With International Women’s Day fast approaching a few words on Girls in the Army Cadet Force. Although we teach in the recruit syllabus that girls were not allowed to become Cadets until the 1980’s, there is more to that occasion.
The desire of girls for greater involvement in the war effort through participation in a uniformed cadet organisation grew throughout the early years of WW2 and eventually in 1942 the Government accepted something had to be done. The War Department was still reluctant to form such an organisation and the Minister for Education Florence Horsburgh was asked to set up an organisation for girls. As a result in 1942 an organisation called the ‘National Association of Training Corps for Girls’ was formed with branches for each of the three services. The army organisation being known as the ‘Girls Training Corps’ (GTC).
Throughout the war years often sharing instructors and facilities, both the GTC and the ACF went on to work closely together.
At the end of the war the government planned to close down the organisation but its membership had other plans and the organisation carried on as a charity. In 1963 the naval branch became closely associated with the Sea Cadet Corps merging with the organisation in 1980.
In 1964 the Army and Air Force branches merged to form the ‘Girls Venture Corps’.
From 1983 girls were accepted into the ACF and ATC which caused many GVC cadets to transfer to their respective counterparts. It was decided that the GVC would focus on air activities and in 1987, at the request of its membership, the organisation was renamed the Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets. This organisation survives to this day as a charity.
Although girls were first admitted into the ACF in the early 1980’s, in Wiltshire they had to wait until 1986 to join. The attached pictures from the time were supplied by ex-Capt Sian Revell who was in the first intake of girls into the Devizes Detachment and then went on to join the Royal Military Police before returning to serve as an Adult Instructor.
It took until 2002 to get the first female Commandant appointed and there were only 2 in post when our current Commandant Col. Britt Haggerty applied for her position and 4 nationally when she was appointed.
As of the 1st April 2023 Females currently make 33% of cadets and 34% of adult instructors in the Army Cadet Force.
SSI Neil Ashley VR
