The British Army in WW1 was made up of a large hierarchical system of ranks, ranging from the lowly Private, to the Field Marshal who commanded the entire army group, for example the British Expeditionary Force, or the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (although in practice during WW1 this was commanded by Generals).

 

The ranking system was complex, and there were several different groupings of ranks within the hierarchy; Commissioned Officers, Warrant Officers, Non Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks.

 

Commissioned Officers

 

Generally referred to as simply ‘Officers’ or ‘Commanding Officers’ (CO), these were (and are in today’s army) men who graduated from a military academy such as Sandhurst, or have been through officer training school. They have been awarded the King’s (or Queen’s, today) Commission. It is possible for a Non-Commissioned Officer or Warrant Officer to be sent to undertake officer training, and receive a Commission, thus becoming a Commissioned Officer.

 

Warrant Officers

 

There are two levels of Warrant Officer (WO); Warrant Officer Class 1 (WOI) and Warrant Officer Class 2 (WOII). Although technically non-commissioned, they rank above and separately to other Non-Commissioned Officers, but below Commissioned Officers, and hold a Royal Warrant, having been promoted from a Non-Commissioned rank.

 

Warrant Officers normally hold an appointment (they have been ‘appointed’ to a particular role) and are normally referred to by the title of that appointment, rather than the rank of ‘Warrant Officer’. There are a number of possible appointments for both WOI and WOII, including Bandmaster (WOI), Garrison Sergeant Major (WOI), Company Sergeant Major (WOII, abbreviated to CSM) and Drill Sergeant (WOII).  

 

Non-Commissioned Officer

 

A Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) was technically an ‘other rank’ but held an elevated position such as corporal or sergeant. Promoted from role to role, they could eventually receive a Warrant or be sent for officer training and receive a commission.

 

Other Ranks

 

An Other Rank (OR) - Privates, Gunners, Sappers and so on - were men of no significant rank and who held no command. 

 

 

It was entirely possible for any rank; WO, NCO or OR to be commissioned into the ranks of the Commissioned Officer, although it was most common for promotion to occur 'through the ranks'. It was also possible for an officer or NCO to be demoted following a transgression. In addition, there are some examples of men turning down commissions (which would require them to undertake further (officer) training) in order to quicker reach the front and the fighting.