Central to religious life in the British Army were the ‘padres’ of the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department (RAChD), whose pre-eminence was enhanced by the demise of the Indian Ecclesiastical Establishment in 1947 and by the slow decline of auxiliary religious welfare agencies. Supported by sending Churches which were also shrinking, and whose approach to Army chaplaincy was often (and for various reasons) ambivalent, the RAChD (like the all-professional Army) generally struggled to find recruits. The duties of chaplains were varied, ranging far beyond the stated requirements of Queen’s Regulations. They were also fulfilled under the umbrella of an organisation that was, until ‘Convergence’ in the early twenty-first century, divided along confessional lines, and whose ethos and training was widely considered archaic and even inadequate. However, the McGill Report of 1999 was a catalyst for change. Its emphasis on efficiency and on chaplaincy’s ethical contribution laid the foundations for an increased and more ubiquitous chaplaincy presence, an improved training regime and for institutional Convergence. The fruits of these changes would quickly become apparent in the War on Terror.