Althoughexaminations preparatory to promotion had been instituted by the Duke of Wellington in 1850, no attempt was made to provide any general machinery for affording to officers of the army means of instruction, even in those subjects a knowledge of which was by the regulations of the service required of them. The Department of Artillery studies at Woolwich, originally instituted on a small scale in 1850, and the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham, supplied to the officers of the scientific corps, though to a much more limited extent than at the present day, opportunities of carrying on their professional studies after entering the army. But to officers of other branches of the service no means of instruction were afforded in any subjects beyond the mere routine of drill and regimental duties, except by the Senior Department at Sandhurst and the School of Musketry at Hythe. The state of the former institution, the advantages of which extended only to a very small proportion of the officers of the army, is described in the accounts of the Royal Military College and of the Staff College. The school at Hythe was first established in the year 1853, for the purpose of training a certain number of officers and soldiers in the new system of musketry, which was adopted on the introduction of rifled arms into the service.
The first official suggestion, with the object of remedying the deficiency of professional knowledge among the officers of the army, was made by Mr. Sidney Herbert, when Secretary at War, in 1854. The outline of the plan proposed by him at this time was sketched out in a letter addressed to Lord Hardinge, then Commander-in-Chief, and its details were subsequently more fully explained in speeches in the House of Commons. The scheme contemplated a general reorganization of the system of military education,—the improvementof the examinations instituted by the Duke of Wellington for admission to the army and for promotion,—the conversion of the Senior Department at Sandhurst into a special school for the staff,—and the introduction of a system of professional instruction for officers after entering the service. With the view of carrying out the latter part of the scheme, it was proposed, in 1854, to appoint garrison instructors at certain large stations both at home and in the colonies. It was not intended to make attendance at the instruction thus given compulsory, but a stringent examination in the subjects which entered into the course was to be a necessary condition of promotion to the ranks of lieutenant and captain respectively.
The scheme of garrison instruction proposed by Mr. Sidney Herbert met with the approval of Lord Hardinge, and obtained the sanction of the Treasury. A sum of 2,000l., for the purpose of making a commencement in carrying it out, was inserted in the estimates for 1854-5, and the plan, as explained by Mr. Herbert in moving the army estimates, met with the entire approval of the House of Commons.
The outbreak of the Crimean War, however, in the first instance, interfered with the practical realization of the scheme, although it appears that some of the instructors had been actually selected for their posts, and that it was intended to send them out to the Crimea to acquire a practical acquaintance with such of the minor operations of war as would fall within the intended course of instruction. This latter intention was not carried out, and after the resignation of Mr. Sidney Herbert, which took place in the beginning of 1855, no further steps appear to have been taken in the matter. At the same time money continued to be voted for the purpose of carrying out the scheme (although no application of the funds was made), until the general reduction in the estimates which took place on the conclusion of peace in 1856; it appears also, from statements made by the Under Secretary at War, in the House of Commons, that the Government had never abandoned the idea of adopting some measure for the professional instruction of officers.
In the debates in both Houses of Parliament, during the Crimean War, numerous discussions took place on the subject of military education; the failure of the existing examinations for promotion, the lax mode in which they were carried out,the want of acquaintance with many of the mere rudiments of military science displayed by the majority of officers, and the necessity of supplying them with some means of instruction in the practical duties devolving upon them on active service, formed frequent subjects of remark. On the 5th of June, 1856, after the termination of the war, Mr. Sidney Herbert, then a private member, again brought his proposal for the appointment of garrison instructors before the notice of the House of Commons, in connection with his more general scheme for the improvement of the education of officers; but, although the proposal again met with the approval of nearly every speaker who took part in the discussion, the Government declined to pledge themselves to the adoption of the scheme in its details, as the question of the reorganization of the whole system of military education was then under consideration.
During the latter part of the year 1856, as has been elsewhere stated, the attention of the military authorities was seriously directed to the question of improving the education of the army. Nearly all the plans submitted to Lord Panmure with this object included, as an essential feature, the adoption of some means of professional instruction for officers after entering the service; and the machinery suggested was, in almost every case, based in its general principles on Mr. Sidney Herbert’s original proposal for the establishment of garrison instructors. The Commissioners appointed in the same year to visit the military schools of the continent, while their inquiries were chiefly confined to the improvement of the education of the scientific corps, recommended in their report that young officers of all branches of the service should, after entering the army, go through some course of professional study; at the same time they suggested no machinery for carrying their recommendation into effect. The military witnesses examined, during the years 1856 and 1857, before the Royal Commission on the Purchase System, very generally concurred in the opinion that higher professional acquirements should be demanded from officers, and that means of instruction should be afforded to them; and the Commissioners, in their Report, endorsed this view in the following terms: “Nor can it be fairly said that the purchase system is the obstacle to introducing a better system of military education.A stricter examination before granting the first commission, an improved training afterward, and a further examination on promotion from ensign to lieutenant, are measures perfectly compatible with the system of purchase.”
The system of garrison instruction suggested by Mr. Sidney Herbert appears to have found general favor at this period. The instructions issued to the Council of Military Education, on their appointment in 1857, directed them, in connection with the subject of the professional examination of officers up to the rank of captain, to consider the question “of the establishment of instructors at the large stations.” The plan proposed by the Council, in 1857, did not contemplate the general appointment of either garrison or regimental instructors; its main feature was the establishment of officers’ schools at depot battalion stations, through which all young officers, who were in the first instance to receive provisional commissions, should pass before joining their regiments and being permanently commissioned. This recommendation was supplemented by one for the partial establishment of district instructors at stations where classes of ten officers could be formed, for the more advanced instruction of those who had been some years in the service.
The great demand for officers occasioned by the Indian mutiny, combined with practical objections which were made to the Council’s scheme, prevented their proposals from being carried into effect. The only immediate result of their recommendations was the establishment, in 1857, of a class at Aldershot for the instruction of officers quartered at the camp in military sketching. A full account of this institution, which has since been considerably developed, and is now called the Survey Class, will be found further on.
At a subsequent period the attention of the Council appears to have been directed more to the question of securing the professional competence of officers by a special military education before entering the service, than by compulsory instruction at a later period. The proposal, originally made in 1858, for requiring all candidates for commissions in the line to pass through Sandhurst, has been already described in connection with the Royal Military College. The Council have, however, never ceased to urge the expediency of providing officers, after they have entered the service, with facilities forinstruction in the higher branches of military science; and in their last General Report they recommended the establishment of institutions similar to the Aldershot Survey Class at other large stations.
Although no general machinery has been introduced for affording instruction to officers of the cavalry and infantry after entering the service, various steps have, from time to time, been taken with the object of extending their professional knowledge to subjects beyond the mere routine duties of their own arms. In January, 1859, commanding officers were directed to require from the officers of their regiments reports and, if possible, sketches of the roads traversed when route marching in winter; and later in the same year an order was issued that officers of infantry should, whenever practicable, be instructed in great gun drill. In the present year a system of instruction in military signalling has been introduced at the School of Engineering at Chatham, to which detachments of officers are periodically sent. In addition to the recommendations of the present Royal Commission for the introduction of a system of garrison and regimental instruction, the Royal Commission on Courts-martial, in their recent Report, recommended that more attention should be paid to the education of officers in military law, and that stricter examinations in the subject should be enforced.
The necessity of an improvement in the professional acquirements of officers appears to have been almost universally recognized from the time when Mr. Sidney Herbert brought the subject to public notice in 1854. Various opinions, however, have been entertained as to the means by which the desired object could best be effected.
The different plans which have from time to time been suggested may be classified under two main divisions:
(1.) Those which propose a special military education for all candidates for commissions before entering the service.
(2.) Those which advocate, in preference, the postponement of professional instruction, at least for the majority of the officers of the army, until a later period, after the service has been entered, and the rank of officer been attained.
Under the former head comes the scheme suggested by the Council of Military Education in 1858, the adoption of which was at one time determined upon by the military authorities,for requiring all candidates for commissions in the cavalry and infantry to pass through Sandhurst. A similar proposal was suggested by witnesses to the Royal Commission on the Purchase System in 1856; it was supported by the authority of the Duke of Cambridge and Mr. Sidney Herbert (who had originally been opposed to it) before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Military Organization, in 1860; and the Committee, in their Report, though declining to pronounce any decided opinion on the subject, stated that they considered the measure “well worthy of the most careful consideration.” Of late years the same principle has been publicly advocated by Sir C. Trevelyan, who considers that there should be but two modes of admission to the rank of officer,—one through a military college, and the other by serving in the ranks; and the advantages which would result from passing all candidates for commissions through a military college have been urged by several witnesses, including His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, before the present Royal Commission. On the other hand, opponents of this view have pointed out the objections entertained by them to any such measure.
Allied to the plan for making a military college the sole channel of admission to the commissioned ranks of the army is one for requiring all candidates for commissions to serve as cadets, in order to acquire a practical acquaintance with their duties, before obtaining the rank of officer. This proposal, originally suggested by Lord Clyde, before the Royal Commission on the Purchase System, has more recently been supported by the authority of Sir W. Mansfield and Lord De la Warr; the latter officer, however, appears of late to have somewhat modified his views, and to advocate at present, for all young men who obtain direct commissions by purchase, a probationary course of six or twelve months’ instruction in military subjects and drill, at their parents’ expense, prior to joining their regiments, in accordance with a plan submitted to the Commission. The cadet system has also been advocated by Lord Walden before the Commission.
To the class of plans which advocate the postponement of professional instruction for the majority of the officers of the army until after the service has been entered, belong Mr. Sidney Herbert’s original proposal, in 1854, for the introduction of a system of garrison instruction—the recommendationof the Commissioners of 1856 “that young officers after entering the army should go through some course of professional study,”—the suggestion made by the Royal Commission on the Purchase System for “an improved system of training after the first commission is granted,”—and the proposal of the Council of Military Education, in 1857, for the establishment of depot battalion schools for young officers. Opinions founded on the same principle have been expressed by several witnesses before the present Commission. The system of garrison instructors at large stations, that of regimental instructors in each corps, and, lastly, a combination of both systems, have been respectively advocated by various authorities as the machinery by which the later instruction of officers should be carried out. Even those who advocate a special education at a military college as the universal condition of obtaining a commission do not, in the majority of cases, contemplate the cessation of all instruction on the commission being obtained; at the same time in many instances they do not consider that this later instruction should be made compulsory on officers, and, while recommending that facilities should be afforded for it, they maintain the superior efficacy of a system of preliminary military education at an earlier age.
The survey class at Aldershot originated in an order of the Quartermaster-General in 1857, appointing two extra deputy-assistants to afford professional instruction to officers of the division stationed there in military sketching and surveying, field and permanent fortification, and photography.
These courses and conditions of attendance are as follows:
1. An elementary course comprises practical geometry, so far as is necessary for the understanding of the principles of surveying and fortification, plan drawing, the construction and use of scales, and military sketching.The other course embraces surveying in its more advanced branches, military reconnaissances and road reports, field fortification, including the attack and defence of small posts, the construction of simple intrenchments, redoubts, and field works, profiling and tracing on the ground, gabion and fascine making, camping, and the construction of field ovens and cook-houses.2. Officers will not be allowed to go through the course of instruction unless their commanding officer will certify that they are intelligent, zealous, and well conducted; but considering that the stay of regiments at this camp is frequently limited, the Lieutenant-General Commanding would wish that every facility should be given to officers to avail themselves of the instruction, even though they may not be thoroughly acquainted, with all their duties.3. Every officer wishing to attend the course of instruction will submit his application to his commanding officer, who will forward it with his recommendation and the certificate mentioned in the last paragraph, or with such remarks as he may have to offer, should he consider it his duty not to recommend the application.4. Officers going through the elementary course will be struck off all duty for two months (Sundays excepted). They will go on flying columns.5. Officers anxious to attend the second course will be allowed to do so for four months, during which time they will take all regimental duties which would entail extra work on the other officers, but will be excused all brigade and divisional duties, except those mentioned in paragraph 7.6. Officers permitted to attend are not to absent themselves without leave from the Lieutenant-General commanding.7. Officers are to be present at divisional field days, and when the division marches into the country during the winter months, either with the deputy assistants quartermaster-general sketching the ground, noting the movements, preparing reports, etc. (in undress, without swords), or if not so employed they are to fall in with their respective corps.8. The number of officers attending is restricted to two per regiment.9. The instruction will extend from 10A.M.till 1P.M., excepting on Saturdays, when all the officers will attend till 12 only.10. Staff officers who may wish to avail themselves of the instruction given at the Survey Office, or in the field, may attend at such hours as the nature of the duties they have to perform will admit.11. Officers of the division generally will be assisted by the D.A.Q.M.G.s as far as practicable, in pursuing their studies in other branches.12. A diary will be kept showing the names of all officers attending, the hours of attendance, the work done, etc.; this diary is to be submitted for the inspection of the Lieutenant-General commanding, and from it a monthly report will be prepared for the information of the Field Marshal.13. Officers will be allowed the use of surveying instruments but will have to provide their own drawing and other materials. They will, however, be permitted to retain all sketches, plans, and reports thus made on their own materials, after they have been returned from the Council.
1. An elementary course comprises practical geometry, so far as is necessary for the understanding of the principles of surveying and fortification, plan drawing, the construction and use of scales, and military sketching.
The other course embraces surveying in its more advanced branches, military reconnaissances and road reports, field fortification, including the attack and defence of small posts, the construction of simple intrenchments, redoubts, and field works, profiling and tracing on the ground, gabion and fascine making, camping, and the construction of field ovens and cook-houses.
2. Officers will not be allowed to go through the course of instruction unless their commanding officer will certify that they are intelligent, zealous, and well conducted; but considering that the stay of regiments at this camp is frequently limited, the Lieutenant-General Commanding would wish that every facility should be given to officers to avail themselves of the instruction, even though they may not be thoroughly acquainted, with all their duties.
3. Every officer wishing to attend the course of instruction will submit his application to his commanding officer, who will forward it with his recommendation and the certificate mentioned in the last paragraph, or with such remarks as he may have to offer, should he consider it his duty not to recommend the application.
4. Officers going through the elementary course will be struck off all duty for two months (Sundays excepted). They will go on flying columns.
5. Officers anxious to attend the second course will be allowed to do so for four months, during which time they will take all regimental duties which would entail extra work on the other officers, but will be excused all brigade and divisional duties, except those mentioned in paragraph 7.
6. Officers permitted to attend are not to absent themselves without leave from the Lieutenant-General commanding.
7. Officers are to be present at divisional field days, and when the division marches into the country during the winter months, either with the deputy assistants quartermaster-general sketching the ground, noting the movements, preparing reports, etc. (in undress, without swords), or if not so employed they are to fall in with their respective corps.
8. The number of officers attending is restricted to two per regiment.
9. The instruction will extend from 10A.M.till 1P.M., excepting on Saturdays, when all the officers will attend till 12 only.
10. Staff officers who may wish to avail themselves of the instruction given at the Survey Office, or in the field, may attend at such hours as the nature of the duties they have to perform will admit.
11. Officers of the division generally will be assisted by the D.A.Q.M.G.s as far as practicable, in pursuing their studies in other branches.
12. A diary will be kept showing the names of all officers attending, the hours of attendance, the work done, etc.; this diary is to be submitted for the inspection of the Lieutenant-General commanding, and from it a monthly report will be prepared for the information of the Field Marshal.
13. Officers will be allowed the use of surveying instruments but will have to provide their own drawing and other materials. They will, however, be permitted to retain all sketches, plans, and reports thus made on their own materials, after they have been returned from the Council.
The course actually carried out in 1868-69 was as follows:
Explanation, use, and construction of scales—several examples worked and a plate of scales drawn—mode of using the usual drawing instruments, protractors, and Marquois’ scales.Use of the prismatic compass—a road is traversed with the compass—bearings and measurements entered in a field-book, and the result plotted indoors on a large scale.A plate of the conventional signs used by the topographical department, and a set of the seven examples of shading ground (by the late Major Petley), according to the latest scale of shade, are given to each officer to copy.The general principles of plan drawing, and the mode of conducting a survey by means of measuring a base, and by a triangulation, are explained, and a flat piece of ground is sketched with the compass, and plotted in the field.The method of representing ground by contours only is now explained and illustrated by models, drawings, etc., and it is shown how from a contoured plan sections and elevations of ground are made, also how by adding shade to the contoured plan, a certain pictorial effect is produced, etc.Abney’s pocket level and clinometer is explained, and various modes of rough levelling illustrated.The method of using the pocket sextant is next shown, and the officers are taken to a plateau with strongly marked slopes, a base is measured, triangulation made by means of the sextant; and the artificial features filled in.Contours at 25 feet vertically apart are now sketched in chain dotted lines, and several sectional lines taken by means of the level, clinometer, compass, and a scale of hypothenuses, and the various angles of inclination written on the sketch. The scale of shade is explained, and the officers taught how to apply it to the sketch of ground so contoured, and the sketch finished up as directed in the memorandum by the Council of Military Education.Major-General Napier’s pamphlet on reconnaissance is given to each officer, and four or five miles of road reconnoitred, sketched, and reported on.A sketch on a small scale of as large a tract of country as time and weather will permit of is next made, triangulation done with the sextant or theodolite, and lastly, a rapid eye-sketch, without instruments, of some hilly ground.Some work on field fortification, chiefly the chapters describing the defence of buildings, villages, and positions, also some work on surveying, is read.At the conclusion of each course all sketches and reports, with a return showing the number of hours’ attendance of each officer, his attention and progress, are forwarded to the Council of Military Education.
Explanation, use, and construction of scales—several examples worked and a plate of scales drawn—mode of using the usual drawing instruments, protractors, and Marquois’ scales.
Use of the prismatic compass—a road is traversed with the compass—bearings and measurements entered in a field-book, and the result plotted indoors on a large scale.
A plate of the conventional signs used by the topographical department, and a set of the seven examples of shading ground (by the late Major Petley), according to the latest scale of shade, are given to each officer to copy.
The general principles of plan drawing, and the mode of conducting a survey by means of measuring a base, and by a triangulation, are explained, and a flat piece of ground is sketched with the compass, and plotted in the field.
The method of representing ground by contours only is now explained and illustrated by models, drawings, etc., and it is shown how from a contoured plan sections and elevations of ground are made, also how by adding shade to the contoured plan, a certain pictorial effect is produced, etc.
Abney’s pocket level and clinometer is explained, and various modes of rough levelling illustrated.
The method of using the pocket sextant is next shown, and the officers are taken to a plateau with strongly marked slopes, a base is measured, triangulation made by means of the sextant; and the artificial features filled in.
Contours at 25 feet vertically apart are now sketched in chain dotted lines, and several sectional lines taken by means of the level, clinometer, compass, and a scale of hypothenuses, and the various angles of inclination written on the sketch. The scale of shade is explained, and the officers taught how to apply it to the sketch of ground so contoured, and the sketch finished up as directed in the memorandum by the Council of Military Education.
Major-General Napier’s pamphlet on reconnaissance is given to each officer, and four or five miles of road reconnoitred, sketched, and reported on.
A sketch on a small scale of as large a tract of country as time and weather will permit of is next made, triangulation done with the sextant or theodolite, and lastly, a rapid eye-sketch, without instruments, of some hilly ground.
Some work on field fortification, chiefly the chapters describing the defence of buildings, villages, and positions, also some work on surveying, is read.
At the conclusion of each course all sketches and reports, with a return showing the number of hours’ attendance of each officer, his attention and progress, are forwarded to the Council of Military Education.
The necessity of more advanced attainments both in the science and practice of gunnery was pointed out by the Commissioners in 1856, but nothing was done till Colonel Lefroy urged the matter on the Council of Military Education in 1862, and in November, 1863, regulations were issued for the establishment of Advanced Classes of Artillery Officers at Woolwich.
A Director of Artillery Studies was first appointed in 1850, upon the recommendation of Field-Marshal Sir Hew Ross, G.C.B., R.A. (then Adjutant-General of Artillery). His duties were to take charge of and direct the studies of the young officers of artillery on first joining at Woolwich, to assist them in their professional pursuits, and read with them military law, military history, treatises on artillery, fortification, etc.The appointment was made provisionally in the first instance, but confirmed before the close of a year. In April, 1853, the department was increased by the addition of French and German masters, who, besides assisting the young officers, were called upon to afford instruction in their respective languages to officers of artillery of all ranks who might be desirous of profiting by it.An allowance of 300l.per annum was also made to enable a proportion of the more intelligent of the young officers to accompany the Director in visits to arsenals and fortresses abroad and manufacturing districts at home.In July, 1855, the Director of Artillery Studies was allowed the following assistants: 2 Captains of Artillery, 1 Instructor in Surveying, 1 Instructor in Military Drawing, etc., 1 Lecturer on Natural Philosophy and Mechanics, 3 Non-commissioned officers, for the purpose of giving instruction to certain gentlemen provisionally commissioned from public colleges or schools after a competitive examination, but without passing through the Academy.The Director was expected to advise and assist the efforts of officers of the Royal Artillery in improving their professional qualifications, and to arrange classes of officers for instruction in chemistry, photography, drawing, French, and German, at the Royal Artillery Institution. He was to inform himself of all the more interesting experiments under the Ordnance Select Committee, as well as the operations and processes carried on in the Government manufacturing departments. He was to arrange and conduct the annual military tour on the continent; and direct the studies of young officers.Upon the formation of the Advanced Class in 1864, the staff was greatly increased, and an Assistant Director appointed, to take charge in the absence of the Director; to give instruction to classes of officers of the regiment sent to Woolwich from time to time, to officers from the Staff College, and to Militia and Volunteer artillery officers; to prepare questions for the examination of subaltern officers Royal Artillery for promotion, and report on the results of such examinations; to attend on foreigners of distinction, and other duties performed by the Director prior to the formation of the Advanced Class.The following shows the attendance for the year ending 31st March, 1869:Advanced class of artillery officers,62 years’ course.Firemasters’ class, R.A.,79 months’ course.3 short course classes,Royal Artillery,292 “ “Military Store Staff,8Shoeburyness gunnery class, R.A.,203 “ “Officers of the late Indian brigades,31 for 3 months’ course; 2 for 2 months’ course.Officers from the Staff College,131½ months’ course.Militia artillery officers,62 “ “Volunteer artillery officers,2Total,94Non-commissioned Officers and Men, Royal Artillery.2 long course classes, non-commissioned officers,196 months’ course.10 short course classes, non-commissioned officers and men,2002 “ “Shoeburyness gunnery class, non-commissioned officers.363 “ “Total,255The young officers lately joined attend here twice a week to receive instruction, by lectures, from the Assistant Director of Artillery Studies on military law, courts-martial, and interior economy.
A Director of Artillery Studies was first appointed in 1850, upon the recommendation of Field-Marshal Sir Hew Ross, G.C.B., R.A. (then Adjutant-General of Artillery). His duties were to take charge of and direct the studies of the young officers of artillery on first joining at Woolwich, to assist them in their professional pursuits, and read with them military law, military history, treatises on artillery, fortification, etc.
The appointment was made provisionally in the first instance, but confirmed before the close of a year. In April, 1853, the department was increased by the addition of French and German masters, who, besides assisting the young officers, were called upon to afford instruction in their respective languages to officers of artillery of all ranks who might be desirous of profiting by it.
An allowance of 300l.per annum was also made to enable a proportion of the more intelligent of the young officers to accompany the Director in visits to arsenals and fortresses abroad and manufacturing districts at home.
In July, 1855, the Director of Artillery Studies was allowed the following assistants: 2 Captains of Artillery, 1 Instructor in Surveying, 1 Instructor in Military Drawing, etc., 1 Lecturer on Natural Philosophy and Mechanics, 3 Non-commissioned officers, for the purpose of giving instruction to certain gentlemen provisionally commissioned from public colleges or schools after a competitive examination, but without passing through the Academy.
The Director was expected to advise and assist the efforts of officers of the Royal Artillery in improving their professional qualifications, and to arrange classes of officers for instruction in chemistry, photography, drawing, French, and German, at the Royal Artillery Institution. He was to inform himself of all the more interesting experiments under the Ordnance Select Committee, as well as the operations and processes carried on in the Government manufacturing departments. He was to arrange and conduct the annual military tour on the continent; and direct the studies of young officers.
Upon the formation of the Advanced Class in 1864, the staff was greatly increased, and an Assistant Director appointed, to take charge in the absence of the Director; to give instruction to classes of officers of the regiment sent to Woolwich from time to time, to officers from the Staff College, and to Militia and Volunteer artillery officers; to prepare questions for the examination of subaltern officers Royal Artillery for promotion, and report on the results of such examinations; to attend on foreigners of distinction, and other duties performed by the Director prior to the formation of the Advanced Class.
The following shows the attendance for the year ending 31st March, 1869:
3 short course classes,
Military Store Staff,
1 for 3 months’ course; 2 for 2 months’ course.
Non-commissioned Officers and Men, Royal Artillery.
2 long course classes, non-commissioned officers,
10 short course classes, non-commissioned officers and men,
Shoeburyness gunnery class, non-commissioned officers.
The young officers lately joined attend here twice a week to receive instruction, by lectures, from the Assistant Director of Artillery Studies on military law, courts-martial, and interior economy.
REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION IN 1869.
The examination will be early in February of each year, at Woolwich, under the Council of Military Education.
Candidates for this examination must have undergone a course of instruction at Shoeburyness; or they must pass satisfactorily a preliminary examination in practical artillery.No officer will be admitted who will not have completed six years’ service on 31st March, 1870.The subjects in which the candidates will be examined, and the relative importance attached to the subjects, are as follows:Mathematics,700Chemistry and physics,300Mathematicsincludes—Plane trigonometry (so much of it as is included in the first 16 chapters of Todhunter’s treatise).Coördinate geometry of two dimensions (Hymer or Todhunter), viz.:Straight line referred to rectangular, oblique, and polar coördinates. The circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola, referred to rectangular and polar coördinates. The equation to the tangent, and the normal to the circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola referred to rectangular axes, the sections of a right cone made by a plane.Applications of the above to solutions of simple problems.Differential Calculus.—Differential coefficient of simple, inverse, trigonometrical, and complex functions; proof of Taylor’s and Maclaurin’s theorems and examples of expansions of functions; differentiation of functions of two variables; limiting values of functions which assume an indeterminate form; change of independent variable; maxima and minima of functions of one variable; tangents, normals, and asymptotes to plane curves; differential coefficients of arcs, areas, etc.; radius of curvature (Hall or Todhunter).Integral Calculus.—Meaning of integration; examples of simple integration; integration by parts; lengths of curves; areas of plane curves (Hymer, Hall, or Todhunter).Elementary Mechanics.—(Whewell or Parkinson.)Chemistry.—The general laws of chemical combinations,—the chemistry of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, and of their chief inorganic compounds. The metallurgic chemistry of iron. The chemical principles of the manufacture and explosion of gunpowder.Physics.—In heat,—the subject of “thermometric heat” as treated in the first seven chapters of “Tyndall on Heat.”In electricity,—the subject of frictional electricity.Officers competing are expected to be able to read French scientific works, such as Helie’s “Traité de Balistique,” Piobert’s “Cours d’Artillerie,” etc., etc., reference being constantly made to such works during the course of instruction.At the conclusion of each year’s course there will be a final examination in the subjects read during the year; the marks gained at the first examination being carried forward to the second, when certificates will be given to those students who are found qualified.
Candidates for this examination must have undergone a course of instruction at Shoeburyness; or they must pass satisfactorily a preliminary examination in practical artillery.
No officer will be admitted who will not have completed six years’ service on 31st March, 1870.
The subjects in which the candidates will be examined, and the relative importance attached to the subjects, are as follows:
Mathematicsincludes—
Plane trigonometry (so much of it as is included in the first 16 chapters of Todhunter’s treatise).
Coördinate geometry of two dimensions (Hymer or Todhunter), viz.:
Straight line referred to rectangular, oblique, and polar coördinates. The circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola, referred to rectangular and polar coördinates. The equation to the tangent, and the normal to the circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola referred to rectangular axes, the sections of a right cone made by a plane.
Applications of the above to solutions of simple problems.
Differential Calculus.—Differential coefficient of simple, inverse, trigonometrical, and complex functions; proof of Taylor’s and Maclaurin’s theorems and examples of expansions of functions; differentiation of functions of two variables; limiting values of functions which assume an indeterminate form; change of independent variable; maxima and minima of functions of one variable; tangents, normals, and asymptotes to plane curves; differential coefficients of arcs, areas, etc.; radius of curvature (Hall or Todhunter).
Integral Calculus.—Meaning of integration; examples of simple integration; integration by parts; lengths of curves; areas of plane curves (Hymer, Hall, or Todhunter).
Elementary Mechanics.—(Whewell or Parkinson.)
Chemistry.—The general laws of chemical combinations,—the chemistry of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, and of their chief inorganic compounds. The metallurgic chemistry of iron. The chemical principles of the manufacture and explosion of gunpowder.
Physics.—In heat,—the subject of “thermometric heat” as treated in the first seven chapters of “Tyndall on Heat.”
In electricity,—the subject of frictional electricity.
Officers competing are expected to be able to read French scientific works, such as Helie’s “Traité de Balistique,” Piobert’s “Cours d’Artillerie,” etc., etc., reference being constantly made to such works during the course of instruction.
At the conclusion of each year’s course there will be a final examination in the subjects read during the year; the marks gained at the first examination being carried forward to the second, when certificates will be given to those students who are found qualified.
The course of instruction extends over two years.
The subjects of study the first year are: Pure mathematics; metallurgy; chemistry; mechanism and the steam engine; royal gun factories; royal laboratory, Part I.The subjects for the second year are: Mixed mathematics and applied to gunnery; metallurgy; chemistry; heat and electricity; royal laboratory, Parts II., III., IV.; royal gunpowder factory, including manufacture of gun cotton; royal small arms factories, Enfield and Birmingham; royal carriage department.In connection with the instruction on metallurgy, the class visit each year some of the principal private establishments in England and Wales, accompanied by Dr. Percy, F.R.S., the lecturer on this subject. They also visit locomotive and marine engine works in connection with the lectures on the steam engine.
The subjects of study the first year are: Pure mathematics; metallurgy; chemistry; mechanism and the steam engine; royal gun factories; royal laboratory, Part I.
The subjects for the second year are: Mixed mathematics and applied to gunnery; metallurgy; chemistry; heat and electricity; royal laboratory, Parts II., III., IV.; royal gunpowder factory, including manufacture of gun cotton; royal small arms factories, Enfield and Birmingham; royal carriage department.
In connection with the instruction on metallurgy, the class visit each year some of the principal private establishments in England and Wales, accompanied by Dr. Percy, F.R.S., the lecturer on this subject. They also visit locomotive and marine engine works in connection with the lectures on the steam engine.
The following processes of manufacture are noted:
In the Royal Gun Factories: Metallurgy of copper, tin, zinc, and their compounds; mechanical and chemical properties of gun metal.Metallurgy of iron, including cast iron and wrought iron, steel and alloys; mechanical and chemical properties.Principles of construction of cast guns.Principles of construction of built-up guns, welding, etc.The steam hammer.Turning, boring, rifling, and sighting guns. All the machines, lathes, special tools, and processes.Comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for cannon.Gauges and micrometrical measurements.Organization of labor in the Royal Gun Factories.System of account keeping, pricing, and payment in the Royal Gun Factories.Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.Patterns, system respecting them.Examination of Stores.Duties of the Inspector of Artillery: proof of guns; examination of guns and stores.The Small Arms Departments, Enfield and Pimlico, will follow the Royal Gun Factories, and be treated in the same comprehensive manner, including the system of supply of small arms to the army, their repair, and comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for small arms.From the Royal Gun Factories the class will proceed to the Royal Carriage Department, where the subjects will be:Selection and purchase of timber.Seasoning of timber.Sawmills.Planing and other machinery applied to working of timber.Construction.Mechanical principles as applied in military machines.Friction, draught, traction, locomotive power.Harness.Organization of labor in the Royal Carriage Department.System of accountability and payment.Prices.Relations to Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.Patterns, systems respecting them.Examination of stores.Here will evidently conveniently come in the organization and duties of the department of the Principal Superintendent of Stores, including the detail of equipments for all services, and proportions of stores, packing ammunition, arrangement of magazines.The last term will be devoted to the manufacture of gunpowder, ammunition, and generally the duties of the Royal Laboratory, including the chemistry of the subjects.Selection and purchase of pyrotechnic material.Examination and refining of saltpetre, etc.Gunpowder and powder-mills.Theory of gunpowder, qualities, effect of different sized grains.Electro-ballistic apparatus, and other modes of proof.Gun cotton.Detonating compounds.Other laboratory preparations.Small arm ammunition, cannon ammunition, fuzes, rockets, etc.Manufacture of bullets.Casting of every description of projectile for smooth-bored and rifled ordnance.Organization of the Royal Laboratory Department.Supply of raw material.System of account keeping and payment.Prices.Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.Patterns, inspection. Examination of stores.
In the Royal Gun Factories: Metallurgy of copper, tin, zinc, and their compounds; mechanical and chemical properties of gun metal.
Metallurgy of iron, including cast iron and wrought iron, steel and alloys; mechanical and chemical properties.
Principles of construction of cast guns.
Principles of construction of built-up guns, welding, etc.
The steam hammer.
Turning, boring, rifling, and sighting guns. All the machines, lathes, special tools, and processes.
Comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for cannon.
Gauges and micrometrical measurements.
Organization of labor in the Royal Gun Factories.
System of account keeping, pricing, and payment in the Royal Gun Factories.
Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.
Patterns, system respecting them.
Examination of Stores.
Duties of the Inspector of Artillery: proof of guns; examination of guns and stores.
The Small Arms Departments, Enfield and Pimlico, will follow the Royal Gun Factories, and be treated in the same comprehensive manner, including the system of supply of small arms to the army, their repair, and comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for small arms.
From the Royal Gun Factories the class will proceed to the Royal Carriage Department, where the subjects will be:
Selection and purchase of timber.
Seasoning of timber.
Sawmills.
Planing and other machinery applied to working of timber.
Construction.
Mechanical principles as applied in military machines.
Friction, draught, traction, locomotive power.
Harness.
Organization of labor in the Royal Carriage Department.
System of accountability and payment.
Prices.
Relations to Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.
Patterns, systems respecting them.
Examination of stores.
Here will evidently conveniently come in the organization and duties of the department of the Principal Superintendent of Stores, including the detail of equipments for all services, and proportions of stores, packing ammunition, arrangement of magazines.
The last term will be devoted to the manufacture of gunpowder, ammunition, and generally the duties of the Royal Laboratory, including the chemistry of the subjects.
Selection and purchase of pyrotechnic material.
Examination and refining of saltpetre, etc.
Gunpowder and powder-mills.
Theory of gunpowder, qualities, effect of different sized grains.
Electro-ballistic apparatus, and other modes of proof.
Gun cotton.
Detonating compounds.
Other laboratory preparations.
Small arm ammunition, cannon ammunition, fuzes, rockets, etc.
Manufacture of bullets.
Casting of every description of projectile for smooth-bored and rifled ordnance.
Organization of the Royal Laboratory Department.
Supply of raw material.
System of account keeping and payment.
Prices.
Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.
Patterns, inspection. Examination of stores.
Shoeburynessfirst became a station for artillery practice in the year 1849. The practice was, however, at that time confined to experiments, which were conducted on a very limited scale, under the department of the Director-General of Artillery. A battery was constructed and some wooden huts erected at the station in that year; but for several years nothing but experimental practice was carried on by batteries of artillery who were sent to Shoeburyness merely for the summer months, and were quartered, at least partially, under canvas. No permanent staff were employed, the senior officer present with the troops being in command of the station. In 1854 the establishment assumed a more permanent character, and was placed under a lieutenant-colonel of artillery as commandant, who was also at the same time superintendent of experiments. It still, however, continued to be merely a station for artillery practice and experiments, until 1859.
The objects for which the School of Gunnery was established are to ensure a completeness and uniformity in the instruction of the officers and men of the Royal Artillery in the use of the weapons and military machines they are called upon to use; impart to them a knowledge of the ammunition, stores, and appliances made use of in the artillery service; of the effect of shot and shell under various circumstances; and, by constant practice from guns of every description, to train and educate from year to year a number of officers and men who would carry with them to their respective brigades an amount of valuable knowledge and experience which would become in that way, and in due time, diffused throughout the Royal Artillery, in the same manner as the gunnery instruction for the Royal Navy on board the “Excellent,” and the musketry instruction for the infantry at Hythe have percolated with such advantage through those services.
On the first of April in each year a class of from 20 to 25 officers is formed for what is termed a “long course,” embracing a period of 12 months; and a class of about 40 non-commissioned officers, for a similar course.
These classes are formed into two separate squads, and entirely occupy the time of the chief instructor, one gunnery instructor, and four assistant instructors. They are instructedin the drills and exercises of every species of ordnance, and the mode of mounting and dismounting them under various circumstances and with different means; in transporting the heaviest guns from place to place and mounting them under difficulties; in making rafts; embarking and disembarking guns; making up ammunition; preparing demands for stores; carrying on gun practice with shot, shell, etc.; making signals; throwing up batteries as at a siege, and afterward testing their efficiency by firing at them; attending lectures on artillery subjects by the officers instructing the classes, and on subjects of a scientific nature, and bearing upon the science of artillery, by professional gentlemen engaged from time to time for the purpose.
The non-commissioned officers attend these latter lectures, and also receive from the schoolmaster, under the direction of the officer in charge of the class (and with great advantage), instruction in mathematics, and in mechanical drawing applicable to the course they are being carried through.
In addition to these “long courses,” as they are termed, another class of 33 non-commissioned officers is sent every three months to go through what is termed a “short course,” for the purpose of being instructed in the various duties connected with the service, transport, etc., of heavy guns.
The result of this system is that an officer and two non-commissioned officers highly qualified to instruct in all artillery duties and exercises are sent annually to each brigade; also eight non-commissioned officers well qualified to assist in the instruction of the non-commissioned officers and men of their brigades in most duties connected with heavy ordnance, and with enlarged views of artillery subjects generally.
Further instruction is imparted to the regiment by sending batteries from Woolwich, Aldershot, and other contiguous stations, to carry on their practice, and regimental duty. They take guards and fatigues, move guns, and otherwise prepare for experiments, and each in its turn goes through a short course of instruction. The officers and a proportion of non-commissioned officers of these batteries are formed into a class under one of the gunnery instructors and his two assistants, and when they have gone through a preliminary course, one of the batteries, or more if practicable, are taken off duty for a month, in order to go through a systematic course, which, though short, is nevertheless highly valuable.
The staff for government and instruction consists of:
Commandant and Superintendent of Experiments, Brigade major, Surgeon, Adjutant, Quartermaster, Master gunner, Sergeant-major, Quartermaster-sergeant.School of Gunnery.1 chief instructor, a field officer4 gunnery instructors (including 1 at Woolwich), captains.1 first-class clerk.1 third-class clerk.6 first-class assistant instructors.1 army schoolmaster.22 store, magazine, and lobbymen.Experimental Establishment.1 Assistant superintendent.1 second-class assistant superintendent.1 first-class clerk.3 laboratory sergeants.3 range sergeants.15 storemen, etc.1 staff wheeler, 1 hospital sergeant, 1 photographer, 1 armorer, 2 wheelers, 2 smiths.Elementary exercises for the purpose of instructing the squad in dealing with heavy weights without machines, showing the best mode of applying power in moving guns, commencing with light and progressing to guns of 23 tons; instruction concerning ropes, tackles, knots, etc.Field, garrison, and siege gun drill with smooth bore and rifled guns mounted on various carriages and platforms; drills with howitzers and mortars; throwing up works of offence and defence, arming them and laying platforms, making up ammunition, and arrangements for night firing.Exercises with military machines; construction of sheers, derricks, etc., and placing them in awkward places; construction of trestle and other bridges for the purpose of passing heavy artillery across ditches, etc., and of rafts for similar purposes.Embarkation of artillery and horses.Mounting, dismounting, and moving heavy guns without the aid of machines.Practice from heavy and field guns, smooth bore and rifled, at known and unknown distances, with full and reduced charges.Battalion drill and telegraphy.In the lecture room, instruction in the mechanical powers, in gunnery, systems of rifling, action and penetration of the service projectiles; construction, examination, and record of guns.Army administration as affecting artillery.Lectures on gunpowder, gun cotton, and fulminates; on metallurgy; on the various modes of computing velocities and the instruments employed; on electricity and steam; on strategy and tactics.Cordage, knotting, tackles, parbuckling, pinching, slewing, etc.Mounting and dismounting with and without gins.Drill and practice with 32-pr. and 8 seconds guns.Drill and practice with mortars on standing and travelling beds, also mounting and dismounting.Drill practice with 40-pr. and 64-pr. guns, firing at moving target; drill with 7 seconds B.L. guns; drill with 7 seconds, 9 seconds, and 12 seconds M.L.R. guns and practice; dismounting and mounting the above.Laying platforms, etc.Use of platform wagon.Light sheers.Rocket drill and practice.Facing B.L. guns.Practical examination,etc.Cordage, knotting, elementary exercises.Ordinary shifts and machine drill.Mortar drill and practice.12-pr. B.L. gun drill and practice.40-pr., 64-pr. and 7 seconds B.L. gun drill and practice.7 seconds and 9 seconds M.L. gun drill and practice.Dismounting 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns by gins and jacks.Parbuckling 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns and moving on sledges.Laying platforms.Rocket drill and practice.Sheers (heavy and light), derricks, etc.Facing vent pieces.Redrilling and examination of the non-commissioned officers.
Commandant and Superintendent of Experiments, Brigade major, Surgeon, Adjutant, Quartermaster, Master gunner, Sergeant-major, Quartermaster-sergeant.
School of Gunnery.
1 chief instructor, a field officer
4 gunnery instructors (including 1 at Woolwich), captains.
1 first-class clerk.
1 third-class clerk.
6 first-class assistant instructors.
1 army schoolmaster.
22 store, magazine, and lobbymen.
Experimental Establishment.
1 Assistant superintendent.
1 second-class assistant superintendent.
1 first-class clerk.
3 laboratory sergeants.
3 range sergeants.
15 storemen, etc.
1 staff wheeler, 1 hospital sergeant, 1 photographer, 1 armorer, 2 wheelers, 2 smiths.
Elementary exercises for the purpose of instructing the squad in dealing with heavy weights without machines, showing the best mode of applying power in moving guns, commencing with light and progressing to guns of 23 tons; instruction concerning ropes, tackles, knots, etc.
Field, garrison, and siege gun drill with smooth bore and rifled guns mounted on various carriages and platforms; drills with howitzers and mortars; throwing up works of offence and defence, arming them and laying platforms, making up ammunition, and arrangements for night firing.
Exercises with military machines; construction of sheers, derricks, etc., and placing them in awkward places; construction of trestle and other bridges for the purpose of passing heavy artillery across ditches, etc., and of rafts for similar purposes.
Embarkation of artillery and horses.
Mounting, dismounting, and moving heavy guns without the aid of machines.
Practice from heavy and field guns, smooth bore and rifled, at known and unknown distances, with full and reduced charges.
Battalion drill and telegraphy.
In the lecture room, instruction in the mechanical powers, in gunnery, systems of rifling, action and penetration of the service projectiles; construction, examination, and record of guns.
Army administration as affecting artillery.
Lectures on gunpowder, gun cotton, and fulminates; on metallurgy; on the various modes of computing velocities and the instruments employed; on electricity and steam; on strategy and tactics.
Cordage, knotting, tackles, parbuckling, pinching, slewing, etc.
Mounting and dismounting with and without gins.
Drill and practice with 32-pr. and 8 seconds guns.
Drill and practice with mortars on standing and travelling beds, also mounting and dismounting.
Drill practice with 40-pr. and 64-pr. guns, firing at moving target; drill with 7 seconds B.L. guns; drill with 7 seconds, 9 seconds, and 12 seconds M.L.R. guns and practice; dismounting and mounting the above.
Laying platforms, etc.
Use of platform wagon.
Light sheers.
Rocket drill and practice.
Facing B.L. guns.
Practical examination,etc.
Cordage, knotting, elementary exercises.
Ordinary shifts and machine drill.
Mortar drill and practice.
12-pr. B.L. gun drill and practice.
40-pr., 64-pr. and 7 seconds B.L. gun drill and practice.
7 seconds and 9 seconds M.L. gun drill and practice.
Dismounting 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns by gins and jacks.
Parbuckling 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns and moving on sledges.
Laying platforms.
Rocket drill and practice.
Sheers (heavy and light), derricks, etc.
Facing vent pieces.
Redrilling and examination of the non-commissioned officers.
TheSenior Department of the Military College at Sandhurst was constituted in 1808, to enable officers “to qualify themselves for the Quartermaster-General’s and Adjutant-General’s departments;” and during the Peninsular war, most of the officers in these branches of the service were educated there. So high was its reputation, that the French Staff School was suggested and modeled after it. From motives of economy, its independent government and instruction was gradually reduced, and its graduates, no matter how well qualified, were no longer sure of appointment and promotion, as against purchase, until, in 1855, it became virtually extinct,—the teaching force being reduced to two professors in mathematical studies, and the number of students to six. In the same year, the French Staff School, with its thirteen military and five civil professors, and its range of instruction covering the entire field of practical duties which belong to an efficient staff officer, was held up as a model. In the plans and discussions respecting the reorganization and extension of the educational system of the army, which followed the Crimean war—in the Report (1855) of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst; on the suggestions (1856) of the Commissioners on the Training of officers for the Scientific Corps; the plan of Mr. Sidney Herbert, as Secretary of War, in 1854 and 1856; in the instructions of Lord Panmure, in 1856; in the resolution of the House of Commons, July 28, 1857; in the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the purchase system, in their Report of 1857; in the plans of the Council of Military Education, in the same year—the supreme necessity of a staff college, with admission by competitive examination, and the assured encouragement of appointment andpromotion on ascertained proficiency and general fitness, was so clearly demonstrated, that at the close (December 17) of 1857, the Senior Department of Sandhurst was changed to that of a staff college, with a corps of professors of its own. A separate building was completed for its accommodation, in 1862; admission was open to officers of all branches of the service by competitive examination. All appointments to the Staff were limited to graduates of the College, who had been attached, for specified periods, to each branch of the service, and to officers of approved ability in the field.
The present establishment consists of