The OTC was established in 1926 and fulfilled the dreams of Colonel William Julyan of a cadet corps run along the
lines of other established public school detachments. He had been fifth form master at Devizes Secondary School
before being commissioned into the Regular Army during the First World War.
Afer the armistice, Colonel Julyan became the first warden of Lord Wandsworth College. At a cost of four shillings
(20p) a garment he purchased a number of war surplus army officers' uniforms, complete with breeches and Sam Browne
belts, to kit out his fledgling cadet corps. Schoolboy cadets at that time usually wore khaki serge 'service
dress' akin to that issued to private soldiers, so the Lord Wandsworth cadets certainly cut a dash in their
superior quality subalterns' uniforms.
Colonel Julyan regularly paraded his smartly uniformed boys, marching them en masse to nearby Long Sutton Church
on Sundays and on Empire Day and Armistice Day. The cadets learnt the usual military skills and attended an annual
fortnight's camp in the extensive 1200 acre grounds of the College estate, supervised by a retired officer from
the colonel's old regiment, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. The regiment also helped out at camp by lending
a sergeant and a bugler.
Colonel Julyan arranged for the OTC to be inspected annually by regular army officers. This led to his being advised
by the Territorial Army Headquarters that the boys ought not to be parading in officers' uniforms. The TA offered
to provide khaki service dress to replace the non-regulation uniforms, but Colonel Julyan declined the offer. The
Major General who inspected the cadets on the next occasion following this contretemps remarked that he was very
impressed by the smartness and keeness of the college cadets and that he had seen only one other public school
OTC company with all the members kitted out in officers' dress - that of Eton College.
One old Sternian recalled in 2001: 'When Colonel Julyan formed the OTC I was appointed 'first aid man'. We were
kitted out with khaki subaltern's tunics, breeches and puttees. These puttees were long strips of khaki cloth which
had to be wound about the calves and became quite painful if put on too tightly. Colonel Julyan arranged for a
sergeant from Aldershot to come over and give us drill. We started off with wooden rifles and later graduated to
the old Boer War rifles called Martin Henrys. We were taught drill and marching and learnt to keep head erect,
chin up, chest out, and stomach in.'
LEFT: This 15-year-old cadet was photographed in 1929
Colonel Julyan leads the OTC to church parade, to the beat of a drum, in 1928
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