Hi I am interested to understand more about officer training at beginning of war, for someone I have a connection with. Aged 32, he was gazetted in August 1940, where it stated that 'the undermentioned Cadets, from Officer Producing Centre, to be 2 Lts. 3 August 1940'. Please may I ask: a. Where was 'Officer Producing Centre' likely to be in their case. b. What would have got him into officer training? Would this have been an option if he was called up. Or, if you hoped to become an officer, and also had a particular unit in mind, would it be better to volunteer, rather than waiting for callup. Many thanks
Hi, Your best bet would be to obtain a copy of his service re ord from MOD Glasgow. It should answer your query at A above and give you substantial clues re your query B - Get a copy of military service records: Apply for the records of someone who's deceased Good Luck Steve
My Father in Law 2nd Lt Edward Lynch T/87356 joined the RASC on 17 May 1939 and was rapidly promoted to Sergeant, then discharged on 1 Sept 1939 to be appointed for a commission. He acted as an Officer (2nd Lt) from 2 Sept 1939 and was sent on a special RASC junior officers training course from 15 Nov to 5 Dec 1939 at RASC School Aldershot - So this could be the Officer Producing Centre you mentioned in your post.
Hello Soonguy, It appears that Officer Producing Centre was a term peculiar to the RASC. Officer Cadet Training Unit was the term commonly used and later applied to the RASC. Officer training was about 6 months so your man could have been at some of the below. I don’t know when they moved from Aldershot/Bulford to Kent and I think they moved from Kent soon after Dunkirk (June 1940). To answer your second question, potential officers were selected from the ranks; there was no direct entry to officer training during the war. WO 365/163. OCTUs: situation reports. w/e 19 September 1939 RASC Wing of 1st Tr Centre – Aldershot Wing of 1st Tr Centre – Bulford w/e 18 June 1940 Royal Army Service Corps Regimental Training School – Ramsgate Mechanical Transport School - Broadstairs WO 365/195. OCTUs: situation reports. w/e 25 September 1940 Royal Army Service Corps Regimental Training School – Boscombe Mechanical Transport School – Boscombe By 1942 the Schools had moved to Clifton, Bristol. Hope this helps. Richard
