Provision for an officer's retirement was in fact inextricably linked with Purchase. Ordinarily an officer was expected to provide for himself by selling his commissions and purchasing an annuity with the proceeds. If the whole sum was invested it was calculated that an interest rate of 4% would produce an annual income equivalent to his pay.

Throughout the 18th century it had firmly been laid down that only those commissions which had been purchased could be sold, but in practice the matter was less straightforward.

If we suppose that after having purchased his Ensigncy at the regulation price of £ 400.00, an officer succeeded to a death vacancy by reason of a Lieutenant's sudden demise, his subsequent promotion to Captain would still only cost him the difference of £ 1000.00, and apparently he still expected to gain the full £ 1,300. 00 when he sold out. This however was by no means a right. In 1812 for example Major Cocks of the 79th Highlanders entered into a complicated arrangement to buy out Lieutenant Colonel Fulton of the same regiment. In order to expedite matters Cocks agreed to take on the selling of most of the gallant Colonel's commissions, but not his Majority since that had been a free promotion and there was consequently no certainty that he would be allowed to sell it.

On the other hand an Ensign who had begun his career with a free commission was in a less happy situation. Once again should he wish to rise in his chosen profession he only needed to pay the 'difference' of an easily borrowed £ 100.00 to become a Lieutenant, and a further £ 1000.00 for the privilege of styling himself Captain. However when the time came to retire he had no automatic right to sell the Ensigncy and so normally could only expect to receive the 'differences' which he had paid.

In the circumstances he had two options available to him. The first was to apply through his Colonel for permission to sell the free commission(s). Officially this was discouraged since it reduced the number of free vacancies for new entrants, but the privilege was granted in exceptional circumstances. A much commoner alternative was to obtain an appointment to a Veteran Battalion, or to retire on to the Half Pay.

The Half Pay establishment was made up of phantom regiments and companies disbanded in the course of the 18th century. Originally Half Pay was provided for the officers of those regiments since they would clearly be unable to find anyone to buy their commissions. In return they were expected to return to the Full Pay if so required. This actually occurred with some surprising frequency. The Government was always anxious to keep the bill as low as possible and whenever a new levy was ordered it was piously expected that as many officers as possible should be drawn from the Half Pay.

This resulted in a two way traffic. In the first place those officers who intended to retire as a consequence of wounds, ill-health or old age, but who were unable to sell their commissions could be appointed to one of the many vacancies in the Half Pay regiments. This was a relatively straightforward matter and considered to be well worth the additional burden which it placed on the exchequer since his departure created a free vacancy in his original corps. Alternatively he could exchange with a Half Pay officer who wished to return to active duty.

Such exchanges were, as usual, effected through the ever obliging medium of the regimental agent and were by no means confined to those officers who wished to retire from the service permanently. As we have already seen those officers who joined the staff were normally required to 'retire' on to the Half Pay for the duration of their appointment, while others might choose to do so in consequence of prolonged ill-health or for other personal reasons. Retiring can in fact be something of a misnomer, for while many officers did indeed put their feet up and see out their declining years on the pension, others continued to lead active careers either on the staff or elsewhere.

In theory a Half Pay officer could be recalled to service at any time, and indeed many were called up during the Irish emergency in 1798, so a number of conditions were laid down. Half Pay officers could not for example be in Holy Orders and while there was no bar on an officer living abroad, but he could not take service with a foreign army. Oddly enough however this did not apply to the East India Company's armies. Captain John Urquhart, who for much of this period served as an Assistant Military Secretary at India House was also at the same time drawing Half Pay as an officer of the Royal Glasgow Regiment, while John Blakiston of the EIC Engineers was also on the Half Pay of the 71st.

When an officer exchanged on to the Half Pay for whatever reason it was usual for him to receive the 'difference', which in this case related to the respective capital values of the Half Pay and Full Pay commissions. Naturally when the time came for him to return to active duty he himself was required to pay the 'difference' or alternatively he could apply for a free vacancy created by augmentation after making a formal declaration that he had not received the 'difference' at the time of his earlier retirement. Oddly enough it was also possible to purchase Half Pay commissions. There was no question of course of a civilian doing so, but there was nothing to prevent a Half Pay Captain buying out a Half Pay Major. The benefits of doing so were dubious but one example was Captain Babington Nolan, father of the noted cavalry theorist killed at Balaclava.

Officers and Gentlemen Part II: Commanding the British Army in the Napoleonic Wars

Part II: Background
Part II: Purchase and Promotion
Part II: Retiring
Part II: Richard Sharpe

More Officers and Gentlemen Part I

Part I: Introduction
Part I: Regimental Officer Structure
Part I: Surgeon, Chaplain
Part I: Quartermaster, Paymaster, Adjutant, Agent
Part I: Staff Officers