Our History
History of NCC
Early 1900s...
The history of National Cadet Corps dates as far back as May 1901 when C. M. Philips, the acting principal of Raffles Institution formed a cadet corps unit which comprised of existing and ex-Rafflesians. By 1905, the Raffles Institution Cadet Corps was formed followed by the creation of the St. Joseph’s Institution Cadet Corps in 1906.
The Cadet Corps in Singapore during those early years was aimed at training the youths for the Local Volunteer Corps rather than making it a youth organization. The interest level and enthusiasm began to wane during the First World War.
In 1917, steps were taken by the Education authorities to revive the Cadet Corps on a new basis. It was decided that six schools (Raffles Institution, St. Joseph’s Institution, Anglo-Chinese School, St. Andrew’s School, Outram Road School and Victoria Bridge School) should each form a Cadet Unit.
This time, the Cadet Corps in school would be entirely separated from that of the Volunteer Corps. The aim of the movement was to improve the physique and discipline of the boys, and to inspire them with ideals of esprit-de-corps and patriotism.
In 1918, all the six selected schools formed their Cadet Units under the command of their own Cadet Officers. Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) from various military regiments in Singapore and helped in the training of the school unit, which included foot drills, recognition of the different parts of a rifle, field signals and military games.
1939-1964
The military training proved useful during the outbreak of the Second World War. A large number of cadets from St. Joseph’s Institution, St. Patrick’s School and Raffles Institution joined the Singapore Volunteer Corp (SVC) and fought against the Japanese troops in the defence of Singapore. In light of their role in the defence of Singapore, the Japanese banned the Cadet Corps in schools.
The Cadet Corps movement was eventually revived in the post-war years with the end of the Japanese Occupation.
The Singapore Sea Cadet Corps was started in 1948 with the formation of a unit from the Junior Technical School. With its training syllabus based on the UK Sea Cadet Corps programme, the corps soon expanded to include seven more school units by 1951. The Sea Cadet Corps HQ was a converted Japanese Patrol Craft moored at Kallang Basin. The Sea Cadet Corps HQ later shifted to a Public Work Department office, then to a petrol kiosk.
The Air Cadet Training Corps was officially recognized on 14 July 1949, when the Singapore Legislative Assembly passed the “MATC Ordinance 1949 Bill” whereby all administration and training of the corps were governed by this Ordinance under the control of the Defence Ministry. This jurisdiction was transferred to the Education Ministry in 1963.
1965-2000
In 1965, the Ministry of Education launched its Cadet Corps expansion programme. The programme was launched by the Ministry to meet the demands of the Republic in preparation for National Service in 1967.
In 1969, witnessed the formation of the girls’ units in single gender (female) and mixed gender secondary schools.
In 1969, the land, sea, air and the police cadets were integrated under one organisation – the National Cadet Corps.
The year 1969 also saw the establishment of the NCC Headquarters which is responsible for training, discipline and welfare of the cadet movements. In 1970, the Police arm left the NCC to form the NPCC under the Ministry of Home Affairs whereas NCC continued under the Ministry of Defence. This occurred when the then Ministry of Interior and Defence was re-organised to form two separate ministries: Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs.
By 1971, there were 82 Land (Boys) units, 52 Land (Girls) units, 3 Sea Training Centres and an Air Training Centre.
In 1972, the NCC Council was formed as the highest policy making body and the NCC Act was promulgated in 1973.
1984 saw the first recruitment of girls into our NCC Sea and Air units.
2000-Present
Prior to 2001, NCC Headquarters was dispersed into 4 separate camps namely Springleaf Camp, Haig Road Camp, Pasir Panjang Camp and Jalan Teck Whye Camp. HQ NCC was not centralised until the year 2001, with the opening of a single NCC Campus at Amoy Quee Camp, on 30th May.
The year 2001 was a significant one for NCC as it marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the elite organization.
Today the National Cadet Corps (NCC) is one of the biggest UG in the MOE family of Uniformed Groups with a wide variety of programmes. NCC syllabus not only consists of adventure training but also the chance to participate in the many overseas trips. NCC cadets actively participate in the International Cadet Exchange Program (ICEP) which allows them to visit countries like Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. They can also embark on experiential learning through Service-Learning projects in India and Thailand.