Info: Notes on Basic Army Ranks

[Rod In Sussex]

BASIC ARMY RANKS
If you have had not been involvement with the army in your life, some odds and ends can cause un-necessary confusion. Here are a few basic ranks. This is not definitive list and is a given as guide only. There are always exceptions.


INFANTRY RANKS

Private,    Pte   the basic soldier
Soldiers can also be known by other titles in older regiments that had a defined role in the past. Guardsman, Fusilier, Rifleman etc

JUNIOR NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (NCO)

Lance Corporal     L/Cpl
Corporal      Cpl

SENIOR NCOS

Sergeant      Sgt
Sergeant- Major    
(Also called Warrant Officers WO1 WO2)

The senior NCO ranks can vary a lot in name. There are also Colour Sergeants, Staff Sergeants, Company Sergeant Majors (CSM) and Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSM) etc. Some have unusual titles, such as a Conductor in the Ordnance.


CAVALRY RANKS

Trooper   is the basic mounted soldier
They can also be known by their specialist style, Dragoon, Hussar, Lancer etc.

Cavalry NCOs tend to follow the infantry titles.

Some Senior cavalry NCOs also have other titles, such as Corporal of Horse, the RSM in the Household Cavalry.


SUPPORT CORPS

These would include the Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery etc and can also have older rank titles

Engineer privates are called Sappers (sometimes Miners or Artificers)
Artillery privates are called Gunners and their Corporals Bombardiers.


OFFICERS

Second Lieutenants
Lieutenants
Captains
Majors
Lieutenant Colonel
Colonel

In the Napoleonic period some young officers were called Ensigns and Cornets.

Hope this is of use

Rod