The Academy became functional from 01 October 1932 with a course strength of 40 Gentlemen Cadets. Brigadier L P Collins, DSO, OBE was the first Commandant. The first course had on its rolls Sam Manekshaw, Smith Dun and Mohd Musa. All of them later became the Chiefs of the armies of their respective countries namely India, Burma and Pakistan. The course was christened as 'PIONEERS'. The government acquired the estate of the erstwhile Railway College at Dehradun, which had the appropriate buildings and a fairly extensive campus to meet the requirements of the Academy at its birth.
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<< Inauguration Day Parade Inauguration in Chetwode Hall>> |
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Due to certain unavoidable reasons, formal inauguration of the Academy was postponed to 10th December 1932. Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, Baronet GCB, GCSS, CCMA, DSO, then Commander-in-Chief India, after whom the main building and its central hall are named, inaugurated the Academy on the day when the first term of the training was about to be over. A large number of guests were invited for the occasion, especially those, who had led the battle for establishment of the institution. The centre-piece among the formal events was the inaugural address by Sir Philip Chetwode, which was delivered in the hall named after him. His address was a pointed piece of stirring oration and has come to acquire a kind of immortality because a passage from his address has been adopted as the Credo of the Academy.
Some more images from the Academy:
