Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Home > British Army officer rank insignia

First Prev [ 1 2 ] Next Last

NATO Rank Code	Abbrev.	Rank
OF-10	FM	Field Marshal (wartime/honorary only)
OF-9	Gen	General
OF-8	Lt-Gen	Lieutenant General
OF-7	Maj-Gen	Major General
OF-6	Brig	Brigadier
OF-5	Col	Colonel
OF-4	Lt-Col	Lieutenant Colonel
OF-3	Maj	Major
OF-2	Capt	Captain
OF-1	Lt	Lieutenant
OF-1	2nd Lt	Second Lieutenant

1 Origins

From medieval times, devices such as pennants and shield patterns though to the full development heraldry had been used to identify very senior ranks such as the monarch or other leaders of armies. With no nationally organised army, such practises were largely a matter of personal choice and contemporary protocol. More formal military structures evolved out of such developments as Cromwell's New Model ArmyThis article deals with the English Civil War army. For information on the band, see New Model Army (band). The New Model Army was the most famous of various Parliamentarian armies in the English Civil War. It was an army of professional soldiers led by t formed in 1645Events February 15 New Model Army is founded officially June 14 English Civil War: Battle of Naseby 12,000 Royalist forces are beaten by 15,000 Parliamentarian soldiers June 28 English Civil War the Royalists lose Carlisle July 2: Fight at Alford, Aberdee.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, rank was generally denoted the quantity of lace and through other decoration used on uniforms. While a crossed sword and baton device was already used by generals by 1800Events March 14 Cardinal Barnaba Chiaramonti is elected pope Pius VII. March 21 Pius VII becomes Pope April 24 US Library of Congress founded. May 15 Napoleon Bonaparte crosses the Alps and invades Italy. June 14 Battle of Marengo, Napoleon defeats the Au, the different grades of general were only distinguished by the grouping of the buttons on their coats until the Crimean WarThe Crimean War lasted from 1854 to 1856. It was fought between Russia and an alliance of the United Kingdom, France, and the Ottoman Empire, joined somewhat tardily by Piedmont-Sardinia. The majority of the conflict took place around the Crimean peninsul.

1.1 Crown and pips

Badges for field officers were first introduced in 1810Events January 10 Marriage of Napoleon and Josephine is annulled January 20 Tyrolean rebel leader Andreas Hofer executed March 11 Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria April 19 Venezuela achieves home rule: Emparan, Governor of the Captaincy General is, and for captains and subaltern officers in 1855Events Births January 5 King Camp Gillette, inventor († 1932) January 21 John Moses Browning, inventor († 1926) January 28 William Seward Burroughs, inventor of the calculator († 1898) March 13 Percival Lowell, astronomer († 19. These badges consisted of (and still consist of) crowns and stars, the latter being more likely to be called 'pips' today (although this term is technically incorrect).

The star or 'pip' is that of the Order of the Bath, except in the Household regiments. The Life Guards, Blues and Royals, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Welsh Guards use the star of the Order of the Garter, the Scots Guards that of the Order of the Thistle, and the Irish Guards that of the Order of St Patrick. The Crown has varied in the past, with the King's Imperial Crown being used from 1910 to 1953 and the St Edward's Crown being used since the coronation of Elizabeth II.

All officers' badges on service dress were originally of gilding metal, except for Rifle regiments and the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, which used bronze instead. A variety of alternative materials and prints have been used on various styles of dress.

Originally insignia were worn on the collar, but were moved to the shoulder boards in 1880 for all officers in full dress, when the system of crowns and stars was reorganised. From this time, until 1902, a Captain had just two stars and a Lieutenant one star. From 1871, the rank of Ensign ( Cornet in cavalry regiments) was replaced with the rank of Second Lieutenant, which had no insignia. The 1902 change gave the latter a single star and the insignia of Lieutenants and Captains were increased to two and three stars. In addition to the shoulder badges, officers' ranks were also reflected in the amount and pattern of gold lace worn on the cuffs of the full-dress tunic.

Politics	Business	Finance

Topics: British Army Officer Rank Insignia Badges Replaced Ranks Cuff...

British ColumbiaBritish Columbia or simply B. French: la Colombie-Britannique is the westernmost of Canada's provinces. It was the sixth province to join the confederation of Canada (in 1871). As of 2004, the population was 4,168,123 British Columbians . Geography Its ca	British Indian Ocean TerritoryThe British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) comprises some 2300 tropical islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia, around 6°S, 71°30'E. It is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom (UK).	British Virgin IslandsThe British Virgin Islands are a group of islands located in the northeast Carribean. They include Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Peter Island, Salt Island, Beef Island, Cooper Island, Ginger Island, Norman Island, and many other small isl
British IslesThe British Isles is a traditional term used to identify the group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe consisting of Great Britain, Ireland and the many smaller adjacent islands. These islands form an archipelago of more than 6,000 islands off th	British and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions (formerly the British Lions 1 are a Rugby Union side comprising the pick of the best players from the four home unions, i. England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Lions are exclusively a touring team, and play the traditional	BritishThe word British has several different uses. See the article on Britain for more details. In a geographical context, it usually applies to a person or object from, or the people or nation of ("the British") the island of Great Britain though, confusingly,
British Airways	British nationality law	British Library
British English	British Open	British National Party
British Rail	British thermal unit	British political scandals

Non User