Active 1916–1961 Branch British Army | Country United Kingdom Type Training | |
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Role Senior Army Officer Training Garrison/HQ Erlestoke Park, Wiltshire, England | ||
The Senior Officers' School was a British military establishment established in 1916 by Brigadier-General R.J. Kentish for the training of Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-service cooperation. It was established as part of a wider attempt by the British Army to create a coherent training plan for its officers.
The School was originally intended for senior officers of the British Army who aspired to battalion command and to ensure that all such candidates received suitable training. It was taken as an affront by some senior officers of the day, who resented the implication–true in some cases–that they were incapable of delivering the necessary training. The School attempted to widen officers' outlook by including in its syllabus subjects that were not immediately military but led to an appreciation of the wider political, geographical and technological environment in which the British Army would operate.
The School was originally based at Aldershot but in the 1920s, it was transferred to Sheerness. It then moved to Erlestoke Park in Wiltshire in 1939 where it continued to operate until June 1950 when a major fire caused it to move to the wings of the house; the school closed completely in 1961.
There was also a parallel establishment, the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum, at Belgaum in India.