British Army Ranks
The following are the ranks of Officers, Non-Combat Officers (NCO) The Warrant Officers (W.O.) and soldiers during WW1. Despite the army being Canadian its soldiers were still being ranked in the British form of ranks. However, it should be noted that during the war various ranks, positions would either be abolished, created or (in the case of the Canadian army) would be changed and known as something else.
*Please note that this is a basic and simplified version of the ranking which tries not to include any ranking of appointments (in short, sub-rankings within a ranking). If you want a more detailed list of British ranks and explanations visit here or the links in the references.
| RANK- Warrant Officers, N.C.O’s [i]
|
SHORT FORM |
| Warrant Officer 1st Class | 1/WO |
| Warrant Officer 2nd Class | 2/WO |
| Sergeant Major | Sgt.Maj |
| Quarter-Master Sergeant | |
| Staff Sergeant or Colour Sergeant | |
| Quartermaster Company Sergeant, Squadron Sergeant, Battery Sergeant | |
| Sergeant | Sgt. |
| Corporal/Lance Corporal | Cpl./L.Cpl |
| Bombardier/Lance-Bombardier | Bdr , LBdr or L/Bdr |
| Private | Pvt. |
| BRITISH ARMY OFFICERS[ii] | SHORT FORM |
| Field Marshall | FM |
| General | Gen. |
| Lieutenant General | Lt.Gen |
| Major General | Maj.Gen |
| Brigadier/Brigadier General | Brig/Brig.Gen |
| Colonel | Col |
| Lieut.-Colonel | |
| Major | Maj |
| Captain | Capt |
| Lieutenant | Lt |
| Second Lieutenant | 2/Lt |
GLOSSARY
Adjutant: a military officer who acts as an administrative assistant to a senior officer.
Busbie: a tall fur hat with a colored cloth flap hanging down on the right-hand side and often a plume on the top, worn by soldiers of certain regiments of hussars and artillerymen.
Chaplin: a representative member of the church that is attached to a regiment of or for the army.
References
[i]World War One “Military Structures and Ranks” https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/military-structures-and-ranks
[ii] The Regimental Rogue. “Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World” War” http://regimentalrogue.com/misc/researching_first_world_war_soldiers_part11.htm
Over the Front: The League of ww1 Aviation Historians. https://www.overthefront.com/reasources/military-ranks/british-ranks.