NCC History

The history of the 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. This was followed by the creation of the St. Joseph 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 a Youth Organization. The interest level began to decrease during WWI and by the end of 1916, membership had diminished. 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 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 schools 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 Wardens from the Prisons 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.

The military training proved useful during the outbreak of WWII. A large number of cadets from St. Joseph Institution, St. Patrick’s School and Raffles Institution joined the Singapore Volunteer Corp (SVC) and fought against the Japanese troops in 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 in the Kallang Basin. The Sea Cadet Corps HQ later shifted to a Public Work Department office, then to a petrol kiosk.

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. 1969 marked the formation of the girls’ units in single gender (female) and mixed gender secondary schools. It was also the year in which 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 HQ NCC which is responsible for the training, discipline and welfare of the cadet movement. In 1970, the Police arm left the NCC to form the NPCC under the Ministry of Home Affairs while 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. Prior to 2001, NCC Headquarters was dispersed into 4 separate camps (Springleaf Camp, Haig Road Camp, Pasir Panjang Camp and Jalan Teck Whye Camp). HQ NCC was not centralised until 30^th May 2001, with the opening of a single NCC Campus at Amoy Quee Camp.

The year 2001 was a significant one for NCC as it marked the 100th anniversary of the formation of the elite organisation. Today the National Cadet Corps (NCC) is one of the biggest Uniform Group in the MOE family of Uniformed Groups with a wide variety of programmes. NCC syllabus not only consists of adventure training but also the opportunity to participate in many overseas trips. NCC cadets actively participate in the International Cadet Exchange Program (ICEP) which allows them to visit countries like Australia(Ex Wallaby), Canada, Hong Kong, India, Thailand(Ex Battle King), New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. They can also embark on experiential learning through Service-Learning projects in India and Thailand.