Educational and Training Services Branch

The Educational and Training Services form part of the Adjutant General's Corps and have done since 1992 when this Corps of the British Army was formed. Their remit is to continue the general education of soldiers and officers alike, as well as the actual military training of the soldiers of the Army.

Educational & Training Services
Cap badge of the ETS
Active1845 as the Corps of Army Schoolmasters
CountryUnited Kingdom Great Britain
Branch British Army
TypeCombat Service Support
RoleEducation and Training
Sizec.300 Regular Officers c.200 Reservist Officers
HQEducation Branch, Army HQ, Andover, Hampshire
Motto(s)'Animo Et Fide' Courage and Faith
ColorsOxford & Minerva Blue
MarchQuick March: Gaudeamus Igitur ("Let us rejoice") Slow March: Greensleeves
Mascot(s)Minerva
AnniversariesEducation Sunday, the First Sunday in June.
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash

History

The Educational and Training Services Branch can trace its history back to 1762 when the First Regiment of Guards (Grenadiers) based at the Tower of London established a Unit School.[1] In 1797 the Royal Artillery opened a Regimental School at Woolwich Station, and in 1812 the British Parliament first provided funding for Army schools.[1] This was the first widespread, state funded education system in the United Kingdom.[2]

The Corps of Army Schoolmasters and the Queen's Army Schoolmistresses in Aldershot, 1919.

Following the establishment of the Regimental School System, all Army Sergeant Schoolmasters were formally trained in The Monitorial System this being the most modern form of instruction at the time.[3] Thus, the Corps of Army Schoolmasters was established in 1845[4] to provide Education for Soldiers and their families. References exist to Army Schools, now Army Education Centres, being in operation continually since 1898.[5]

In 1992 the Royal Army Educational Corps was disbanded and its Officers transferred into the newly formed Educational and Training Services Branch of the Adjutant General's Corps.[6]

Traditions

Members of the ETS Branch are entitled to wear blue socks with their Number 2 Service Dress (British Army) uniforms; this is a unique part of their uniform, as a variation of socks is not seen in other units which wear infantry pattern service dress.[7] This stems from a Royal Warrant of 1854 which instructed Army Schoolmasters to wear: "a blue frock-coat, heavily braided in black, and worn with gold shoulder-knots, a sword and a crimson silk sash, and a cap with scarlet band, bearing a crown in gold thread".[8]

Organisation

ETS is an all officer, all graduate, branch. It provides education to Regular and Reserve Army personnel, helping them to meet the challenges of the 21st century by training for certainty and educating for uncertainty. Officers are primarily employed as follows:[9]

  • Learning and Development Advisors[10] (LDAs - usually in the rank of Major) who specialise in the analysis, design, delivery and assurance of Defence wide training and educational courses.[11]
  • Training Development Advisors (TDAs - usually in the rank of Captain) in the Army's Capability Directorates, Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command.[12]
  • Specialist Language Training Managers within the Defence Centre for Languages and Culture [13] in either Foreign[14] or English Language[15] training. For example, Officer in Command of the Pre-RMAS course for Officer Cadets from foreign militaries attending courses at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[15]

Army Education Centres

The original authority for the establishment of Army Education Centres was granted in 1947 for "up to eighty education centres, wherever a concentration of 1500 men or more had displayed a need".[1] Currently, the below are in operation:

Army Education Centres Past to Present
AEC Number (1991) [16] Location Current AEC Number (2021) [17]
2 AEC York 3 AEC Gp
3 AEC Catterick 3 AEC Gp
6 AEC Warminster 12 AEC Gp
7 AEC Chepstow 20 AEC Gp
10 AEC Tidworth 10 AEC Gp
12 AEC Larkhill 12 AEC Gp
15 AEC Bicester 77 AEC Gp
18 AEC Colchester 18 AEC Gp
22 AEC Chatham 30 AEC Gp
24 AEC Windsor 30 AEC Gp
27 AEC Edinburgh 27 AEC Gp
31 AEC Woolwich 30 AEC Gp
32 AEC Lisburn 32 AEC Gp
55 AEC Dhekalia 55 AEC Gp
77 AEC Aldershot 77 AEC Gp
78 AEC Tidworth 10 AEC Gp

Career pathway

An ETS Officer would usually start their career in one of two roles: Learning Development Officer (LDO) in an Army Education Centre, or an instructor at the Army Foundation College Harrogate (AFC(H)).[18] Later roles include: Army Training Regiment (ATR) LDOs or Platoon Commanders, Army School of Education (ASE) Instructor, or assignments in the wider Army.[18]

Affiliation

The Educational and Training Services Branch is a member of the International Association for Military Pedagogy (IAMP).

Affiliated corps

Notable alumni

Grave of Brigadier Furze at Windsor Castle
Grave of Brigadier Furze at Windsor Castle

References

  1. White, A.C.T. (1963). The Story of Army Education. 182, High Holborn, London, WC1: Harrap.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. "The Regimental School System and Education in the British Army in the Napoleonic Era"
  3. "The Army Schoolmaster And The Development of Elementary Education In The Army, University of London"
  4. "Royal Army Educational Corps | National Army Museum". www.nam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  5. Smith, E.A., 1993. The army schoolmaster and the development of elementary education in the army, 1812-1920 (Doctoral dissertation, Institute of Education, University of London).
  6. "Adjutant Generals Corps, History of the Corps"
  7. Adjutant General's Corps Dress Regulations and Instructions, May 2004
  8. White VC, A.C.T. (1963). The Story of Army Education 1643-1963. London: George G. Harrap & Co. LTD.
  9. "Educational and Training Services". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  10. Press Release. "British Army". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  11. JSP 822 (Aug 2020). "Defence Direction and Guidance for Training and Education" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-02-15.
  12. "Home Command". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  13. "Defence Centre for Languages and Culture - Defence Academy of the United Kingdom". www.da.mod.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  14. "Foreign Languages Wing - Defence Academy of the United Kingdom". www.da.mod.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  15. "English Language Wing". www.da.mod.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  16. Kirby, Col (Retd) C.S. (1991). Torch of Winter 1991. The Journal of the Royal Army Education Corps: RAEC Association.
  17. "Where to Find Resettlement Centres & Offices for Ex-services Personnel". www.ctp.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  18. "ETS Recruitment". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  19. Blake, Quentin (14 Jul 2017). "Quentin Blake - National service: basic training and the Royal Army Education Corps". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  20. "Archibald "Archie" CT White VC - victoriacross". www.vconline.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  21. Beach, Jim (2010). "Bolshevising the Army? Lord Gorell and Army Education, 1918-1920". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 88 (354): 170–198. ISSN 0037-9700. JSTOR 44232844.
  22. Knight, Val (1 April 1978). "The joke that led Leonard Rossiter to stardom...and Rigsby". TVTimes. I was in just before the end of the Japanese war. The war in Germany was over, clearly why I went to Germany at that time...to teach soldiers, most of whom had missed schooling during the war, to read and write. It was weird really. I was immediately made a sergeant. Well you had to have some sort of rank because as a private in the classroom, teaching old soldiers their A, B, C, you'd soon have been given the brush off. I spent most of the time writing their letters home, you know 'Dear Mum...'
  23. Grave sited at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
  24. "Liberal Democrats win Tiverton and Honiton by-election to take Tory seat". Sky News. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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