BRITISH ARMY DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA

A soldier in Queen Victoria’s army was often enlisted after being plied with drink by a recruiting sergeant in a local pub and then being persuaded to accept the Queen's shilling. To accept the Queen's shilling referred to the payment of one shilling given to recruits to the army (or Royal Navy) who agreed to serve; this was a practice which dated from the English Civil War but it officially ended in 1879. A recruit had a cooling-off period of a couple of days and was entitled to return the shilling before he formally attested; once he had attested, a more substantial bounty was paid to a new recruit. However, this additional bounty was taken to pay for various duties and dues including payment for a uniform.

Once a recruit had formally attested, he was then medically examined, not only to prevent deserters or discharged soldiers re-enlisting and receiving another bounty, but also to detect any condition which would prevent them from actively serving. They then swore an oath of allegiance before a magistrate.

The pay for a private in the English Army was originally one shilling a day. A soldier was expected to pay for food and clothing out of their wages. It was not until 1847 that a limit was placed on deductions, meaning that a soldier was paid at least one penny a day, after deductions. Despite derisory pay novel incentives were sometimes used to persuade soldiers to enlist in the army.

Soldiers generally enlisted for life or for a period of twenty-one years. Limited (short service) enlistments of seven years were introduced in 1806 to allow the numbers of army personnel to significantly increase during the Napoleonic wars but this was abolished in 1829. In 1847 enlistments for ten or twelve years were introduced and this meant that regiments ended up with experienced veteran soldiers.

Many long-serving soldiers became unfit for service because of the type of climate or disease-ridden areas where they served. Their barracks were often insanitary and overcrowded which increased the possibility of illnesses - and even death. Soldiers often became non-effective before their time due to the effects of drinking too much alcohol, but this is something which may not always be obvious from official records.

Although soldiers were permitted to marry, only a small proportion actually did so. In some cases soldiers, their wives and children occupied married quarters within the barracks. Few wives were allowed to accompany a unit overseas, so when the unit embarked, families were separated, sometimes for significant time periods.

Unlike the recruitment of ordinary soldiers, officers in the army joined in a completely different way. Gentlemen who wished to join the army infantry or cavalry could do so by purchasing a commission, and it was this system of the sale of commissions which regulated the selection and promotion of officers.

A potential officer gained his first commission usually through a recommendation, often from a member of the family holding an officer rank, and then paying an agreed amount. If they to pursue their career, they would then have to purchase commissions to successive ranks.

This system was totally unsatisfactory in many ways. There was no proper training of officers and certainly no career structure whatever. This meant that wealthy officers could rapidly attain high ranks in regiments yet they actually had no idea of what was needed to take command.

This system of purchasing a commission also generated class distinction and snobbery on the part of wealthy officers and In some circumstances this resulted in complete disrespect from their men.

Reform of the system was badly needed so that officers had to earn their commissions. This is covered in later sections of this article. 

In 1858 the war office set up the Peel Commission to investigate and recommend changes in the British Army organisation. The commission reported its findings in 1862 but were unable to introduce necessary legislation to make the changes recommended because of deep-rooted interests and "die-hard" senior officers, including the Commander-in-Chief at the time.

The Cardwell and Childers Reforms (1868–1881)

In 1861 there were around a quarter of a million personnel serving in the British army forming three Household Cavalry regiments, twenty-eight cavalry regiments, three foot guards' regiments, 108 line infantry regiments, two rifle regiments, the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. Of these two reforms, the Cardwell reforms were the most far-reaching.

One intended purpose of both the Cardwell and Childers Reforms was the creation of an expeditionary force capable of being despatched to a theatre of war without affecting the security of Britain or the Empire.

Under the 1868 Liberal government, the Secretary of State for War was Edward Cardwell. The reforms had been on the cards for a long time, the aim being to centralise the power of the war office, abolish the purchase of officers' commissions, create reserve forces stationed in Britain and establish short terms of service for enlisted men. The Cardwell reforms were an essential stage in full modernisation of the army.

By far the most controversial element of the reforms was stopping the commission purchase system. The system of purchasing a commission was replaced by a system of advancement by seniority and merit. It unblocked the avenues of promotion to deserving officers regardless of their personal means.

Aa part of the reforms,Cardwell introduced the Army Enlistment Act 1870, which reduced the period of enlisted service from twenty-one years to twelve years. The first years were on active service with men then passing into the Army Reserve for the remainder of their serving time. They were liable for recall to active service during the residual period if the need arose. The minimum length of active service was six years for infantry, eight years for line cavalry and artillery, twelve years for the Household Cavalry and three years for the Army Service Corps. In 1881 active short service for the infantry was increased to seven years.

The minimum period of regular service varied from as little as four years in the infantry, to as much as eight in the cavalry and artillery. The maximum length of service remained at twenty-one years but only soldiers who became warrant officers or senior non-commissioned officers generally served the full term.

In 1872 Cardwell gave every cavalry and infantry regiment and artillery brigade a fixed depot and recruiting area. Recruits who expressed a preference were allowed to join a regiment of their choice if there were vacancies. Infantry regiments were reorganised on a county-based system. One battalion would serve overseas while the other was stationed in Britain and after a few years would swap over.

Other administrative reforms were also introduced including the abolition of the Ordnance Board and Commissariat which were absorbed into the war office. The administration of the militia and reserves also came under the control of the war office. The Commissariat, and the Military Train became the Control Department, which consisted of officers and the Army Service Corps in other ranks in 1869. Later refinements were also made in these departments.

Discipline and punishments were also reformed. Legislation resulted in general orders being issued throughout the army which ended the brutal disciplinary measures such as flogging and branding.

Cardwell greatly improved soldiers' conditions by making the ration allowance of bread, potatoes and meat free and he also reduced other stoppages particularly for medical care. He introduced a system of extra pay for soldiers who earned good-conduct badges after several years of service.

The Childers reforms came into effect on 1 July 1881 and continued earlier reforms which strengthened regiments' county affiliations by discarding the numerical system and amalgamating single-battalion regiments into regiments with the county names in their titles. This created sixty-nine infantry regiments each of two battalions.

The Childers Reforms also established a reserve force by integrating the militia and volunteers into the regular regimental system. Most infantry regiments had a third battalion of recalled reservists formed in an emergency and a fourth (or more) volunteer/territorial battalions.

The cavalry were not affected by the reforms to the same degree as the infantry. There were in total thirty-one regiments but the regiments remained small. An attempt was made to link the regiments in threes following the pattern of Cardwell reforms for the infantry but it did not come to fruition nor were the Yeomanry regiments linked to regular cavalry units.

Restrictions on the number of soldiers who could marry were also eased and all soldiers' wives were allowed to accompany their husbands when they changed station but not when they were involved in a campaign.

A Royal Commission into the sanitary condition of the army existed from 1857 to 1861 which resulted in many new barracks being built which were healthier and more spacious than earlier buildings thus reducing the number of soldiers who died, or were discharged, as a result of disease while on ordinary service.