Recruitment in the British Army from families with a military tradition. (This contrasted with the Navy, whose officers were more often from a middle-class background.) The second son of King George III, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, did much to improve the standard of officer recruitment from his position as Commander in Chief of the Army (from 1795 to 1809, then from 1811 to 1827). The sale of commissions, finally abolished in the Cardwell reforms in 1868–1874, and the further Childers Reforms. In spite of its abolition, the status of an officer being from a privileged background and that of another rank being
James Baird (British Army officer) College in 1965. From 1967 to 1969, he was based in West Germany as a consultant physician with the British Army of the Rhine. He was granted the acting rank of major-general on 7 January 1969. He served as Director of Medicine from 1969 to 1971. He returned to the Royal Army Medical College on 9 July 1971 as Commandant and Director of Studies. On 5 April 1973, he was appointed Director General Army Medical Services and granted the acting rank of lieutenant-general. He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 29 May 1973. He retired from the British Army on 30