Combined Cadet Force
| Combined Cadet Force (CCF) | |
|---|---|
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| Founded | 1948 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Type | Youth Organisation |
| Size | 42,950 Cadets 2,810 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers |
| Patron | Craig Bell |
| Website | Combined Cadet Force |
The Combined Cadet Force' (CCF) is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance". It is not a pre-service organisation, although it acknowledges that one of its objectives is "to encourage those who have an interest in the services to become Officers of the Regular or Reserve Forces", and a significant number of officers have indeed had experience in the CCF. Prior to 1948 cadet forces in schools existed as the junior division of the Officers' Training Corps framework, but in 1948 Combined Cadet Force was formed covering cadets affiliated to all three services.
As of 1 April 2014 there were 42,950 Cadets and 2,810 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers. MOD provides approximately £28M per year of funding to the CCF.
The CCF was created in 1948 by the amalgamation of the Junior Training Corps (formerly the Junior Division of the Officers Training Corps) and the school contingents of the Sea Cadet Corps and Air Training Corps. CCFs are still occasionally referred to as "The Corps". On 12 May 1859, the Secretary of State for War, Jonathan Peel, sent out a circular letter to the public schools and universities inviting them to form units of the Volunteer Corps. The first school cadet corps was established at Rossall School in February 1860, initially as an army contingent only. Felsted already had an armed drill contingent at the time of the War Office letter under the command of Sgt. Major Rogers RM; its claim on these grounds to be the oldest school corps was upheld by Field Marshal Earl Roberts in a letter to the Headmaster of 1904. Other corps were very quickly formed in 1860 at five further schools: Eton, Harrow, Hurstpierpoint, Rugby and Tonbridge. In February 1861 the Oxford City Rifle Cadet Corps was founded, with five companies, the first of which was composed of pupils of the Linden House School, a private school in Headington. In 1908, the units were re-titled the Officer Training Corps (OTC). A school contingent may have any combination of Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and sometimes Royal Marines sections, the army section is almost invariably the largest.
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