Our History
The cadet force at Lancing
began in 1900 and was one of about 100 Officer Training Corps
formed as part of a broad national upsurge in concern about
the
possibility
of
war.
Many
other independent
schools
formed
similar units at about the same time although many were already
in existence even earlier.
Initially the boys at the College were trained to be Army Officers
and the corps was compulsory. Large numbers of these young men
joined the army when they left College and the War Memorial Cloister
in
the chapel records the names of those who gave their lives in
the defense of the country during the two World Wars and other
conflicts.
As time went on the Officer Training Corps gave way to the Combined
Cadet Force in 1948 but the "old boys"have not been forgotten.
Each year the senior cadets lay a wreath in their memory at the
end of
the College's
Remembrance Sunday service.
Over the years since 1900 Lancing has developed its own traditions
(or 'bad habits' as the ATC would see them) but we are still proud
of our unit and its achievements. Our unofficial motto is meant
to read "we march to no-one else's tune" but is often less kindly
interpreted as "we're out of step with everyone else". In either
case, the RAF cadets have achieved an enormous amount over the
years and the new recruits each year continue to add to the record.