There have been uniformed cadet detachments in British schools since Victorian times, predominantly in fee-paying independent schools and the once numerous state grammar schools which often tried to imitate the public school ethos. The majority of grammar schools have since been transformed into comprehensives and there are cadet contingents attached to some of these schools, although they are few and far between. Military-minded teenagers can join their local Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps or Sea Cadet Corps if there is a unit in their locality, but as matters stand only a minority of pupils have the opportunity to enrol as cadets at the school they attend. Of course, in schools where membership of the cadet corps is compulsory, the intake is bound to include boys who would never have considered joining voluntarily and who can only be called unwilling recruits.

Victorian cadets

The first cadet detachments were set up in schools during the mid-Victorian period. Read about these pioneer cadets HERE.

The interwar years

Schoolboy cadets of the 1920s and 1930s wore First World War style uniforms. Find out more about the uniforms of the Officers' Training Corps HERE.

The postwar years (one)

During the Second World War, cadets were issued with the innovatory new battledress. Schoolboy recruits continued to wear a variation of this uniform until the early 1970s.

The postwar years (two)

The 1950s saw cadets issued with a smarter version of the wartime battledress, a uniform which held sway for some 25 years alongside vintage Lee Enfield rifles and blancoed webbing.

Cadets today

Recent years have seen a revival of interest in cadet activities in schools. Recruits can look forward to wearing practical modern uniforms and training with some of the latest military equipment. See how times have changed HERE.

Sea and Air Cadets

Some of the larger school units include detachments of sea and air cadets. Their uniforms have also changed over the years: read about them HERE.

A public school cadet corps

Archive photographs of Lord Wandsworth College cadets from the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s together with some personal memories of the CCF in the 1950s.

The Traditional English Schoolboy

School Cadet Detachments.........School Scout Troops

School Uniforms Miscellany.....Uniforms in Close-up.....Main Page

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