Redcoats in the Classroom: The British Army’s Schools for Soldiers and Their Children During the 19th Century

This book tells the little known story of the Army’s regimental and garrison schools established in 1812 to provide schooling for soldiers’ children and subsequently for enlisted men, some almost 30 years before public money was first provided for elementary schools in England and Wales. This is the first published work on the Army’s schools during the 19th century for almost 50 years and the author takes a fresh approach, placing the narrative within the context of contemporary opinion about the need for educated soldiers and the schooling appropriate for the lowers classes ( from which the Army predominately drew its recruits), whilst also explaining the hitherto neglected, but crucial part played by the responsible ministers at the War Office in establishing and ensuring the survival of the schools. There were no published government reports on these regimental schools until 1859 and previous literature has been largely silent on the workings of the schools during the early years, when they were conducted by untrained schoolmaster-sergeants selected by their commanding officers from within the ranks of their regiments. This book breaks new ground by drawing on the archives of more than 40 regiments of infantry and cavalry preserved in their regimental museum and county records offices, including standing orders, digests of service and personal diaries, together with and other contemporary material from a larger number of regiments in the UK National Archives, in order to construct an unprecedented account of the workings of the schools during the years.
23 tables, 4 maps, 1 plan, 2 b/w documents, 9 b/w