find larger and larger sums. Gurwood knew that he would have to press immediately for further non-purchase promotions on the basis of his active service. He asked both his superior Colonel Quentin and Sir Henry Torrens at Horse Guards to speak on his behalf to the Prince Regent who was the colonel of the regiment, and had the opportunity in Brighton to speak to the Prince personally. He was repeatedly subjected to the Prince's whims and changes of mind but was eventually gazetted brevet major in March 1817. In 1818 he went the 10th Hussars to Bristol and in 1819 to Edinburgh. He was at this time extremely concerned about the plight of the common soldiers who were discharged into a country that had run up an enormous national debt in order to pay for the war, that was experiencing catastrophic harvests, and that was suffering severe outbreaks of disease most notably typhus. Like other officers he assisted men who had served under him by giving them money and helping them to make a case for receiving a pension, and by finding them paid positions. While in Edinburgh he wrote a long analysis of the Regulations under which soldiers could receive pensions and he pressed both Lord Fitzroy Somerset and the Duke of Wellington to draw it to the attention of Lord Palmerston, the Secretary at War. The reply was that the pension fund was oversubscribed, the Duke admitting to Gurwood that the interests of common soldiers had suffered from a 'lavish liberality extended towards officers.' Gurwood again became discouraged about the possibility of progressing in his profession and he was also very distressed by the death of his mother in January 1820. He was allowed to go on half pay provided he exchanged into the West India Regiment, and obtained three months leave of absence. He went to Paris where in the spring of 1823 he was asked by his friend Sir Charles Stuart, the British Ambassador in Paris, to take some dispatches to Sir William A'Court, the British Ambassador in Spain. He carried out the mission and then travelled round Spain which was in turmoil following the revolt which had forced Ferdinand VII to restore the liberal constitution of 1812. On the suggestion of Sir Charles Stuart Gurwood wrote a long report describing and analysing the situation. At some time in 1823 Gurwood met Finette Mayer (née Kreilsamner)