The overall commander of the UOTC is the
Deputy Commandant RMAS (UOTC) an appointment held by a
Colonel (OF-5). == UOTC units ==
Aberdeen The first military unit formed by the
University of Aberdeen was a battery of the 1st Aberdeen Volunteer
Royal Artillery, raised in December 1885. The battery was officered by members of the university staff and commanded by Captain William Stirling, then professor of physiology. In March 1895, the University Battery was absorbed by the 1st Heavy Battery. In November 1897, an Aberdeen University detachment of the 1st Volunteer Battalion,
Gordon Highlanders, was recruited, and in 1898 the detachment became University Company ("U" Company). In 1912, the Aberdeen University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formally raised in response to the recommendations of the committee formed by Lord Haldane "U" Company had by this time become part of the 4th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, and at the outbreak of the First World War was mobilised and sent to France, the only university contingent to go. The story of "U" Company as a fighting unit is told by Alexander Rule in his book
Students Under Arms. In February 1924, the War Office authorised the establishment of an infantry unit and the right to wear the Gordon
tartan. The infantry unit was commanded initially by Major John Boyd Orr DSO MC (later
John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr). The pipe band was instituted in 1924 and became one of the most popular features of the unit. In 1929, the
Scots Guards provided the senior
warrant officer of the permanent staff and established a Household Division link. In 1935, it was decided that the
cap badge, which up to then had been the university crest, should be replaced by the boar's head, the family crest of the founder of the university, with the motto "Non Confundar" ('I shall not be troubled'). During the Second World War, the unit expanded as all students of military age who had been granted deferment were required to enroll as part of a
National Service obligation. At its peak, the unit was some 491 strong with four infantry
companies, two medical companies and a signals section. Throughout the war, the unit in conjunction with the university ran special technical courses for Royal Artillery cadets, of which a total of 427 attended. In February 1943, the unit provided the backbone of the 9th City of Aberdeen (University Home Guard) Battalion, in addition to its normal role. In October 1948,
Medical,
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers,
Intelligence,
Royal Engineers,
Royal Signals and infantry sub-units were formed. As a result of various re-organisations over the years, only the last three sub-units survive today. In 1951, women were allowed to join the UOTC and a
Women's Royal Army Corps sub-unit was formed; this has now been absorbed into the existing three sub-units. The unit is now based at
Gordon Barracks in
Bridge of Don.
Birmingham In 1900 the
University of Birmingham raised a company, sanctioned by the War Office, which was known as U Company of the
1st Volunteer Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Captain W. E. Bennett, one of the staff of the university, was given the command. The company held its first parade in May 1900, and the occasion was celebrated by the presentation of the Inter-Section Challenge Cup by the chancellor of the university,
Joseph Chamberlain. In 1900 the Volunteers, of which U Company was part, were 1,406 strong.
Cambridge armoured car of the Cambridge UOTC on exercise in 1974 Cambridge UOTC claims descent from a unit raised in 1803, when, with
Britain under threat of French invasion, undergraduates from the
University of Cambridge formed a corps of Volunteers to help defend British shores. Thereafter, the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers (CURV) was formally raised in 1860. During British involvement in the
Second Boer War in 1899 there was a public focus on volunteering for the forces serving in South Africa. In response to this, a detachment was sent to South Africa. Attached to the
Suffolk Regiment, the CURV men reported for duty on 20 January 1900 in
Bury St Edmunds. On 11 February, they sailed from Southampton on the
SS Doune Castle, arriving in
Cape Town on 7 March. Initially the Cambridge Volunteers worked as guards on the railway lines around Cape Town, but then marched with the Suffolk Regiment as part of General
Bryan Mahon's column to attack a Boer position in
Barberton in September 1900. With a large welcome home awaiting them, including a service in
Great St Mary's Church, the volunteers were back in Cambridge on 6 May 1901. All the Volunteers were made Honorary Freemen of the Borough of Cambridge and on 21 December 1904, three years later, CURV was granted the battle honour "South Africa 1900-01". Cambridge is the only UOTC to have earned a battle honour. In 1908, Cambridge University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formally raised in response to the recommendations of the committee formed by Lord Haldane and consisted of a battalion of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, a battery of artillery and medical and engineering units. During the First World War, Cambridge UOTC supplied 3,000 officers to the British Army between August 1914 and March 1915: this was more than any other UOTC. During the Second World War, Cambridge UOTC raised the 8th (Cambridge University) Cambridgeshire Battalion of the
Cambridgeshire Regiment.
East Midlands The University College Nottingham Officers' Training Corps was first formed on 27 April 1909 when 27 students from
University College Nottingham petitioned the university's Senate Council to form a contingent of the Officers' Training Corps. Their petition was accepted by the
War Office and later that same year, the unit was formed. The names of those who died in both World Wars are recorded on a plaque in the University of Nottingham's Trent Building. The name of the unit was changed in 1966 to the "East Midlands Universities Officers' Training Corps" in a move that allowed volunteers from all higher education institutions in the East Midlands to join. East Midlands UOTC is based at the Army Reserve Centre, Broadgate in
Beeston.
Edinburgh Edinburgh UOTC has its origins in No. 4 Company of the
1st City of Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Corps (from 1865 the 1st Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade), which was raised on 31 August 1859. Some 90 volunteers from the
University of Edinburgh joined the company. In 1908, the Edinburgh University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formally raised in response to the recommendations of the committee formed by Lord Haldane (the
Haldane Reforms). Some 2,250 students from the university were commissioned during the First World War. The unit moved to the former Queen's Edinburgh Rifles'
Forrest Hill drill hall in 1957: it became the "Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt Universities OTC" in 1966 and the "City of Edinburgh Universities OTC" in 1993.
Glasgow and Strathclyde The origins of the
University of Glasgow's links with the military can be traced back to the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745, when companies of Militia were raised to defend the pro-Hanoverian University and the City of Glasgow against the absolutist Highland Jacobites. In 1880s, Glasgow professors such as
William John Macquorn Rankine and students formed two infantry companies as part of the local 1st Lanarkshire (Glasgow 1st Western) Rifle Volunteers. This unit later became the 5th Battalion of the
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), based at West Princes Street
drill hall in the
Woodlands area of Glasgow. In 1908, the Glasgow University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formally raised in response to the recommendations of the committee formed by Lord Haldane and consisted of three infantry companies and an engineering company. During the First World War, UOTC members were amongst the first to volunteer, and Glasgow UOTC trained many potential officers for Kitchener's New Armies. By the summer of 1916, some 2,800 officers had been raised by the university. In the Second World War, conscription was introduced immediately, and every student was regarded as a potential officer. The UOTC's role was to train officers from those University students conscripted into the Army and to provide basic training for those who remained behind as a Home Guard unit. At its height the Corps rose to 1,500 members.
London In 1909, the London University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formally raised in response to the recommendations of the committee formed by Lord Haldane. and some 245 officers, trained by the ULOTC, died in the Second World War. The University of London OTC is the largest UOTC with about 400 officer cadets. It has been based at
Yeomanry House in Handel Street, London since 1992. In 2011, Canterbury Company was founded to recruit officer Cadets from the Kent area.
Northumbrian Durham University formed the "K" Company of the 3rd Battalion,
Northumberland Fusiliers in 1908. With the formation of the Officers' Training Corps later in that year, this was transferred to the OTC. Some 2,464 members of
Durham University (including
Armstrong College and the College of Medicine in Newcastle, both now part of
Newcastle University) served in the First World War, with 325 being killed, along with 525 members of
Bede College (then an associated college rather than part of the university), of whom 91 were killed. In a serious accident in April 1955, four officer cadets from the UOTC were killed when they were hit by a
de Havilland Chipmunk at
Otterburn. Following the creation of Newcastle University (formerly King's College, Durham University) in 1963, the unit became the "Northumbrian Universities Officers Training Corps": it was initially based at the
Yeomanry Drill Hall in Northumberland Road in Newcastle, but moved to St George's Army Reserve Centre in Sandyford Road,
Jesmond in 1975 and then moved again to St. Cuthbert's Keep at Holland Drive in
Fenham in the 1990s.
North West Officers' Training Regiment Liverpool and Lancaster The Liverpool University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formed in 1919 to provide military training for the students of the
University of Liverpool. It occupied its own drill hall from 1928 and was re-organised on a faculty basis at the start of the
Second World War but was re-unified again in 1955. but is now based at Crawford Hall in
Allerton. Since September 2011 it has formed part of the North West Officers' Training Regiment.
Manchester and Salford In 1898 the
University of Manchester raised a company, sanctioned by the War Office, which was known as N Company of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion,
Manchester Regiment. In 1908 N Company became the Manchester University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps. and another 200 members of the university died in the Second World War. The unit was based at a Drill Hall in Stretford Road, but since 1994, has been based at University Barracks in Boundary Lane,
Manchester 15. Since September 2011 it has formed part of the North West Officers' Training Regiment. From 1881, the OURVC served as one of several volunteer battalions of the
Oxfordshire Light Infantry and in 1887 it became known as the 1st (Oxford University) Volunteer Battalion or the Oxford University Volunteers (OUV). From 1912 to 1918, the Oxford OTC was commanded by
John Stenning, a fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. In September 1914, at the start of the First World War the university processed some 2,000 applications for commissions in the
British Army and another 3,000 subsequently passed through its School of Instruction. During the First World War, training was increased for UOTC members being commissioned into newly formed battalions. By the end of the war almost 1,200 commissions had been obtained by cadets who had passed through the ranks of the contingent. In 1930 the Corps' title was changed to the "Queen's University, Belfast Contingent of the Officers' Training Corps". A Reception Unit and a Joint Recruiting Board were set up in the Drill Hall to deal with applications for commissions during the Second World War. Queen's UOTC is based at Tyrone House in Malone Road,
Belfast.
Southampton In November 1902 twenty students from
Hartley University College raised a company, sanctioned by the War Office, which formed part of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the
Hampshire Regiment. Members of the company were commissioned into the 5th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment in 1914 and served on the
Western Front during the First World War. In 1925 it provided the
Guard of honour for the visit of
King George V and
Queen Mary to Bristol to open buildings for the
University of Bristol. It undertook its training collectively with other universities until 1928 when it arranged its own annual camp. During the Second World War twenty-one cadets volunteered for immediate service.
Exeter A UOTC was formed in Exeter in the late 1930s, but after supplying officers to the British Army during the Second World War, recruitment fell and the UOTC was placed in suspended animation in November 1947. Initially based at
Higher Barracks, Exeter, the UOTC moved to
Wyvern Barracks in February 1988, when Major-General
Sir John Acland, its first honorary colonel, opened the Acland Building. In November 1908, the St Andrews University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formally raised in response to the recommendations of the committee formed by Lord Haldane. In May 1976, the Old Wyvernians formed as a regimental association for the former officer cadets of St Andrews UOTC. The inaugural meeting of the Tayforth Regimental Association was held on 16 June 1984, and was the first of its kind. Whilst other UOTCs followed the example, the Tayforth Regimental Association is the oldest of its kind. Tayforth UOTC is based at Park Wynd in
Dundee.
Wales In 1900
University College, Wales in Aberystwyth raised a company, sanctioned by the War Office, which was known as E Company of the
5th Volunteer Battalion, South Wales Borderers. The UOTCs of Aberystwyth and Bangor supplied officers to the British Army during the Second World War, but after the war recruitment fell and the UOTCs were suspended in October 1952 and March 1948 respectively. Meanwhile, the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire OTC had also supplied officers to the British Army during the Second World War but subsequently developed to become "Cardiff UOTC" and, in October 1990, it became "Wales UOTC". Wales UOTC is based at
Maindy Barracks in
Cardiff.
Yorkshire Officers' Training Regiment Leeds In January 1909, the Leeds University contingent of the Officers' Training Corps was formally raised in response to the recommendations of the committee formed by Lord Haldane. The contingent was initially based at Woodhouse Lodge. During the First World War some 1,596 officers were recruited from Leeds University: of these some 328 were killed. The contingent received an inspection by King George V on 27 September 1915. Captain
David Hirsch, a former member of the contingent, was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross for his actions on the Western Front during the First World War. Leeds UOTC is based at
Carlton Barracks in
Leeds. Since September 2011 it has formed part of the Yorkshire Officers' Training Regiment. From 1969 the UOTC began recruiting students from
Sheffield Hallam University as well as Sheffield University. Sheffield UOTC is based at
Somme Barracks in
Sheffield. Since September 2011 it has formed part of the Yorkshire Officers' Training Regiment. ==Bans==