Soldier Boys: The Militarisation of Australian and New Zealand Schools for World War I

While ‘voluntary cadet training was a feature of Australian and New Zealand schools during the midnineteenth century, a form of ‘compulsory? cadet training became the norm from 1910 through to the 1920s, in both government and non-government schools. In this respect, Australia was ‘more British than the British?, as there was no compulsory military training in the schools of Great Britain, or in any other British Empire countries during this period. A large proportion of the over half a million Anzacs who served in the Great War did so willingly, because they had been trained for war in the schools of both countries. They soon found themselves serving as cannon fodder in the fields of Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Many of these former cadets were survivors who wrestled with their personal demons for the rest of their lives. pp. 270 illusts First Edition #0219

“