The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

 during the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

.

Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal

Bengal Army

The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...

, Madras

Madras Army

The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of the British India within the British Empire.The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three...

 and Bombay

Bombay Army

The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia.The Presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three presidencies to the direct...

 Armies, which were later combined into the Indian Army. They were meant to provide officers for the native regiments and for the staff and army departments. They were also designed to offer placements for civil and political appointments for posts which Indian Army officers might be eligible. Those officers who were already employed by the Army had the option to join the Staff Corps or to stay employed under the old conditions of work. In that sense, the Indian Staff Corps was seen by the majority of entrants as synonymous with the Regular Officer Corps of the Indian Armies. This is not to be confused with officers holding staff appointments.

To reduce confusion, the term "Indian Staff Corps" in relation to officers on regimental duty was withdrawn by Lord Kitchener

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener

Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...

 during his unification of the Indian Army. From that time, officers were gazetted to the "Indian Army".

Victoria Cross recipients

• Guy Bosiragon
  Guy Hudleston Boisragon
  Brigadier Guy Hudleston Boisragon VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
  
   
• Charles Grant
  Charles James William Grant
  Colonel Charles James William Grant VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
  
  
• Francis Maxwell
  Francis Aylmer Maxwell
  Brigadier General Francis Aylmer Maxwell VC, CSI, DSO & Bar was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Maxwell was 28 years old, and a lieutenant in the Indian...
  
  
• Charles Melliss
  Charles John Melliss
  Major General Sir Charles John Melliss VC, CB, CMG was a British military officer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Melliss was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth...
  
  
• John Smith
  John Manners Smith
  Lieutenant Colonel John Manners Smith VC CIE CVO was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....