School of Instruction.
Schools of Instruction for Volunteer Officers were instituted by the Army authorities. These supplied a want that had been much felt, as much by the “Civil Service” as by other Corps; for although the more energetic Officers occasionally obtained permission to be attached to a Regiment of Regulars for a short period, the instruction thus obtained does not appear to have been very thorough.
Indeed, the blunders of Commanding Officers, eccentric words of command, and suchlike, form the staple commodity of the “Volunteer” humour of the period. It is related that on one occasion, when the “Civil Service” were marching down Fleet Street, a Field Officer, rushing to the front, delivered himself of the following: “Battalion—FOURS RIGHT. No, I mean FOURS LEFT. No—er—er—. D——n it. Turn up Fetter Lane.”
Lord Bury was the first Officer of the Corps to take advantage of the new institution, and in 1871 he attended the School at Chelsea Barracks, and obtained the “pass” certificate. Since that time it has been the rule for all Officers to pass the School as soon as possible after receiving a commission.