in-Chief, regimental considerations, however, receiving full consideration. A lieutenant-colonel becomes colonel by brevet, by promotion for distinguished service, on appoint ment as aide-de-camp to the Queen, after five years service in the command of a regiment, or an equivalent staff appointment, or eight years under certain conditions. The promotion of general officers is by seniority, regu lated by a fixed establishment, the numbers of which in 1870 were 71 generals, 115 lieutenant-generals, and 188 major-generals.[1] Promotions may, however, be made in dependently of the establishment for distinguished service. Field-marshals are appointed at the will of the sovereign,
and without reference to seniority.All promotions are made upon the recommendation of the Comrnander-in-Chief, with the approval of the Secretary of State for War. The Artillery and Engineers have always been on a different footing from the rest of the army. First appoint ments to these services are made through the Royal Military Academy, entrance to which is by open competitive examina tion. After a course of instruction in. professional subjects, occupying three years, cadets are examined and finally classed, and receive commissions in the engineers and artillery according to their standing on the list. Those selected for the engineers are required to go through a further course of instruction at Chatham for two years before their commissions are confirmed. Regimental pro motion in the two services is governed purely by seniority, and a separate establishment of general officers is main tained for them ; in brevet promotion they are on the same footing as officers of the other branches. The rates of pay of the several ranks are shown in the following table:—}}
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2 s Kank. j=
t ^ fc & "rf g c
. d 3 > o ~
2 "tc &5 3
<5 ^ c H Gen. Officer, a Colonel of a Regiment or Col.
Commandant (annual),
1800
2000 or
1000
1350[2]
094
990
General Officer, not a
2200
Colonel (annual),
450
450
450
450
450
450
160
160
Lieut.-ColoneL... ,
192
169
17
1 3
17 11
17 11
1 4 5
130
16.
19 3
16
16
15 1
15 6
Oil"?
14 7
11
11
Lieutenant ,
10 4
074
066
090
6 10
6 10
Sub-Lieutenant.. ,
080
5 C
053
080
067
057
Officers of the horse artillery receive a higher rate of pay,
slightly in excess of that of the corresponding ranks in the
cavalry. Officers of the engineers, doing duty as such,
receive extra pay, usually amounting to one-half of their
ordinary pay if serving at home, or equivalent to it if
serving abroad or in the London district. Lieutenant-,
colonels of regiments, and other officers holding commands
of wings, batteries, or depots, receive " command pay " of
from 3s. to Is. 6d. daily. Captains holding higher rank
by brevet receive 2s. a day additional ; and lieutenants,
after seven years service, Is. a day. Officers holding staff
appointments receive the pay of such appointments in
addition to their regimental pay or half-pay.
Officers holding certain appointments are " seconded "—
that is, their place in the regiment is filled up, and they
become supernumerary, their names being shown in italics
in the Army List, ; but they still belong to the regiment,
and rise in it in due course.
Officers who entered the purchase corps under the old
system can retire by the sale of their commissions, receiving from Government the value, over-regulation as well as regulation, of the commission which they held at the date ments an
of the abolition of purchase. Within certain limits officers
are allowed to retire on the full pay of their rank after thirty
years service, the full pay of a lieutenant-colonel being
reckoned at 20s. a day ; and all officers have an unqualified
right to retire on half -pay after twenty-five years service.
The rates of half -pay amount usually to about three-fifths of
the full pay of the corresponding ranks. Pensions are
granted to officers who have received wounds in action equi
valent to the loss of a limb, at the rate of 400 a year to a
lieutenant-general, 300 to a colonel or lieutenant-colonel,
200 to a major, 100 to a captain, and 70 to a
lieutenant. Such pensions continue as long as the effects
of the wound continue, and are held in addition to any
pay or retiring allowances the officer is in receipt of.
Gratuities, varying from three to twelve months pay of
the rank, are granted to officers who have received less
serious wounds.
Pensions are granted to the widows of officers killed in
action, or dying of diseases contracted in the field, at rates
varying from GO (lieutenant s widow) to 200 (widow of
colonel or lieutenant-colonel) in the former case, and 50
to 150 in the latter; and "compassionate allowances"
are granted, at rates varying, according to rank of deceased
officer and other circumstances, from 6 to 40 annually
for each child. Such compassionate allowances, however,
are not granted except in cases where it is shown that
the means of the family are so limited that they actually
require such assistance ; and widows pensions generally
cannot be claimed as a right, and are not granted where
the widow is left in affluence, or where the Secretary of
State sees reason to withhold them "on account of miscon
duct or other causes. -A reduced rate of pension and com
passionate allowances, ranging from 40 to 120 for the
widow, and 5 to 20 for each child, is granted where the
officer died under circumstances which do not entitle his
family to the higher rates ; but in such case the aggregate
amount must not exceed the half-pay of the rank held by
him at the time of his death. When an officer holding a
saleable commission is killed in action, or dies within six
months of wounds received, his family receive the value of
such commission.
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Strength, Composition, and Distribution of the Military Forces of the Empire (1873). A. Jicgular Army British Troops. Description of Force. Officers. Non-Com. Officers and Men. Troop Horses. GUEE, Combatants. General Staff 77 884 1416 793 5298 16,389 33,366 4,856 120,169 11,586 13,350 422 674 Cavalry, 31 Regiments Artillery, 30 Brigades Engineers, 40 Companies, 3 ) Troops ( Infantry, 148 Battalions, 70 i Brigade Dep6ts Total Combatants 8468 512 1021 78 93 174,780 3,006 . 1,324 "546 25,358 1,087 674 1 Non- Combata nts. Control Department and Army / Service Corps Medical Department and Army ) Hospital Corps ( Chaplains Department. .. Miscellaneous Total Non-Combatants . Total of all ranks, 189,828 ; oft 21,470 in the colonies, n 1704 hese 62 nd 105, 4,876 924 servi 434 at ho 1,087 ng in Ind me. a,
