Purchase of officers' certificates in the British Army

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The purchase of patents officer was in the British Army usual for the longest period of its existence. This procedure was introduced in 1683 during the reign of Charles II and was maintained until it was abolished in the course of the Cardwell reforms in 1871. During this time, around two thirds of all patents were obtained through purchase.

United Kingdom

Only patents for cavalry and infantry regiments could be bought (and therefore only up to the rank of colonel ). Royal Engineers ( Royal Pioneers ) and Royal Artillery ( Royal Artillery ) patents were reserved for graduate degrees at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich and further promotions were based on seniority. Officers who had bought their patents looked down on these officers (and also on the army officers of the British East India Company ) as if they were "no real gentlemen". The Royal Navy also never sold officer's patents, but rose to the rank of officer only on the basis of performance or seniority (at least in theory).

There were several main reasons for selling patents:

  • He received the social exclusivity of the officer class .
  • It served as a possible safeguard against abuse of authority, gross negligence or incompetence. The patents of disgraced officers could be cashed out by the Crown, i. H. the patents were withdrawn with no refund.
  • He ensured that the officer class was composed mainly of people who had an interest in maintaining the status quo, thereby reducing the likelihood of army units participating in revolutions or coup attempts.
  • He assured that the officers possessed private funds and hardly to looting and arson were involved or the soldiers under their command cheated by enriched themselves at army supplies.
  • He provided honorably retired officers with an immediate source of money.

The official values ​​of the patents varied from regiment to regiment, usually in proportion to the public standing of the various regiments.

As an example in 1837:

rank corresp. Life guards cavalry Foot guards infantry Discount at half pay
Cornet / Ensign Sub-lieutenant £ 1260 £ 840 £ 1200 £ 450 £ 150 each
Lieutenant lieutenant £ 1785 £ 1190 £ 2050 £ 700 £ 365
Captain Captain £ 3500 £ 3,225 £ 4800 £ 1800 £ 511
major major £ 5350 £ 4575 £ 8300 £ 3,200 £ 949
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel £ 7250 £ 6175 £ 9000 £ 4500 £ 1314

A farm laborer made about £ 30 to £ 40 a year.

These prices were not added up. To buy an officer 's license, an officer only had to pay the price difference between his current rank and the desired rank.

In theory, an officer's license could only be sold at its official value, and it should first be offered to the officer with the next seniority in the same regiment. In practice, however, there was an unofficial higher price or "regimental value" which could also be twice the official price. Coveted patents in regiments that were just in vogue were often sold in an unseemly auction to the highest bidder. A self-serving officer may have viewed his patent as a retirement insurance and promoted its increase in value. It was not uncommon for officers who overtook themselves financially or ran into debt to sell their patents to pay off debts.

Social exclusivity was not guaranteed by money alone; as regimental commanders , the colonels also had the right to refuse someone permission to buy an officer’s license if they had the money but not the desired social background - and they did More often. This was particularly the case in the Household and Guards regiments , which were ruled by aristocrats . On the other hand, it was not uncommon for Colonels to lend senior non-commissioned officers or sergeants the money they needed to buy officers' licenses.

Not all initial patents or promotions were paid. When an officer died in combat or was appointed to the staff (usually by being promoted to major general ), this created a series of "non-monetary" vacancies in his regiment. (This could also happen when new regiments or battalions were created or existing structures of existing units were expanded.) However, if officers died of illness or retired (regardless of whether they were paid full or half salary ), or the officers withdrew from service , then these vacancies could be sold. Before an officer in a “non-monetary” position could sell his patent, a certain amount of time had to pass, usually a few years. If z. For example, if a captain was promoted to major to a "non-monetary" post and immediately thereafter decided to leave the army, he received only the equivalent of his captain's patent.

There were a variety of regulations regulating the minimum length of service required in a given rank and preventing officers from selling or exchanging their patents in order to avoid active service. Exceptions and exemptions were at the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief. A huge scandal broke out in 1806 when it was revealed that Mary Anne Clarke , the mistress of the then Commander-in-Chief Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany , was selling officers' certificates on her own account.

The possible negative consequences of the system were mitigated by incisive conflicts such as the Napoleonic Wars , which resulted in severe failures in the higher ranks, creating many "non-monetary" posts, and which also deterred wealthy amateurs who were not interested in one Had front command. At the same time, this ensured that many patents were only passed on at their face value. There was also the opportunity to promote earned officers to a brevet rank . An officer who was perhaps a subordinate or captain in his regiment had a higher (honorary) rank in relation to other units or allied armies, or was given a higher army by the commander-in-chief or the king in recognition of his meritorious service or a special heroic deed Rank awarded. Officers carrying news of a victory (such as victory in the Battle of Waterloo ) often received such a promotion and were certainly specially selected for this purpose by their commanding general.

The abuses associated with the purchase of officers' patents reached their climax in the long period of peace between the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War , when Lord Cardigan paid £ 40,000 for a colonel patent for the hip 11th Hussars. In the Crimea, it became apparent that the buying system often resulted in incompetent military leadership, as in the case of the orders that led to the Light Brigade attack . In 1855 a commission of inquiry was set up (the Commission on Purchase ), which put this approach in a very bad light. The purchase of officer patents was eventually abolished in 1871 as part of the Cardwell reforms that changed many structures and methods of the Army.

The rigid system of seniority promotion used in the British East India Company army had its own drawbacks, which became apparent when serious conflicts broke out after a long period of peace, such as B. the First Sikh War or the Indian Uprising of 1857 . Many senior officers were too old or frail to command effectively in the field.

Because of the long duration of this method, and because of its special reputation, it is not surprising that in practically all conflicts of the British Army the commanders in chief had bought one or more of their patents, e.g. B .:

Other European countries

In the European states, officer posts were reserved for the nobility, with a few exceptions. In the Russian and Prussian armies , however, officer patents were not sold; on the contrary , the nobility were obliged to do military service, for example in Prussia under the soldier king Friedrich Wilhelm I.

In the French army officers' certificates were sold until the French Revolution (and thus the end of the monarchy ). The changed situation is made clear by the quote attributed to Napoleon: "Each of my soldiers carries the marshal's baton in his knapsack." Possibly the practice revived in the Grande Armée (mainly among the Allies and in the satellite states).

In the Austrian army, the sale of officers' licenses was abolished in 1803. Even so, it was legal for two officers to change rank. This possibility existed until the middle of the 19th century.

The British Army , which used this system for most of its history, was the last to get rid of it.

literature

  • Cecil Woodham-Smith: The Reason Why: The Story of the Fatal Charge of the Light Brigade . Penguin, 1953, Reprint edition (July 1, 1991) ISBN 0-14-001278-8
  • Byron Farwell: Queen Victoria's Little Wars . Wordsworth Military Library, 1973, ISBN 1-84022-216-6
  • Richard Holmes: Redcoat . Harper Collins, Hammersmith, 2001, ISBN 0-00-653152-0
  • Anthony PC Bruce: The Purchase System in the British Army, 1660-1871. Royal Historical Society, London 1980

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Prof. Richard Holms: "The Soldier's Trade in a Changing World". In: Jbbc.co.uk/history. 2006, accessed July 27, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b John Armatys, Robert George Cordery: The Purchase of officers' commissions in the British Army . Colonial Wargames. 2005. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 27, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.colonialwargaming.co.uk
  3. ↑ Jeremy Goldsmith: A gentleman and an officer - Army commissions . In: Family Tree Magazine , Volume 23, May 2007, Issue 7, pp. 10-13
  4. ↑ Holmes, p. 161
  5. ↑ Holmes, pp. 166-167
  6. ↑ Holmes, p. 82