AANM Publicity brief

Arborfield Old Boys' Association
AANM Publicity brief for members of public visiting the NMA at Alrewas,Staffordshire.

The Army Apprentice

From medieval times to the present day the maintenance and repair of the Army’s equipment by soldier-tradesmen played a significant part in ensuring its fighting efficiency.

Until the end of the 19th century, the simplicity of the equipment- cavalry, horse drawn artillery, supply wagons and small - arms meant that soldiers, assisted by artisans such as regimental armourers, farriers, saddlers and carpenters were able to fulfil the Army’s needs for technical support.

However, the introduction of the “Rifled” Cannon in the 1871 Franco - Prussian war, the development of the internal combustion engine in the 1880s, and powered flight in 1908, began an evolutionary process of sophistication in military equipment that rendered craft trades obsolescent.

To meet the demand for engineering skills to maintain and repair the Army’s increasingly complex equipment, the Army established the first dedicated apprentice school at Aldershot on 25th September 1923. The first intake of boys, with those who joined in January 1924, then moved to Beachley Camp, Chepstow on the 28th February 1924.

For the next 30 years, the Apprentice Tradesmen were trained in various locations, before finally, the Army Apprentice Training scheme reached its apogee in the latter half of the 20th century with the establishment of the four principal Army Apprentice Schools - at Arborfield, Carlise, Chepstow and Harrogate. The four benches mounted on the memorial are a reflection of the army apprentice scheme in its final form.

The facsimile Army Apprentices School Cap-badge engraved on the memorial monolith is a statement in stone that commemorates the thousands of boys who became soldier-tradesmen. The School Cap-badge not only gave the Apprentice Tradesman a regimental identity, but also symbolises the ethos that controlled and directed the activities of a system that turned boys in to skilled soldier –tradesmen.

Prominent and most important are the Cross and the Crown. These stand respectively for ‘Character and Loyalty’ - character based on the principles of Christianity and Loyalty to the School, the Army, the Nation and the Sovereign. The Torch stands for ‘Learning and for Training’ of both body and mind on good sound health lines. The Crossed Swords stand for the military virtues of ‘Discipline, Steadfastness, and Devotion to Duty’. Finally, the Gearwheel forms the basis and background of the whole design, denoting ‘Technical Knowledge, Skill and Co –operation’. It is only by meshing or co-operating with others that good work is done.