In order to prevent admirals from dying as paupers, a special clause in the retirement scheme of 1870 provided that those officers who had commanded a ship before the end of the Napoleonic Wars should be retained on the active list: the six days Wallis was in command of HMS "Shannon" qualified him to remain on the active list until he died. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 24 May 1873 and promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 11 December 1875. The Admiralty suggested he retire when he reached his late nineties, as being on the active list meant he was liable for calling up for a seagoing command. Wallis instead replied he was ready to accept one.