Army Cadet Force
uniformed military youth organisation in the United Kingdom, aligned to the British Army
The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a British national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF make up the Community Cadet Forces. It is a separate organisation from the Combined Cadet Force which provides similar training within principally private schools.
Although sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, the ACF is not part of the British Army, and as such cadets are not subject to military law or military 'call up' but is funded by the MOD. Some cadets do, however, go on to enlist in the armed forces later in life.
The Army Cadet Charitable Trust UK (ACCT UK) is a registered charity that acts in an advisory role to the Ministry of Defence and other Government bodies on matters connected with the ACF.
As of 1 April 2023, there are 38,180 cadets, and 8,020 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs).
History
Formation and development
In 1859 the British Army was heavily committed to suppressing the Indian Mutiny which left a shortage of Armed Troops in Britain to dissuade or repel a French invasion which at the time was a very real threat. At this time the War Office made the decision to organize local Militia units (predecessors of the Territorial Army), into a nationwide Volunteer Reserve Force which it names "the Volunteers". A number of these Volunteers formed their own Cadet Companies, and during the 1860 Volunteer review by Queen Victoria one unit - the Queen's Westminster's - paraded their Cadet Company alongside their adult Companies.
In 1889 renowned social reformer Octavia Hill formed the first independent Cadet Battalion in Southwark. She considered strongly that the military context of the Volunteer Cadet Companies could be used to socialise urban youths struggling for direction, and wrote that "There is no organisation which I have found that influences the boys so powerfully for good as our cadets ...
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