ABSTRACT
Throughout the period 1870-1914 there was, as we have seen, an active lobby in favour of securing an honoured place for the teaching of military drill within the elementary school curriculum. At times successes were dramatic, as when the powerful and influential London School Board was persuaded to adopt the programme proposed by the Society of Arts in 1875. Influential and patriotic individuals such as Lord Roberts raised the expectations and hopes of militarists; at other times local initiatives advanced the cause significantly. Always, however, military drill was judged alongside 'ordinary' drill or physical exercises, which did not rely upon military models, or kept them to a minimum.
