re Half pay remark
I thought soldier went on half pay when they were not needed. ie if he returned to England and not on active service. My mistake.
Hi red,
A soldier would sign up for a fixed period of time, usually 12 years and this might be split into 5 years with the colours and 7 in the reserve, or several other permutations of Regular and Reserve commitment, which varied over time (depending on the overall size of the Army at the time), and also varied between the Infantry and the other Arms such as the Gunners or Engineers. A soldier would only be paid while he was with the Colours (ie in the Regular Army). He got a bounty when he transferred to the Reserve, the amount being based on the length of his Regular Service. After he had completed his Reserve commitment he might become eligible for a pension provided he had enough service or had been wounded to the extent that he could not work.
As mentioned previously, the system for officers was somewhat different. They held commissions from the Crown and in theory these were without time limit. Prior to about 1870 an officer could sell his commission if he either wanted to leave the Army, or wanted to buy a better commission at a higher rank. After the purchasing of commissions was abolished, an officer who no longer had any employment in the Army could go on half pay. This could amount either to actual retirement, in which case his half pay was his pension, or it allowed him to survive* until such time as he could rejoin for active service again when the next round of hostilities erupted, assuming he was able to find a suitable position and he wasn't too old or ineffective.
*Many officers had a private income in any case.
