Page 90 - The Wish Stream Year of 2020 Crest

York Commission Warehouse (Mary Anne Clarke) attributed to Charles Williams, published 1809
Although it was considered poor form (border- ing on cowardice) to resign at the beginning of a war, there were some resignations on the out- break of the American War of Independence in 1775 by officers objecting to government policy. One Household Cavalry officer
commissions and subsequent advancements, the amounts paid acted as both a final pension pot and bond for good behaviour, as it would be forfeited if an officer was cashiered for coward- ice, desertion or misconduct.
resigned his commission on find- ing out that his regiment was being posted to Aldershot!
Conclusion
The day of the ‘gentleman officer’ was over, replaced with a more professional new system of appointment, promotion and retirement
Britain retained the purchase sys- tem for much longer than other countries. Successive govern- ments during the 18th and 19th centuries toyed with its abolition, but it fell to mid Victorian Britain to ‘bite the bullet’ and finally abolish it at considerable financial cost (more than half a billion pounds in today’s money) in 1871, as part of a raft of much-needed reforms of the Army. These were brought about by the realisation, resulting from difficult
Although the purchase of com-
missions was reintroduced by
Charles II in 1660 after the resto-
ration of the monarchy, and con-
tinued to be supported by James
II, subsequent monarchs and gov-
ernments veered between tacit
acceptance of it and opposition
to it. If purchase had never existed, it is unlikely that in any period from William III onwards would it have been introduced from scratch. However, its existence was believed by the Establishment at the time to have helped the maintenance of the political status quo throughout its 200 years.
and hard-won conflicts in which Britain was ulti- mately successful (e.g. the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny), that the Army needed to be more efficient, better trained and equipped and much more professional, particularly with a profes- sional officer corps. The day of the ‘gentleman officer’ was over, replaced with a more profes- sional new system of appointment, promotion and retirement.
For those vast majority of Guards, cavalry and infantry officers who had purchased their first
88 HISTORICAL