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This thesis deals with a largely forgotten soldier, writer and administrator of the mid to late Victorian era. General Sir Henry Brackenbury’s career covered some forty- eight years. He was either directly involved in or was witness to all the major events of the British Army during this period, from the Crimean War to the South African War. His career encompassed an era of reform that saw the army move away from the military system of the Napoleonic Wars and the gradual establishment of the system with which the British Army would take the field in 1914. The aim of this thesis is to look at the military career of Sir Henry Brackenbury, rather than be a biography of the man. However his literary career, personal life and financial circumstances are intrinsically linked to his life as a soldier. What this shows is a highly intelligent soldier, perhaps the first of a new bread of so-called ‘Scientific Soldiers’, men who studied and thought about their profession. Apart from a considerable, and important, amount of active service overseas, Brackenbury held three key administrative positions, which were the highlight of his army service and allowed his talents to come to the fore. As Head of the Intelligence Branch at the War Office, Military Member of the Council of the Governor General of India, and Director General of the Ordnance, he ended his long career with powerful and important positions that brought much praise. Indeed his contemporaries considered him to be the most effective holder of these posts.

This dissertation analyses the social, cultural and religious outlook of the officers and men of the Rifle Brigade, a regiment of the British army, between 1800 and about 1870, and examines the relationship between that corps and British civilian society. Chapter 1 outlines the structure and military record of the regiment, describes its links into the wider army, and examines the military and non-military careers of Riflemen, and their social backgrounds. Chapter 2 presents evidence for reforming and conservative professional attitudes, and argues for the importance to them of an ideal of regenerated gentlemanliness. Chapter 3 describes the operation of patronage and the links it created with civilian society, and it analyses the views of merit that und~rpinned the system. Chapter 4 brings together evidence for the reading of officers and men, and the theatre they saw and performed themselves. It shows how these acted as a channel for a range of information, ideas and attitudes to enter the regiment from civilian society, and so fostered a shared outlook. Chapters 5 and 6 look at the extent and nature of religious belief among Riflemen, taking into account their backgrounds and subsequent careers, and argue both that Christianity coloured attitudes to a range of conduct, and that Riflemen adhered to forms of institutional and cultural religion that should be set beside personal piety. The conclusion highlights the role of the ideal of gentlemanliness in guiding officers and in shaping a culture shared across ranks and across the civilian-military divide. Two appendices are provided. The first describes the method used for the analysis of officers' careers, and the second is a genealogical table showing their interrelation.

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Initially, this research programme investigated training methods to improve strengthrelated material handling performance in the British Army. A widely used training programme was evaluated for its effectiveness in improving material handling, and found to provide some significant but small improvements. Modifications to the training programme, including the use of a large strength-training element, were devised based on prior research evidence. The modified training programme was evaluated and compared with the original programme, and shown to be significantly more effective at improving material handling. Any means to improve the effectiveness of strength training per se would further improve the effectiveness of the modified training programme. Consequently, a potential means to improve the effectiveness of strength training via postexercise nutritional supplementation was investigated. The encouraging but not statistically significant results suggested further research to evaluate the potential of the supplementation regimen and also to better illuminate the possible mechanisms. An evaluation of the hormonal and metabolic responses to varying combinations of resistance exercise and supplementation provided little additional evidence to support the effectiveness of the supplementation regimen. However, the likely mechanism of the effect that may exist was better identified as a direct effect of insulin or amino acid availability on muscle cell growth, rather than a reduction in circulating cortisol concentration.

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This thesis argues that the officer establishment of the British Army experienced considerable professional, administrative and social change from its expansion in 1689 to the outbreak of war in 1739. In the intervening fifty year period, the British army and the officers who led it experienced alternate periods of prolonged war and peace. This led to the retention and dissemination of administrative practices, gentlemanly behaviours and professional competencies that enabled officers to remain motivated and dedicated to military service, despite multiple factors that hindered their ambitions and reduced their career prospects. This development was not a series of comprehensive reforms, but rather ad hoc measures which took effect through the efforts of commanding officers, the will of the monarch and the administrative power of the War Office. These changes occurred within the existing military system, stretching its capacity to satisfy multiple interests to its limit, and resulting in the prioritisation of certain consideration over others. Using a greater quantity and range of archival material than previous historiography, the thesis adopts several historical approaches towards their interpretation, from institutional and military history, to cultural and political history. This offers new perspectives and in-depth analysis to challenge some arguments made about army officers during this period, and refinements to others. It contributes to our understanding of the late seventeenth and eighteenth century army by rethinking the martial ethos of the officer establishment, and its impact on the officer establishment's capabilities, behaviour and relationship with the crown.

Following the failed Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-46 many Highlanders fought for the British Army in the Seven Years War and American Revolutionary War. Although these soldiers were primarily motivated by economic considerations, their experiences were romanticized after Waterloo and helped to create a new, unified Scottish martial identity. This militaristic narrative, reinforced throughout the nineteenth century, explains why Scots fought and died in disproportionately large numbers during the First World War.