November Remembrance
In 1919, not long after the previous year’s Armistice had ended the savage fighting of the First World War, politicians acted to streamline military pay and pensions by creating the Ministry of Pensions. Other bodies retained some responsibilities, and the system would undergo further change as the 20th century progressed.
Our archives, and records found in the National Archives and other collections, trace the patchwork of support which previously existed. Some soldiers and their dependants received charitable donations; others were given places in residential homes, such as the Chelsea Hospital for disabled soldiers founded by Charles 11 after the end of the Civil War. The first Chelsea pensioners were admitted in 1692.It became impossible to house all army pensioners as had originally been intended, and so a system of ‘out-pensions’ was established as well.
There was a distinction between pensions for officers and those of other ranks. Officers were not entitled to a pension as of right, since until 1871 they purchased their commission and when they retired simply sold their commission to provide necessary funds. Exceptions were made for officers killed on active service, and from the early 18th century provision was made for the payment of pensions to their widows and for dependent children. Other ranks were entitled to a pension or institutional care after a specified term of service.
As we buy our poppy this November, Kipling’s verse (written in the 1890’s) still resonates……’O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy go away”;
But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins “when the band begins to play…..’
Pensions Archive Trust Director, Jane Marshall
This article was first published in the November 2025 edition of Pensions Age magazine