| Description | Minutes of the committee initially known as the University of Birmingham Officers' Training Corps Military Education committee, but after the first meeting the Military Education committee, constituted by University Council in 1908 as a result of the establishment of University Officer Training Corps by the War Office as part of the 1908 Haldane Reforms. Universities wishing to have Officer Training Corps needed to appoint Military Education committees.
Minutes are signed, and cover the period from 20 May 1908 to 8 December 1964. No minutes survive after this date, but these minutes are signed and dated 24 November 1966 which suggests that the committee continued to meet, and the University Calenders confirm that a Military Education committee, later called the West Midlands Military Education committee, continued to meet into the 1990s. Birmingham University Officer Training Corps (BUOTC), the Birmingham University Royal Naval Unit (BURNU) and the University of Birmingham Air Squadron (UBAS) still exist and presumably bodies governing their management and organisation report to the University
Minutes of the first meeting of the committee explain that the existing University Voluntary Company was eligible to be transferred to the Senior Division of the Officers' Training Corps, and that a Military Education committee was to be appointed in connection with the University Training Corps. Those attending the first meeting were the Vice-Chancellor Charles Gabriel Beale; Neville Chamberlain; Professor Barling; Dr Heath; Poynting; Major Bennett; Lieutenant Seymour; Lieutenant Morley, and George Morley (University Secretary). It was decided that membership of the committee would consist of the Vice-Chancellor; Principal; Vice-Principal; Secretary; Neville Chamberlain; Joseph James; W. W. Butler; Professor Poynting; Professor Barling; a senior officer nominated from the Warwickshire Regiment; and the officers and senior non-commissioned officers of the University Company
Neville Chamberlain was appointed chair of the committee. Colonel C. J. Hart was to serve as first representative of the 5th and 6th Battalions of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Major Bennett explained the steps required to be taken in accordance with the Special Army Order as to the establishment of the Officers' Training Corps. A sub-committee was appointed, consisting of Neville Chamberlain, Robert Heath (the Vice-Principal), Major Bennett, and Lieutenant Seymour, to draw up rules for the regulation and conduct of the Corps and to draft a letter to the War Office asking for a meeting.
The committee did not meet again until November 1914. Membership consisted of Neville Chamberlain, Robert Heath, Percy Frankland, Peter Thompson, Lieutenant Howle (Officer Commanding), Captain R. A. Jones, and George Morley. The minutes state that Colonel John Barsley had succeeded Colonel C. J. Hart as the representative of the 5th and 6th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Professor Frankland was to replace Professor Poynting, and Professor Thompson replaced Professor Barling. Lieutenant Seymour was on on war service, and Lieutenant R. A. Jones was now Adjutant of the Second Birmingham Battalion with the honorary rank of Captain.
The minutes include a copy of a letter from the War Office to the Secretary of the Military Education committee asking for forms for all members of the University 'who desire to become temporary Second Lieutenants in the regular army because there is 'likely to be an additional demand for junior officers in the near future'
Meetings of the committee were held on a roughly annual basis during the First World War. Minutes typically include copies of the annual report of the Officers' Training Corps by the Officer Commanding, containing information about the strength of the contingent, its training activities, the names of officers gazetted and commissions granted, staff sergeant duties, and subscriptions. Accounts are included annually. The committee reported to University Council and copies of these reports are included from June 1918. Minutes of the meeting held in December 1915 discuss the War Office recruiting appeal and position of cadets in the Officer Training Corps, whether members of the University enrolled before the start of the 1915-1916 academic session, those who enrolled that session, or 'Extra Mural' members who would be attested and passed to the reserve or discharged. No extra-mural members were to be newly enrolled from this time.
Minutes of the meeting held on 29 June 1917 include a copy of a letter from Neville Chamberlain resigning from the committee, and discuss the establishment of a training camp for medical cadets and regulations for membership which state the requirement that 'all teachers and students in Universities and of military age but not called up for various reasons are required to enrol with the Officer Training Corps and perform a definite amount of training'. Minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 1917 discuss the status of University teachers and students of military age who have not been called up for military service, and include a copy of a scheme drafted by Captain Howle (Officer Commanding) for improving the organisation of the Officers' Training Corps which mentions the need for a new training ground with stores and a covered area, and explains why Edgbaston Park is not suitable, recommending the unrestricted use of the University grounds at Bournbrook [then in use by the War Office for the First Southern General military hospital], or the hire or purchase of a piece of land. The committee resolved to approach the administration of the First Southern General Hospital for use of the playing fields and pavilion for the Officer Training Corps. These minutes also contain a typed statement about enrolment in the Officers' Training Corps, whether voluntary or compulsory, and the scale of training for different categories of member.
Minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 1918 include a copy of a letter from the War Office following consultation with the Board of Education and the Ministry of National Service with regard to the position of members of teaching or administrative staff of Universities with Officers' Training Corps, and the release of staff for general service. Another meeting was held on 26 June 1918, and minutes of this meeting give details of discussion with the War Office about demobilisation after the end of the war and the return of students and staff to the University, including references to an appeal to the War Office to return the buildings at Bournbrook to the University as soon as possible after the end of the war.
Minutes of meetings held in 1919 and in the early 1920s discuss training of officer cadets after the end of the First World War, the resignation of officers, and difficulties in recruiting to the Officers' Training Corps. Minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 1920 include a copy of a report of a conference of representatives of military education committees of Universities and University Colleges held in Durham [which resulted in the establishment of 'The Central Organisation of Military Education Committees of the Universities of the United Kingdom' in September 1919]. Minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 1921 discuss cooperation with Military Education committees of other Universities, and include a copy of a letter from the Vice-Chancellor to the War Office suggesting that the Officers' Training Corps at Birmingham should diversify training by introducing training more appropriate for civilian professions, and proposing the formation of a Fortress Company of Engineers.
Minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 1922 mention the appointment of two members of the Saltley Training College to the Military Education committee, and discusses the mobilisation of contingents of Senior Division Officers' Training Corps, setting out the 'different classes of war' including those involving only the regular army; those involving the regular and territorial army; and those involving universal service; and the training and supply to the services from the Officers Training Corps. The minutes also discuss the formation of a Royal Army Medical Corps Officer Cadet Unit by medical students, and the formation of a Royal Engineer Officer Cadet Unit by engineering students.
Minutes of the meeting held in 1923 refer to recruitment problems, but by the time of the meeting held on 2 May 1925 there had been an increase in the contingent, and a company had been established at Saltley Training College.
Between 1926 and 1939 meetings of the committee were held once or twice a year. Minutes discuss appointments, allowances, enrolments, and include reports of the Commanding Officer which provide information about recruitment and training (including weapon training signalling, physical training courses, shooting practice), the strength of the contingent, the syllabus for certificates for Infantry examinations, and accounts of the Officers' Training Corps.
Minutes often include printed copies of minutes of meetings of the Central Organisation of Military Education committees of Universities and University Colleges.
Letters from the War Office are included with minutes of the meeting held on 15 June 1933 concerning the grant of commissions in the Regular Army to University candidates, and the grant of permanent commissions in the Royal Air Force. Correspondence about army scholarships is included with minutes of the meeting held in 1926, and details about conditions of service for Ordnance Mechanical Engineers, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, appointed from universities, are included with minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 1937
Minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 1939 discuss measures taken following outbreak of war, and the accommodation to be provided for the Joint Recruiting Board. They also refer to the future policy of the Officers' Training Corps and the difficulty in carrying on the Company at Saltley Training College
The committee met more than once a year during the Second World War, but reverted to its usual pattern of meeting once or twice a year after that. Minutes of the Central Organisation of Military Education committees of Universities and University Colleges are often included.
There are references to mobilisation in the annual report included with minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 1940, when the Officers' Training Corps was called on to form No. 4 Reception Unit. These minutes include a copy of a memorandum by the Vice-Chancellor Raymond Priestley on the place of the Officers' Training Corps in the University of Birmingham, citing concerns about its size and prestige, the shortage in volunteers and the quality of recruits, and giving an assessment of the causes of the problems and suggestions for reform. These concerns were discussed at a special meeting held on 16 July 1940. Minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 1940 state that the Senior Division of the Officers' Training Corps was to be renamed the Senior Training Corps
Minutes of the meeting held on 5 February 1941 discuss the new wartime establishment of the Senior Training Corps, as well as liaison between the Senior Training Corps and the University Home Guard Company and King Edward's School Junior Training Corps. Minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 1941 mention the formation of a medical unit of the Senior Training Corps which medical students could join from Kings College, London, being trained at Birmingham Medical School after being evacuated. Minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 1942 refer to Senior Training Corps cadets enrolling in the Home Guard and the efforts to establish a closer liaison between the two organisations.
Minutes of the meeting held on 10 November 1943 discuss delays in the formation of a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers section, leading to a Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers undertaking instruction themselves. The report of the Commanding Officer with minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 1944 includes details about the University Air Squadron and descriptions of training and visits, as well as a report on the Senior Training Corps which includes details about the formation of a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers section. A report with minutes of the meeting held on 28 August 1944 gives details about the Royal Army Medical Corps unit training. Annual reports of the Commanding Officer now include a section on the University Air Squadron
Minutes of meetings held in 1946 discuss the disbanding of the Royal Army Medical Corps unit and the future policy of the Senior Training Corps. Minutes of meetings held in 1947 contain further discussion about the future and reorganisation of the Senior Training Corps, its links with National Service, and its object to give basic military training to undergraduates who had their military service deferred, to undergraduates studying for commissions in the Regular Arytm, and to further the military education of ex-service undergraduates who have reached commissioned rank. These minutes state the Senior Training Corps was to be renamed the University Training Corps, and would be part of the general framework of the Territorial Army which took over financial responsibility from April 1948.
Minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 1950 mention the formation of Womens Royal Army Corps (T.A) units in universities, and there is further discussion in minutes of the meeting held in 1951 when it was decided that it was not possible to support this initiative, due to the fact that the future of the University Training Corps was uncertain. Minutes of the meeting held in 1952 discuss the possibility of closing down the University Training Corps and efforts made to assist recruiting and to delay a decision about closure. The possible closure was discussed again in 1954 when numbers were still low and recruiting had not increased, but the committee was reluctant to close the unit and agreed to write to the War Office emphasising the difficulties, especially as 'the more attractive features of the University Air Squadron' tended to encourage most of the qualified undergraduates to join it and ignore the University Training Corps.
No meeting was held in 1955, but minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 1956 refer to the new Officers' Training Corps directive, and the report of the Commanding Officer explains the new Officers' Training Corps organisation, the restoration of the pre-1940 title of Officers' Training Corps, and the new training directive which emphasised leadership training. Reports on the activities of the University Air Squadron continue to be included with the minutes.
By 1957 the Royal Engineers sub-unit had been disbanded in favour of a Royal Signals sub-unit. The minutes also contain references to a general review of University Air Squadrons
No meetings were held in 1958 or 1959. The report of the Commanding Officer of the Officers' Training Corps with minutes of the meeting held in 1960 describes the organisation of the Officers' Training Corps into sub-units: Basic; Royal Signals; Infantry; and Royal Electrial and Mechanical Engineers. It also discusses changes to the Officers Training Corps after the end of National Service, and sets out the need for additional equipment, accommodation and staffing in order to recruit potential regular officers from the student body. The minutes also contain a memorandum for discussion by the Military Education committee concerning the possible disbandment of the University Air Squadron unless there was an improvement in recruiting within the next year, in order to produce more recruits for the Royal Air Force rather than just encouraging interest in flying
No meeting was held in 1961. Minutes of the meeting held in 1962 discuss the future of the Officers Training Corps, and its role to provide a practical link between Service thought and the Universities; and to provide pre-service training for undergraduates who consider joining the Regular Army. |