Officers' Training Corps

General history of the units

The emergence of the Officers' Training Corps as a distinct organisation began in 1906, when the Secretary of State for War, Lord Haldane, appointed a committee to examine the shortage of officers in the Militia, the Volunteer Force, the Yeomanry, and the Reserve of Officers. The committee recommended the creation of an Officers' Training Corps consisting of two divisions: a junior division in public schools and a senior division in universities. In October 1908, under Army Order 160 of July 1908 and as part of the Haldane Reforms of the reserve forces, the contingents were formally established as the Officers' Training Corps and incorporated into the newly created Territorial Force under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907.