Educating for War: British and Dominion Staff Training Between the World Wars

Dr Iain Farquharson discusses how the Army's institutional culture affected the training and education of those who served in it.

How does institutional culture affect educational developments within a military force? For the British Army of the interwar period (1919-39) the answer is: badly.
 
Taking a broad examination of British officer education across this turbulent period of British military history, Dr Iain Farquharson will show that it was institutional culture rather than military requirements which ultimately dominated discussions of educational reform within the British Army.

He will look at the development of junior officer education in light of frequent re-examinations by civilian educators, and how this development reflected the changing quality and quantity of officer cadets. 

He will also explore similar developments in the Dominions of Canada and Australia, showing how the lack of a comparable ‘regimental culture’ facilitated a more reformist approach to officer education in the same period.

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About Iain Farquharson

Dr Iain Farquharson is a lecturer in Global Challenges (Security) at Brunel University London. His research focuses on military education and training, as well as examinations of military institutional cultures. 

He is the author of articles on officer education in the British and Dominion armies, and is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a member of the British Commission for Military History.