The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word URIAH
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
U
R
I
A
H
More clues leading to the result URIAH
- Old officer king had murdered in Guernica — tho’ oddly overlooked
- A husband that you might get after superior religious instruction!
- Old soldier in sixties show suitable for kids making comeback
- Unfortunate warrior in old city, one with gasp of disappointment?
- University locks up embezzling clerk
- Universal shock over Dickensian name
- University rock musical brought back David Copperfield’s Heep
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Old soldier" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case old soldier = uriah.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.