The role, work, and careers of clerks and other non-political appointees in the Office of Ordnance - presentation

The slides from a presentation given at the 2019 British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (BSECS) annual conference on 4-6 January 2019 at St Hugh's College, Oxford.The slides have been uploaded in .pptx and .pdf format.Paper abstract:The administration of war in the long eighteenth century has
begun to receive much needed attention in recent years. However, many works
focus on the political appointees and only mention the more junior,
non-political, staff in passing. In contrast, this paper will focus on the
clerks, storekeepers etc. who were the backbone of the Office of Ordnance
during the long eighteenth century. Although the paper will focus on the period
of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the earlier eighteenth century
will be used as a comparison.

The Ordnance was an international organisation with yards
and out-stations throughout the world (especially by 1815) as well as in the
British Isles. The paper will demonstrate that many Ordnance clerks and
storekeepers worked across the globe at a number of these establishments in
order to progress through the ranks.

In addition to outlining the work and careers of the Ordnance
officials the paper will examine what happened to the employees when they left
Ordnance service – either through old age or through dismissal. Many employees
also died in service and the paper will also describe how the Ordnance
contributed to looking after the dependents of those who had served.

2019年1月4日至6日在牛津圣休学院举办的第十八世纪英国研究学会（BSECS）年度会议上，展出了该会议的演示文稿。演示文稿已上传为.pptx和.pdf格式。论文摘要：近年来，对十八世纪长期战争的管理开始受到应有的关注。然而，许多研究作品仅聚焦于政治任命者，而仅对较高级别的非政治性职员略作提及。相比之下，本文将聚焦于十八世纪长期战争期间构成军械署核心的文书、仓库管理员等人员。尽管本文将以法国大革命和拿破仑战争时期为研究重点，但早期十八世纪将被用作对比研究。军械署是一个国际组织，在全球范围内设有造船厂和分支机构（尤其是至1815年），以及在英国群岛中。本文将证明许多军械署文书和仓库管理员在全球范围内的多个机构中工作，以晋升职级。除了概述军械署官员的工作和职业生涯外，本文还将探讨员工在离开军械署服务（无论是由于年老或解雇）时的情况。许多员工也在服务期间去世，本文还将描述军械署如何为那些曾服役者的家属提供照顾。