Fogging was finally abolished in the British Army in 1881. The usual sentences for the offences of desertion and sleeping on guard duty varied between four months' imprisonment with hard labour and ten years' penal servitude. During wartime, soldiers could be executed for these offences.

When flogging came to an end in 1881 a new way of dealing with soldiers found guilty of minor offences such as drunkenness was also introduced. This was called Field Punishment Number One and involved the offender being attached to a fixed object for up to two hours a day and for a period up to three months. During the First World War, these men were sometimes put in a place within range of enemy shell-fire.