A lecture on some points for comparison between the French and British soldier : delivered before His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, K.G., and officers of the garrison of Dover, on 7th March, 1872 / by C.A. Gordon.

  • Gordon, Charles Alexander, 1821-1899.
Date:
1872
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A lecture on some points for comparison between the French and British soldier : delivered before His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, K.G., and officers of the garrison of Dover, on 7th March, 1872 / by C.A. Gordon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    EDUCATION. By official decree, it is directed that young men on joining regiments shall there receive, so soon as the necessities of the service permit, an extent of instruction equal to that given in primary schools, in order—so the decree proceeds to state—that they may be able, on returning to their homes on completing their period of service, to communicate to the younger members of their families the results of the advantages enjoyed by themselves while under the colours ; the army thus becoming, in theory, a great means of dis- seminating instruction and education among the masses of the people. In each regiment there are two kinds of schools,—namely, those of the first and of the second degree. In the former, soldiers and corporals receive what may be called elementary education ; in the latter, the sous officiers undergo a higher course, in view to becoming qualified for advancement to commi.csioned rank. Recruits are permitted to join the school after they have advanced sufficiently in their military training to have mounted guard if in the infantry, or passed through the riding school if in the cavalry. Attendance then becomes com- pulsory, at the same time that every inducement is held out to individuals. Thus, the progress made by each is, on the occasion of the periodical examinations, recorded in his small book ; and further, the names of those who excel are mentioned in the Orders of the Day. Such is the theory ! What is the fact} Baron Stoffel, in his very remarkable reports from Berlin, alluding to the relative state of education in the armies of France and Prussia, records his opinion that the higher standard of, and more general instruction in, the latter as compared with the former constituted an important point of military supe- j-jf^-ity^—a view adopted by every writer who has discussed this subject since the occurrence of the late war.