British Army Ranks in Order

The modern British Army has many ranks. For someone unfamiliar with each of them, the order they progress in can be quite confusing. In this video we look at a simple guide to the British Army Ranks in order.

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[PremierHistory]

Have you or anyone you know ever served in the British Army? Or what rank do you believe to be the most important for the Army?

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[gordonlawrence]

There are two ranks essential to the British Army. Sergeants and Captains. Sergeants to get between the officers and the men for the sake of the sanity of both, and Captains to get between the Sergeants and the paperwork so they can actually get on with sergeanting.

[APCSW]

Private, the soldiers without whom nothing would be possible.

[mactheoperator]

My corporal was a absolute legend I’ll never forget him back in 2006 he was under corporal Bryan Budd in Afghanistan the day Bryan Earned the Victoria Cross my corporal went to collect the body with the others upon finding him my corporal took him into the fireman’s carry and fought off 15 Taliban firing a gpmg for the hip one handed with the other keeping Budds Body balancing on his back he stood there suppressing a charging enemy force whilst the rest of his section tactically retired he was offered the VC but turned it down and requested that it was given posthumously to Budd which it eventually was

[jonmcay]

A friend of mine who was one of 12 children from a poor family as we all were In the 1950s, he went to an inner city secondary school in Liverpool and left in 1958 with no qualifications .After leaving school he worked as a butcher, at aged 18 he joined the army into what was then known as the catering corp.Over the next few years he kept getting promoted he ended up with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel he also got an MBE he was also the commanding officer of a large supply base in Germany.It was amazing to think that a boy from his background could achieve this .The sad thing was that when he died in 2012, there was not a mention of him in the local press especially the Liverpool Echo , His story should have been national news on

[dannydoughboy]

Old U.S. Army Vet here" Much respect to the British Army throughout all wars, and today!

[bossogg]

My Grandad was a Bombardier in the Royal Artillery, he served under US General Mark Clarke in Tunisia during operation Torch, he was in Sicily, Salerno, Cassino and finally finished the war in North Italy. My Great Uncle was a BSM in the Royal Artillery in an Anti Tank Regiment (Achilles equipped circa 1944/45) He started WW2 in The Territorials and was part of the BEF rescued from Dunkirk. On returning to England he was promoted to Sergeant. He was on Sword beach on 6th June '44, was at Falaise and in September '44 was with 10th Guards Armoured Div for the push on Arnhem. In December '44 he killed a Panther tank with a PIAT and was recommended for the VC he didn't receive this but did receive the MM. He passed away from lung cancer 10 years ago. My 2x Great Grandfather served in the Middlesex Regiment with his brothers from '14 to '18 he was at Ypres (Wipers as he called it) and was buried alive and also gassed with Mustard gas.

[mattsheldon]

Good video. Only noticeable error is with the Lance corporal, they would not command a section. They will command a fire team and be a section 2ic.

[dorianphilotheates]

As an infantry officer, I would say all are important beginning with privates; but the backbone and sinew of every army are the senior non-commissioned ranks — especially the sergeants, staff sergeants, and colour sergeants. Greetings to Britain from Greece! 🇬🇧🇬🇷

[simongreer]

Warrent officers actually hold many different jobs such as communication, and specialized training managers, or regimental sergeant major, and company sergeant major.

[russcattelli]

My wife served for 18 years, she came out at SSGT. She had started her W.O. course when she opted for redundancy & to have our son. She ran her comms depot in Cyprus. She was also a part of every conflict from The Falklands to the 1st Gulf war, well away from the fighting but performing a vital role. She is no heroine but she got her job done. I'm proud of her service !

[frankdayton]

British Army Lance Corporals lead fire teams not sections. They might be 2ic of a section, but they don't permanently lead one.

[philipfoster]

I heard recently that we pronounce lieutenant 'LEFTENANT' because in French it is shorthand for 'tenancy in leiu of command' and in English 'left with the tenancy of command'. Its a job title.

I hope its true.

[KakuiKujira]

Once in (Australian) school cadets, we were given a talk by a senior officer. He pointed out something very interesting to me: He said that corporal was the rank with the hardest job because he/she had the largest number of individuals to be directly responsible for with no intermediates between them. The largest spread of command, in other words.

[akiyl]

Some may be wondering why is a Lieutenant General more senior than a Major General…..well, years ago a Major General was know as a Sergeant Major General but as time progressed the Sgt was taken off.

[christopherwood]

4 men is a FIRETEAM, not a section. Sections normally patrol in 8-12 and are lead by a CORPORAL

Edit: Corrections.
Warrant Officer 2 ("Class" is not in the rank name)
Note - Usually as CSM (Company Sergeant Major), advises Company Commander (OC, Captain or typically Major).

Warrant Officer 1 ("Class" is not in the rank name)
Note: Usually as Regimental Sergeant Major.

Notes:
1) Captain
May be a Company Commander (OC - "Officer Commanding")

[themodernwarfarehistorian]

Video very nicely done, no useless info and no annoying music
P E R F E C T I O N

[georgerobartes]

Colour Sergeant, a rank created by Wellington in the Peninsula War as my GT x 5 Stephen Palmer of the Northamptonshire's was the first soldier to be awarded that rank for, not surprisingly, defending the regimental colours in battle, without fear and being wounded on numerous occasions, and maintaining the moral of the regiment and led the attack on the Redoubt at Badajoz . He wound up in Chelsea Hospital after being severely wounded in 1813 .

[janetrickwood]

My Granddad was an Australian soldier (same structure) from 1925-1950. He started as a private and ended up a Lieutenant Colonel. He was a WO 2 and a WO 1, which was considered (at the time) as the apogee of a ranker soldier's potential (and a career dead-end). His dad had been a ranker in the Boer War - only a private in the City of London Regiment; in 1914 he joined the AIF and finished the war as a brevet Major. My Great Uncle was a sergeant in the 2/30 Battalion. He was instrumental in the ambush of the Japanese by that battalion in Malaya and his exploits as a POW in Changi and on the Burma railroad tell me that it is sergeants who are the critical members of military formations.

[alexmartyniuk]

As a serving Major, having started as a Sapper (OR in the Royal Engineers), I conclude that no one rank is more or less important than the other IMO. We all hold rank/roles which require teamwork and like most good organizations, are not greater than the sum of its parts.