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Army Apprentices and Junior Leaders were often referred to as "Boy Soldiers". The real "Boy Soldiers" were actually the predecessors of Apprentices and Junior Leaders. In fact, there really was an army rank called "Boy". It referred to those soldiers in the British Army that had not yet reached the minimum age for enlistment.

"Junior, or Boy, service in armed forces is as old as warfare itself, Alexander the Great commanded his first army at the age of sixteen. The existence of a minimum age for armed service is a relatively new concept that has developed with society. The boy soldier, however, has had a particular place in the history of the British Army since early medieval times. Richard I, in the twelfth century took boy soldiers to war with him as minstrels; these minstrels performed a vital function in indicating by their sound the rallying point of the army, which often could not be seen. He also took with him apprentice saddlers, harness makers and like trades. In these beginnings eight hundred years ago we can see the predecessors of our RAOC tradesmen of today, and even the College Corps of Drums!

As armies were raised, from them as boys continued to be used for similar functions. In Elizabethan times companies of soldiers had about a dozen boys, known as Comarados, added to them. It was the task of these boys to forage for firewood, prepare food and generally acquire the local provisions of the soldiers. There is in this function a direct ancestor of some of our activities today." Lt Colonel Jiggens 1985 on the disbandment of the RAOC Apprentice Collage.

"Boy enlistment was a traditional method of augmenting recruitment. Regiments consisting entirely of boys had been formed at an earlier date, but the last had disappeared in 1802. Between 1859 and 1899 regulations specified that the number was not to exceed 2 per cent of the unit establishment. (Thus all Ordnance units would have Boy Soldiers on the establishment) Boys were taken on from the age of fifteen and served an apprenticeship until they reached the normal age of enlistment. During this time they were taught one or more trades. Nearly three-quarters of all boys recruited underwent training as musicians (i.e. drummers and buglers), the remainder as tailors and shoemakers. (At this time not unique Ordnance Trades) On reaching the minimum age for enlistment, boys formally joined the regiment to which they were attached as private soldiers.

What was new was the suggestion inspired by the practices of the Royal Navy, of a comprehensive training scheme. Borrowing directly from the navy’s experience, many advocated that special training schools be set up, and that the establishment of boys at the Royal Military Asylum and the Royal Hibernian Military School be substantially increased." SKELLEY, A.R. The Victorian Army At Home: The Recruitment and Terms and Conditions of the British Regular, 1859-1899. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 1977, pp. 240 and 243.

After W.W.1 the lack of skilled tradesmen became noticeable and after various committees and conclusions were made. The recommendations that the armies need for more mechanical, technical, electrical and craft trades could be eased with the training of young men in military apprenticeships.

So the training of young tradesmen in the Army is by no means a recent innovation. Prior to World War II Artificers R.A., Armourers R.A.O.C. (both specialist trades) and other tradesmen for technical corps were trained at Woolwich, Hilsea and Chepstow. The boys were taken direct from school and taught a trade in a manner similar to industrial practice; except that the military apprentices were also trained as soldiers so that they could take their proper place in the regiments or corps to which they would eventually be posted. With mechanisation going ahead it was clear, by the early 1930s, that the Army would be unable to obtain enough tradesmen for its needs from adult enlistment and existing apprentice training units. Two hundred RAOC Fitter Apprentices were recruited and enlisted on 1^st October 1936 of whom 100 started their training at Bramley and 100 at Hilsea. During the summer of 1939 around one dozen Bramley apprentices went to Woolwich to be trained as Instrument Mechanics, whilst the rest of the Bramley first intake, and a few of the Hilsea intake, proceeded to Aldershot to complete their training. Some older apprentices who completed training in 1939 served in France with the B.E.F. in various RAOC Ordnance Field Parks and Workshops. There was still a shortage of specialist soldier – tradesmen however, so it was decided to build three new Army Technical Schools at Arborfield, Chatham (never completed) and Jersey (abandoned in 1939). These schools were to produce tradesmen for the special needs of the R.A.O.C., R.E. and R.A.S.C. respectively. By 1^st May 1939 the almost completed Aborfield School was ready for its first intake of 400 boys who were badged R.A.O.C. Later that month the square was completed but the workshops were not finished until June.

R.A.O.C. and R.A.S.C. boys were transferred to Arborfield from Jersey, Hilsea and Didcot, arriving during the summer months. Further intakes followed in October 1939 and in April and October 1940; and yet more arrived from Hilsea and Chepstow. The training of Clerks, Storeman & Regimental Duties continued at Haslar & Hilsea. The April 1941 intake of potential armourers was the last to be badged R.A.O.C. It was also in 1941 that the Drum and Fife Band was formed, composed entirely of ex-pupils from the Duke of York’s School. They supported the band of the 4^th/7^th Royal Dragoon Guards who were stationed at the School whilst the regiment was on active service.

Significantly, from the formation of R.E.M.E. in October 1942, all R.A.O.C. apprentices at A.T.S. Aborfield were re-badged R.E.M.E.
Apprentice RAOC Ammunition Examiners were already being trained at A.T.S. Beachly (Chepstow) which was mainly a R.E. Collage.

Edited extracts above with thanks to the 'History of the Army Technical Foundation College' by Capt. (Retd.) D.B. Richards Dip. Ed. Tech REME.

It is not yet known when centralised Boys training was started at Hilsea & Didcot, but was probably not long after the end of World War One. Boys training was moved from Hilsea in 1939 to other locations. But was centralised mainly at Aldershot by 1946.

"In September 1949 the Boys Training School had moved from Aldershot to Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire under a new OC, Major R A J Wiggins, himself an ex-boy soldier. Major Wiggins set about improving standards, both in sports, for which there were excellent facilities, and in military and trade training and education. Recruiting improved as (for a time) did the quality and, in one case in particular, the physical size. The particular case was Boy Tett, who on joining at 15 years of age, was already 6’ 6” tall. Under Major Wiggins’s direction the famous “Toy Soldiers” were formed in late 1950. They gave their first performance at a searchlight display on Portsmouth United’s football ground, Fratton Park, the curtain-raiser of some five years of publicity and recruiting displays up and down the country, including an appearance at the Royal Tournament in June 1952. Reporting on a display by the Toy Soldiers a year later, the London Star commented: “Their precision drill in the style of uniform of Wellington’s day, has given them a reputation of being one of the Army’s best showpieces for recruiting boys over 15”. But by 1955 the demand on the Toy Soldiers has become such that it was interfering with training, and with reluctance the activity had be discontinued.

By 1953 the urge to recruit increased numbers of boy soldiers at the expense of quality caused overcrowding of the accommodation at Haslar in Gosport and discouraged intake of a high standard. The error was put right by a purge of certain unsatisfactory elements, and by moving the unit back to North Firth Barracks Blackdown (Near Deepcut Surrey) in early 1954, to become a Boys Wing 1 (Regular) Training Battalion, with Major W R Eccles taking command of the Company. In the autumn of the following year, the Company was divorced from 1 Battalion, once again becoming a separate unit as the RAOC Boys’ School. At the same time the School became responsible for training REME boy entrants for the trades of clerk, storemen and regimental dutymen.

There had been for some time dissatisfaction within the Army over the term “boy soldier”. It was a disincentive to recruiting, and did not give a true image of the potential of the junior soldiers as the future NCOs of the Army and indeed, for a sizeable percentage, commissioned officers. Hence in 1957 the term “boy” was replaced by “Junior Leader” and the RAOC Boys’ School was retitled the RAOC/REME Junior Leaders School. That this change was well-conceived is borne out by the fact that the RAOC junior leader recruiting figures for 1958 were double those for 1957⁽¹⁾. A further change came in 1959 with the name of the establishment being changed again, this time to the RAOC/REME Junior Leaders Battalion. The appointment of CO was upgraded to Lieutenant Colonel, with Lieutenant Colonel J W Harley-Peters being appointed to the command. Yet while all those changes were occurring and following a decision made by the War Office in 1956, to group Boys’ units into large units of around 1,000." Major General L T H Phelps, History of the RAOC

⁽¹⁾It may have been well conceived by the War office but was resented by the Boys themselves. This resentment seems to carry on by the majority of Ex Junior Leaders who incorrectly still refer to themselves as “Ex-Boys”

The first uniform worn by Army Apprentices was Service Dress with stiff peaked cap with a large 'General Service Corps' Cap Badge and Buttons as standard. With brass Boys Technical School (B.T.S.) Shoulder Titles, Later changing to 'Army Technical School' (A.T.S.)

One must sympathise with the apprentices in their aversion to wearing brass A.T.S. insignia on their epaulettes thus confusing them with the then familiar female element of the war-time Army. After the January 1943 intake, the powers-that-be took the point and cloth shoulder flashes ‘Army Technical School’, in gold lettering on a black background were approved, giving a more dignified title.

At some time during W.W.II (believed to be about 1943) Battle Dress with at first a Khaki Woollen Beret were issued, later changing to a navy blue beret.

In 1947 a Cap Badge was designed for the Army Apprentice Schools which continued in use till c1966 when Corps or Regimental Badges were adopted.
The AAS Collar Badge continued to be worn when in Service or No2 Dress however.

Boy soldiers continued to wear khaki service dress until the 1960s, although the inconvenient puttees had been discontinued. Whilst adult soldiers were clad in the utilitarian battledress, boys paraded in the much smarter service dress, with its high-necked tunic, brass buttons and peaked cap, also wearing denim trousers and jackets, at first in the battledress style for (dirty) working dress or field training.

Adult soldiers exchanged battledress for the more presentable new No 2 dress in the early 1960s, but the powers that be then decided to put boy soldiers into the now obsolete serge battledress, again without puttees or anklets. (Junior Leaders at Deepcut continued to wear Service Dress till the late 60's)

By the mid to late 1960s boy soldiers had at last started to graduate to the smart No2 dress, At least for 'Best Dress' to start with. This uniform, with its 'easypress' cloth and 'staybright' buttons and badges, was much easier to maintain than the scratchy serge uniforms which preceded it, as well as being rather more comfortable. Battledress continued to be worn until the early 1970's in other forms of dress, being replaced by barrack dress/lightweight trousers with pullovers, and combat dress when on duty or exorcise. Always one step behind the regular army, it would take a little longer to obtain the DPM combats of course!

In 1963 it was decided to adopt the Red & Black Chevrons of the Light Infantry & Gurkha's to identify Junior NCO's (The rational being that the Cap & Collar badges would tell them apart!) and these were being worn by Army Apprentices and Junior Leaders by 1965.

Royal Army Ordnance Corps Boys Training establishments have undergone various name changes since W.W.II :

RAOC Apprentice Company co-located at A.T.S. Beachly (Chepstow) (for Ammunition Examiners/Technicians)
(RAOC Apprentices at Aborfield till 1942 & Chepstow wore the large General Service Corps followed by the A.T.S. Cap Badge until c1966)

RAOC Enlisted Boys Wing - Parsons Barracks, Aldershot. 1947 (for Clerks, Storeman & RD)
(RAOC Boys wore the RAOC Cap & Collar Badges at all times of their history)

RAOC Boys Training School - Haslar, Gosport. (inc Ft Gomer & Hilsea) 1949

RAOC Boys School*, Blackdown. 1955
(Joined by REME Boys training as All Arms Clerks & Regimental Duties)

RAOC/REME Junior Leaders School* - Deepcut. 1956
(Exact date of move to Dettington Barracks, Not yet known)

RAOC/REME Junior Leaders Battalion* - Deepcut. 1959
(Joined by Intelligence Corps Junior Leaders from A.T.S. Harrogate training as All Arms Clerks)

RAOC Apprentice Collage - Deepcut. 1983
(REME Apprentices re-located to A.A.C. Aborfield. Winter 1983)

Amalgamated with the RCT Junior Leaders Regiment to form the
RCT/RAOC Junior Leaders Regiment at Colerne, nr Bath, Winter 1986

RCT/RAOC Junior Leaders Regiment was disbanded circa June 1992
Transferred to Junior Leaders Regiment RAC at Bovington, Dorset. (Dates to be confirmed)
Remaining RAOC Junior Leaders are believed only to have numbered about 30

All RAOC Apprentice/Junior Leaders training ceased by April 1993
^*Conflicting histories record title as RAOC and/or RAOC/REME with overlapping dates during this time period.

Training of Junior Soldiers continued after 1993, but to a different 'All Arms' syllabus in 2 Army Foundation Collages.

AFS Harrogate for 'Teeth Arms' and ATFS Aborfield for 'Technical Corps' Thus young men and now women can join at age 16¾ and undertake further education and NVQ's as well as undergoing basic military & adventure training. This is a modern form of the old Junior Leaders.