Army Physical Training Corps
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| British Army Arms and Services | |
The Army Physical Training Corps (APTC) is the British Army corps responsible for physical fitness and physical education. Its members are all Physical Training Instructors (PTIs).
The APTC was formed in 1860 as the Army Gymnastic Staff. It was renamed the Army Physical Training Staff in 1918 and was given its present corps status by Army Order 165 in 1940.
The corps cap badge, which is also worn on the front of its vests, t-shirts and tracksuits, consists of crossed swords surmounted by a crown. The corps motto is Mens sana in corpore sano. Its quick march is Be Fit, with words taken from Land and Sea Tales by Rudyard Kipling. It is headquartered at the Army School of Physical Training (ASPT) in Aldershot, but instructors are attached to every battalion and regiment in the British Army, with the senior instructor in every unit usually being a Warrant Officer Class 2 (Quartermaster Sergeant Instructor).
It is not possible to join the APTC directly from civilian life. Prospective PTIs must first join another regiment or corps and then qualify as Regimental PTIs after a nine-week course at the ASPT. They then return to their own unit and only after further experience can they attend selection for the APTC. If they pass the selection course they follow a 30-week training course before qualifying as Advanced PTIs and transferring to the APTC.
Famous former APTC PTIs include Olympic medallists Warrant Officer Class 2 Kriss Akabusi and Sergeant Kelly Holmes.
[edit] Order of Precedence
| Preceded by: Intelligence Corps |
Order of Precedence | Succeeded by: General Service Corps |
