Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus.) a soldier who has returned from an overseas campaign; cite 1887 refers to politicians.

1887		Cumberland Mercury (NSW) 28 May 4/6: Sir Pat and Sir Bob will soon be back again—‘returned empties’.
1898		Newcastle Morn. Herald (NSW) 27 Aug. 4/4: RETURNED EMPTIES. A somewhat pathetic interest attaches to the home-coming of the Spanish garrisons from Cuba.
1902		Newsletter (Sydney) 19 July 9/1: The returned empties from South Africa are still knocking about the city and suburbs, telling their battles (imaginary and otherwise) o’er and o’er again in the major key of skite.
1917		Sun. Times (Sydney) 28 Oct. 3/5: But this paper is sick to death of the garrulous and malcontent returned empty. It has no patience with the sorry fellow who uses a returned soldier’s badge as a means of hoodwinking or blackmailing the community.

2. (Aus.) clergymen who have returned (to the UK) from colonial postings.

1884		Civil & Milit. Gaz. (Lahore) 19 Sept. 6/2: It will not satisfy them to have another retired Colonial prelate promoted to Bishop Claughton’s vacant place, for they abhor what they irreverently call ‘returned empties’.
1888		Mt Barker Courier (SA) 20 July 2/6: Even the ‘returned empties’ – as the resigned and home-coming colonial prelates are irreverently styled by their reverend brethren – invariably fall in for excellent positions.
1901		Mercury (Hobart) 6 Nov. 5/3: The old taunt of ‘returned empties’ has been revived in connection with Bishop Montgomery’s appointment as Secretary of the S.P.G.
1911		Punch (Melbourne) 2 Feb. 2/1: About thirty Bishops who have resigned Colonial Sees are in England. Most of them must be called ‘Returned Empties’.

3. (Anglo-Ind.) a member of the fishing fleet n. (1) who returns to the UK, having failed to find a husband.

1911		Eve. Star (Boulder, WA) 28 Feb. 1/4: Those girls have good letters of introduction, and they angle for husbands. I am told that about fifty succeed in the fishing. The others go back, and the Calcutta beaux speak of them as ‘returned empties.’.
1977		B. Mather Memsahib 88: ‘Girls who go out on the Fishing Fleet and don’t make it, come back to England as ‘Returned Empties.’ I’m doing it the other way round. I didn’t make it in England, so I’m going home – to India.’.