General Order 70, culmination of the Cardwell–Childers reforms, comes into effect

Background. The reforms followed the inadequacy of the British Army after the Napoleonic Wars, highlighted by failures in the Crimean War. The Cardwell Reforms (1868–1874) were undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. The Childers Reforms, carried out by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms and gave the army its modern shape, redefining its regimental system.

Implementation. General Order 41/1881 was issued on 1 May 1881, but General Order 70/1881, dated 1 July, amended it to create a network of multi-battalion regiments. This order officially abolished regimental seniority numbers, requiring battalions to be known by their number within the regiment and the regimental district name. The London Gazette published the order on 1 July 1881.

Service Terms. In 1881, short service was increased to seven years with the colours and five with the reserve, within a twelve-year enlistment period. This adjustment was part of the broader Cardwell reforms, which had introduced the twelve-year term. The reforms aimed to integrate reserve forces more fully into the British Army, transforming them into numbered battalions of regular regiments.