folk tune, ‘Vat Jou Goed en Trek, Ferreria' (‘Pack Your Things and Trek, Ferreria'). This composite tune was first played at Kensington Barracks, London, by the RASC Band on VP Day, 14th August 1945. It was approved by the Colonel-in Chief, His Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester, and was officially notified in Army Order No 36, 1946.

On Saturday 1st June 2013, at Amberley QLD, the RACT was presented with its new Princess Royal Banner. It is red with gold embroidery, and has the Princess Royal cypher, RACT badge and 2013 on the obverse side and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on the reverse side. The Banner is to be housed in the Tobruk Barracks Officers' Mess at Puckapunyal.

The following links will take you to Excel documents containing lists of past and present Army School of Transport Regimental Sergeant Majors, Army School of Transport Commanding Officers, Royal Australian Corps of Transport Heads of Corps and Representative Colonels Commandants. Please click here to view this list and here to view RAASC/RACT Chief Instructors 1940 on.

The Corps Motto "PAR ONERI" means "Equal to the Task"

The RACT badge is a seven pointed Federation Star incorporating the Royal Cypher which was common to both the RAE and RAASC badges. Encircling the Royal Cypher is a circlet containing the name, Royal Australian Corps of Transport. This is enclosed by a laurel wreath and the Corps motto 'Par Oneri'.

Click here to download a 2MB png version of the badge.

As the Corps was formed by amalgamation, it was first Australian Army Corps to receive approval to wear the braided lanyard. The lanyard is blue and scarlet - Blue representing the RAASC and the Scarlet, the RAE (Tn) Service.

The Corps colours blue, white and scarlet reflect both the RAASC and RAE associations. Each of these colours represents the various aspects of the Corps' history:

Blue represents the early uniforms worn by our predecessors,

White represents the facings of the military train and also our mounted background, and

Scarlet represents the amalgamation of the RAE(Tn) service.

Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, was announced to Corps members as the current Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Transport on the 17^th of March 2011 at the 2011 Corps Conference. The Princess Royal, the second child and only daughter of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, was born at Clarence House, London, on 15 August 1950, when her mother was Princess Elizabeth, heir presumptive to the throne. She was baptised Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise at Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950.

She received the title Princess Royal from The Queen in June 1987; she was previously known as Princess Anne. Her Royal Highness is the seventh holder of the title.

In 1974 The Princess was appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).

In 1994 The Queen appointed Her Royal Highness a Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

In 2000, to mark her 50th birthday, The Princess Royal was appointed to the Order of the Thistle, in recognition of her extensive charity work in Scotland. She was invested in the Order at a ceremony at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh in June 2001.

Honorary military appointments

The Princess Royal holds the following Colonel-in-Chief appointments:  

Australia

• Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Transport.

Canada

• Colonel-in-Chief of the Grey and Simcoe Foresters
• Colonel-in-Chief of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Communications and Electronics Branch
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces Medical Service
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regina Rifles
• Colonel-in-Chief of Royal Newfoundland Regiment

New Zealand

• Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps

United Kingdom

• Colonel-in-Chief of the King's Royal Hussars
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Corps of Signals
• Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Logistic Corps
• Colonel-in-Chief the Royal Army Veterinary Corps