The RAMC Apprentice School
The RAMC Apprentice School
THE RAMC APPRENTICE SCHOOL
2025 marks the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) Apprentice School, set up in 1955 at Church Crookham to offer technical training to young men joining the Corps. It had its origins in the skills shortage that resulted from World War One. With increased mechanisation in the Army, in 1923 the Army Council decreed that the Army should train its own people by providing training opportunities for adolescents between the ages of 15 and 17 and a half, rather than rely on civilian tradesmen joining up to supply the required skills.
A training school was set up at Chepstow, at Beachley Camp, in 1923 and the first Passing Off Parade was held in 1926 following City and Guilds examinations. In the 1930s and ‘40s the School provided qualified tradesmen to the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Royal Signals, Royal Tank Corps, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and Royal Army Service Corps. From 1951, however, a number of apprentices received their technical education at Chepstow before moving on to specific Corps training with the RAMC at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks.
Owing to the specialised nature of the RAMC training, it was decided that the Corps should have its own Apprentice school.
RAMC APPRENTICE COMPANY
The Apprentice Company was formed in November 1954 when Captains Whatley and Worthington and Private Rumney were posted on the strength of the RAMC Depot at Church Crookham. In order to learn more about the Apprentices, the two Officers and the Corps Sergeant Major spent a fortnight at the Army Apprentice School at Chepstow. Upon their return they were able to set up the administrative structure and training curriculum needed for the RAMC Apprentice Company.
By the end of January 1955, the Company was ready to receive its first group of apprentices from Chepstow. Education staff had arrived (including the Senior Education Officer, Captain Sedgwick), the Chief Clerk had organised the Company office, and the first RAMC Instructor and House Sergeant, Sgt. Razey, had been posted. Corporal Barnard became the first Apprentice Non-Commissioned Officer.
The new scheme began on 4 February 1955, when 14 boys came from Chepstow for a “trial run.”
The remainder of the Apprentices who had opted for the RAMC and were still at Chepstow arrived in September 1955. At this early stage the Apprentices were divided into two platoons, with Sergeants Scott and Currie taking responsibility for each.
At the end of the first year a celebration was held, during which tea and biscuits were served by the Officers and NCOs and the play ‘Something to Talk About’ was staged following a buffet.
INSTRUCTION
The Apprentices were divided in three ‘houses,’ named after three RAMC Victoria Cross recipients: Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Martin-Leake, Captain Noel Chavasse, and Lance Corporal Eric Harden. They were accommodated as “A” Company at the Depot.
Instruction took place over two years. The first few months were devoted to basic military training and general education (including chemistry, physics, and biology), while the subsequent curriculum included the Nursing Orderly Class III training and the St. John’s Ambulance Certificate, as well as the Corporal’s course. Apprentices were also required to pass the ‘Senior Test’ which exempted them from the Army Certificate of Education, and they passed on to the General Certificate of Education.
The curriculum enabled the Apprentices to study the various medical trades of their choice once the moved on into adult service, i.e. radiography, physiotherapy, laboratory technician, and nursing.
As well as study, extra-curricular activities featured heavily in the boys’ lives, and the Apprentices were encouraged to join in various sports, including football, cricket, and rock climbing, as well as daily physical training and swimming twice a week. Facilities were also available to pursue different hobbies, including the provision of a dark room for photography, along with art, amateur dramatics, model making, and carpentry.
EARLY ACTIVITIES
On 23 June 1957 an ‘Old Boys’ Association’ was formed, for past staff and ex-boys of the Apprentice School, to maintain links with the School and each other. The first reunion was held in 1961.
The RAMC Apprentices joined the exhibition of Junior Leaders and Army Apprentices held at the new N.A.A.F.I. in Salisbury in the last week of January 1958. They devised a stand that illustrated aspects of their training and achievements, that included a chemical experiment and medical apparatus. One of the main features was a demonstration model of human anatomy, that was taken apart and reassembled by the apprentice boys to the interest of the 5,000 visitors who saw the stand.
The School also arranged annual camps and expeditions, perhaps the most challenging of which was the Easter 1958 attempt at the summit of Ben Nevis. In spite of a good start, the weather soured so that by the time they reached the summit it was a “white-out,” with visibility reduced to ten feet. These activities could form part of the Duke of Edinburgh award, which the School supported.
In summer 1960 a journal was established, called The Medical Apprentice, which contained reports on the activities, oftentimes competitive, of the three school ‘houses,’ and of the various groups and clubs that had been created.
LATER MOVES
The RAMC Apprentice School became the Apprentices College and it remained at Church Crookham until June 1964. when it moved to the RAMC Deport at Keogh Barracks, Ash Vale. The numbers of Apprentices gradually increased until over 200 young men were in training at any one time. With time and experience, the quality of training changed and improved to meet the demands of the Army medic into the 1960s and ‘70s, so that by the 1980s the RAMC Apprentice received comprehensive military, technical, and educational training to enable him to fulfil his role and career ambitions when he moved on to adult service within the Corps.
In 1983 the College moved and amalgamated with the Princess Marina College, at the REME Training Centre in Arborfield, Berkshire.
In March 1993 Apprentice Tradesmen ceased to recruited and the College closed.
SUMMMARY
During its 30 year ‘life’ the RAMC Apprentices College provided well qualified, motivated, and enthusiastic tradesmen to the RAMC and RADC, the majority of whom would become SNCOs and Warrant Officers during their service. A further significant number would go on to achieve commissioned rank as Non Medical Officers to both Corps.
The RAMC Apprentice School
THE RAMC APPRENTICE SCHOOL
2025 marks the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) Apprentice School, set up in 1955 at Church Crookham to offer technical training to young men joining the Corps. It had its origins in the skills shortage that resulted from World War One. With increased mechanisation in the Army, in 1923 the Army Council decreed that the Army should train its own people by providing training opportunities for adolescents between the ages of 15 and 17 and a half, rather than rely on civilian tradesmen joining up to supply the required skills.
A training school was set up at Chepstow, at Beachley Camp, in 1923 and the first Passing Off Parade was held in 1926 following City and Guilds examinations. In the 1930s and ‘40s the School provided qualified tradesmen to the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Royal Signals, Royal Tank Corps, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and Royal Army Service Corps. From 1951, however, a number of apprentices received their technical education at Chepstow before moving on to specific Corps training with the RAMC at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks.
Owing to the specialised nature of the RAMC training, it was decided that the Corps should have its own Apprentice school.
RAMC APPRENTICE COMPANY
The Apprentice Company was formed in November 1954 when Captains Whatley and Worthington and Private Rumney were posted on the strength of the RAMC Depot at Church Crookham. In order to learn more about the Apprentices, the two Officers and the Corps Sergeant Major spent a fortnight at the Army Apprentice School at Chepstow. Upon their return they were able to set up the administrative structure and training curriculum needed for the RAMC Apprentice Company.
By the end of January 1955, the Company was ready to receive its first group of apprentices from Chepstow. Education staff had arrived (including the Senior Education Officer, Captain Sedgwick), the Chief Clerk had organised the Company office, and the first RAMC Instructor and House Sergeant, Sgt. Razey, had been posted. Corporal Barnard became the first Apprentice Non-Commissioned Officer.
The new scheme began on 4 February 1955, when 14 boys came from Chepstow for a “trial run.”
The remainder of the Apprentices who had opted for the RAMC and were still at Chepstow arrived in September 1955. At this early stage the Apprentices were divided into two platoons, with Sergeants Scott and Currie taking responsibility for each.
At the end of the first year a celebration was held, during which tea and biscuits were served by the Officers and NCOs and the play ‘Something to Talk About’ was staged following a buffet.
INSTRUCTION
The Apprentices were divided in three ‘houses,’ named after three RAMC Victoria Cross recipients: Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Martin-Leake, Captain Noel Chavasse, and Lance Corporal Eric Harden. They were accommodated as “A” Company at the Depot.
Instruction took place over two years. The first few months were devoted to basic military training and general education (including chemistry, physics, and biology), while the subsequent curriculum included the Nursing Orderly Class III training and the St. John’s Ambulance Certificate, as well as the Corporal’s course. Apprentices were also required to pass the ‘Senior Test’ which exempted them from the Army Certificate of Education, and they passed on to the General Certificate of Education.
The curriculum enabled the Apprentices to study the various medical trades of their choice once the moved on into adult service, i.e. radiography, physiotherapy, laboratory technician, and nursing.
As well as study, extra-curricular activities featured heavily in the boys’ lives, and the Apprentices were encouraged to join in various sports, including football, cricket, and rock climbing, as well as daily physical training and swimming twice a week. Facilities were also available to pursue different hobbies, including the provision of a dark room for photography, along with art, amateur dramatics, model making, and carpentry.
EARLY ACTIVITIES
On 23 June 1957 an ‘Old Boys’ Association’ was formed, for past staff and ex-boys of the Apprentice School, to maintain links with the School and each other. The first reunion was held in 1961.
The RAMC Apprentices joined the exhibition of Junior Leaders and Army Apprentices held at the new N.A.A.F.I. in Salisbury in the last week of January 1958. They devised a stand that illustrated aspects of their training and achievements, that included a chemical experiment and medical apparatus. One of the main features was a demonstration model of human anatomy, that was taken apart and reassembled by the apprentice boys to the interest of the 5,000 visitors who saw the stand.
The School also arranged annual camps and expeditions, perhaps the most challenging of which was the Easter 1958 attempt at the summit of Ben Nevis. In spite of a good start, the weather soured so that by the time they reached the summit it was a “white-out,” with visibility reduced to ten feet. These activities could form part of the Duke of Edinburgh award, which the School supported.
In summer 1960 a journal was established, called The Medical Apprentice, which contained reports on the activities, oftentimes competitive, of the three school ‘houses,’ and of the various groups and clubs that had been created.
LATER MOVES
The RAMC Apprentice School became the Apprentices College and it remained at Church Crookham until June 1964. when it moved to the RAMC Deport at Keogh Barracks, Ash Vale. The numbers of Apprentices gradually increased until over 200 young men were in training at any one time. With time and experience, the quality of training changed and improved to meet the demands of the Army medic into the 1960s and ‘70s, so that by the 1980s the RAMC Apprentice received comprehensive military, technical, and educational training to enable him to fulfil his role and career ambitions when he moved on to adult service within the Corps.
In 1983 the College moved and amalgamated with the Princess Marina College, at the REME Training Centre in Arborfield, Berkshire.
In March 1993 Apprentice Tradesmen ceased to recruited and the College closed.
SUMMMARY
During its 30 year ‘life’ the RAMC Apprentices College provided well qualified, motivated, and enthusiastic tradesmen to the RAMC and RADC, the majority of whom would become SNCOs and Warrant Officers during their service. A further significant number would go on to achieve commissioned rank as Non Medical Officers to both Corps.
The RAMC Apprentice School
