HOME
Museum &
Collections
Sales
Donations
Events
Contact Us
REGIMENTAL HISTORY
17th Century
18th Century
19th Century
20th Century
First World War
Second World War
Actions & Movements
Battle Honours
FAMILY HISTORY
Resources
Further Reading
PHOTO GALLERY
ENQUIRIES
FURTHER READING
LINKS
© Images are copyright, Trustees of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum.
You must seek permission prior to
publication of any of our images.
|
|
Museum Display Information
A Soldier’s Life 1870-1900
The final decades of the 19th Century were a period of change and
reform in British society and this was reflected in the army. Recruits
came from towns rather than the countryside. Soldiers saw improvements
in their living conditions and pay as a result of reforms. Through the
period the army offered stable employment, and a good life.
Recruiting
The Cardwell Reforms revised the terms of service for ordinary
soldiers to encourage young men to join the army. Recruits now enlisted
for twelve years - the first six with the Colours (Regular Army), the
remainder in the Reserve. This was later altered to seven years and
five.
If army recruiting was going particularly well more men could be
encouraged to move to the Reserve. Thus the average age of soldiers was
lowered and the number of old soldiers, often addicted to rough
behaviour, heavy drinking and hard swearing, was reduced.
Soldiers were now able to ‘purchase’ their discharge - so it was
possible for them to leave the army. The cost was more than their annual
pay - £18.
The army could be seen as one way of escaping poverty at home. Of a
total of 178,064 men in the army, in the last quarter of the 19th
Century, almost 25% came from depressed rural areas and city slums.
Rural poverty in Ireland may account for the fact that 39,121 of the
soldiers were Irish.
From the 1870s fewer recruits were coming from the countryside. The
industrialisation of Britain had shifted the population to urban areas
and the majority of recruits were leaving city slums, rather than
depressed rural areas.
In 1870 the Elementary Education Act brought some level of compulsory
education to all children. More and more recruits were literate and
harder to deceive than the county recruits of twenty years before.
The appeal of the army:
| pay was regular |
| food was ample |
| employment was secure |
| the uniform was glamorous |
| there was promise of adventure |
| barrack accommodation was improving |
Pay
The army offered secure employment and regular pay.
Soldiers were paid four times a month, on the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd
of each month. On each pay day there was a notable increase in the
number of men who were drunk and rowdy. This was not uncommon amongst
civilian contemporaries.
The pay of the Private soldier was increased to one shilling a day in
the 1880s. However, a number of deductions for such things as groceries,
tea, and washing clothes were made. Meat and bread were free. Other
improvements in living conditions were made. Higher ranks were far
better off.
Daily Rates of Pay: 1880s:
| Private 1 shilling |
| Lance Corporal 1 shilling 3 pence |
| Corporal 1 shilling 8 pence |
| Lance Sergeant 2 shillings |
| Sergeant 2 shillings 4 pence |
| Colour Sergeant 3 shillings |
| Sergeant Major 5 shillings |
| 2nd Lieutenant 7 shillings 6 pence - but had to pay mess bills
for food and drink, band subscriptions, plus various other expenses. |
If a soldier was married his children were educated free.
Promotion
Younger soldiers now found promotion easier, based upon education and
hard work. Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) had a slightly easier time
than Privates. NCOs did not have to do basic fatigue work, such as
orderly duties and cooking, however they held positions of
responsibility over the men in their charge. NCOs needed to read orders
and regulations, write reports, keep accounts and have the ability to
lead their men.
Food
Early each morning meat and bread for the Company would be collected
from the stores. The meat was placed in a string bag and taken to the
cook house. Each string bag had a wooden tag to identify the Company and
Mess to which it had to be returned, once cooked. Meat was issued at
three quarters of a pound per man (uncooked) and it was likely that the
meat would be in one large joint and a number of small pieces to make
the weight. Meat was not always of the best quality. After breakfast the
men would peel potatoes and other vegetables which were also taken to
the cook house.
Soldiers would take it in turns to work in the cook house, usually about
one month at a time. Some were better than others and if a good cook was
found he would have his time there extended.
A Typical Day:
| 06.00 Out of bed |
| 06.30 - 07.30 Parade |
| 07.45 Breakfast followed by potato peeling, polishing and
cleaning equipment. |
| 10.00 Parade |
| 11.00 Schooling for Army Education Certificates |
| 14.00 Parade |
| 14.30 Once any other duties were finished, your time was your
own |
| 15.00 Additional schooling for those who needed it |
| 16.30 Tea time |
| 17.00 Your time was your own. |
| Soldiers would read, write, walk out, or clean equipment, Some
might visit the theatre, music hall, public house, beer house but
boredom of barrack life was well known. |
| 22.15 Bed time and lights out. |
Soldiers could request permission to be out of barracks overnight, as
long as they had returned by 06.00 the following morning. This avoided
the risk of being fined for being drunk in the barracks.
© Images are copyright, Trustees of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum.
You must seek permission prior to
publication of any of our images.
Only a proportion of our collections
are on display at anyone time. Certain items are on loan for display
in other institutions. An appointment is required to consult any of
our collections which are held in store. |