Mons Officer Cadet School
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Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in
Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. The training course at Mons was for National Service and Short Service Officer Cadets, Territorial Army officers, and those joining the Regular Army as graduates, except for infantry officers. It was relatively short, usually lasting only six months or even less, compared with two years at Sandhurst.


History

Mons Barracks was originally constructed from 1926 to 1927 for the
Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...
. In 1939, the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...
, became the home of 161 Infantry Officer Cadet Training Unit (RMC): that unit moved to Mons Barracks at Aldershot in 1942, and subsequently became known as the "Mons Officer Cadet Training Unit (Aldershot)". In 1947, the Mons Officer Cadet Training Unit (Aldershot) was re-organised as an OCTU for short service and
National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
officer cadets of the technical arms, i.e. officer cadets of the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
and
Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...
. In the 1950s, candidates for National Service commissions, which were unlikely to last more than two years, received a cut-down version of officer training, lasting for sixteen weeks, either at the Mons Officer Cadet Training Unit at Aldershot or the Eaton Hall OCTU near
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
. Shortly before National Service was abolished in 1960, the Mons and Eaton Hall OCTUs were combined to form the Mons Officer Cadet School. Mons was made responsible for training all Short Service Officer Cadets, and for those joining the Regular Army as graduates. Later, Mons also became responsible for final training of candidates for Territorial Army commissions. The intensive training that emphasised cadets' duties as subalterns, rather than as field officers and generals, was fast and efficient, and attractive to potential officers since the course lasted just six months compared to two years at Sandhurst. Ranulph Fiennes trained at Mons in 1963 and later recalled “Instead of two years at Sandhurst there would be five months concentrated training at Mons Officer Cadet School. At Mons, half of us were white; the rest black, brown and yellow. Everyone got on fine so long as they pulled their weight.” The Mons OCS was closed in 1972, and its responsibilities transferred to the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...
, which was re-organised as an academy for all British Army student officers and officer cadets, including short servicemen, regulars, and Territorials.


Notable graduates

:''See also :Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School'' * George E. Mudenda, retired Zambian Army Brigadier-General and Adjutant-General * Godwin Alabi-Isama, Brigadier General, Nigerian Army * Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Nigerian Army, Military Governor of the Eastern Region, Leader of the secessionist State of Biafra *
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*
Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...
, former military President of
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
* Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain * Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Hakem of Fujairah * D. W. Hapuarachchi, Major General Sri Lanka Army * Nicholas Soames, Baron Soames of Fletching * Samuel Ogbemudia, Brigadier General, Nigerian Army. Military Administrator of Bendel *Robin Rhoderick-Jones, Brigadier and Author * Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa, Ghanaian Head of State * Joseph Nanven Garba, Nigerian Army general, diplomat, and politician * George Agbazika Innih. Nigerian Army general and politician * Miles Hunt-Davis, British Army brigadier * Emmanuel E Ikwue, Nigerian Air Force Chief of the Air Staff * Mohammed Sani Sami, Nigerian Army brigadier and Governor of Bauchi State, Nigeria * John Amadu Bangura, Sierra Leone Army brigadier and acting Governor-General of Sierra Leone *
Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
, Nigerian Army, President of Nigeria. *
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
, former Nigerian President and General * Bashiru Jinadu, Nigerian Army Major-General * Kit Lambert, manager of
the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
* Robin Collier MC *
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab ...
, Emir of Dubai, Vice President and Prime Minister of the
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* Tony Hunter-Choat, British soldier who served in the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
*Derek Chanda Mutoni, retired Zambian Army Brigadier-General * David A. Granger, Guyanese Army retired brigadier general, president of Guyana *
Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket Media Group in 1957. Heseltine se ...
, Deputy Prime Minister *Sheikh Ahmad Bin Jassim Al Thani, head of Emiri Security, Qatar * Ranulph Fiennes, explorer * Hassan Usman Katsina, Nigerian Army, Governor of Northern Nigeria, Chief of Army Staff * Abidin Ahmad, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces * Husin Ahmad, military officer and a member of Manteri


References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1960 Training establishments of the British Army 1960 establishments in the United Kingdom Military in Aldershot Military history of Hampshire Military academies of the United Kingdom Olusegun Obasanjo