Every Unit In British Army Has Its Educational Course

Taranaki Daily News, 2 September 1942, Page 4

Every Unit In British Army Has Its Educational Course

Qvc+om nf Iprtnrps and forgo some of their spare time in giY?n.g oystem OI leciurea atiu taj^ an(j leacJing discussions groups. It is claSSeS explained. the task of the unit education officer to discover and utilise this amateur talent. Every unit in the British Army, Typical discoveries of this sort are archievery battalion battery and I similar Jecta °an d formation, was ordered by the War can explain the work of local governOffice to provide itself with a unit ment( commercial artists who can rouse I education officer within six months jn 0thers a latent talent for drawing, of the outbreak of war. Men were and students of various studies who can selected from those already serving sign-post the way through modern in the unit and they carried on this problems. work in addition to their ordinary Jhewm t« military auties. t^e scheme. Training was divided into The British system of army education, three classes — technical military training which is qrgamsed and administered by rangjng from ski-ing to tactical school, a staff distinct from the Army Education p^ySjcat training and discipline on orthoCorps which undertook the education of jqx tines, and general education. "The the pre-war professional soldier, uses ^j^t of general education is to increase four agencies. University regional com- mentai alertness," stated the syllabus. mittees which cater for extra-mural ac- »£very man wju Spend one term on edutivities in time of peace provide a num- cation Df a specialist or general characber of lecturers; there are the locaJ ^er accorcjing to his previous attainrnents education authorities which assist speci- man m ^ encouraged to take ally in vocational work through technical / hobb A battalion exhibition oi schools; there are correspondence classes v , crafts is heine arranzed " for which the men pay a registration fee, Speciaiist classes were for those with rather as an mdica lon army second-class education certimtentions than with the hope that the flcate ^ whQ bad matriculated! or cost of the organisation w U be covered, ^ wbo on account of .age and em. land finally tliere are unit sch ols c pioyment were more likely to benefit ducted if possible by one of its ffic, . £rom ief^-ning a handicraft. Classes were arranged in book-keeping, shorthand, Mentai Stiniulus. mechanical drawing, carpentry, metal . . , . .. ,, . . . . work, wireless, painting, first aid, pastry As in Australia, the system, because of motor mechanics, French and the exigencies of the service result # in Qerma^# uncertain hours and variable facilities, ' r , rias^ec has its limitations. specially for students Compulsory Classes. jwith a professional objective, but it sup- "Each company and detachment will I plies for many a mentai stimulus which organise general education," continued ! cannot be derived from games and enter- the syllabus. "Each man not selected for. jtainment. For a long time it was put on a specialist class will attend for orie ja par with welfare and recreation and term, during which he will not be rej regarded as an additional comfort for moved for other duties except in an i the troops wholly unrelated to training emergency." Each course consisted of 72 : either as soldiers or as citizens. There one-hour periods made up as follows:— has, however, been a change within the Arithmetic 20 periods, English history 15,, last 18 months accelerated by the landing geography and map reading 15, composijof garrisons in such isolated outposts as tion and grammar 10, and English literajlceland. In such places the educational ture 12. At the end of the course tests set jcourses have become compulsory. by battalion headquarters were held and | An early progress report on the British all who obtained 60 per cent. or more system stated that half the lectures and received a certificate. a quarter of the classes were on subjects In the same battalion debates were held connected directly with the war: his- on military and other subjects, and the torical, geographical, economic and poli- instructions laid it down that "all men tical. About one-third dealt with scien-' should be encouraged to speak at some tific topics, vocational and otherwise, debate, however briefly." I while music, drama and literature ac- When the British Expeditionary Force jcounted for about one-tenth. Among the was on the Continent many classes in varied subjects were also organ music, French were organised, and in England [psychology, meteorology, and camouflage languages has been a popular subject in nature. with Canadian as well as British sol- | The War Office pamphlet on "Educa- diers. Classes have also been conducted tion in the Wartime Army" suggests that for the teaching of English to foreign in the modern army there are thousands troops in Britain— Czeeh, Dutch, Polish of officers and men able and willing to and French.