Listed in the table below are the insignia—emblems of authority—of the British Army. Badges for field officers were first introduced in 1810 and the insignia was moved to the epaulettes in 1880. On ceremonial or parade uniforms these ranks continue to be worn on the epaulettes, either as cloth slides or as metal clips, although on the modern 'working dress' (daily uniform) they are usually worn as a cloth slide on the chest. Although these insignia apply across the British Army their is variation is the precise design and colours used and it can take some time to become familiar with them all.
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Those in the ranks of Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant are often referred to as Subalterns. Those of Brigadier, Colonel, Lt. Colonel and Major are considered to be of Field Officers. All above these are considered to be of General officer rank.
Of interest is the British pronunciation of Lieutenant (sounds like Lef-ten-ant) which is closer to the historic french pronunciation and can cause confusion when working with soldiers from other nations.
General officers
Before 1767, there were no definite badges for Field Marshals and General officers. In 1767, the British Army issued an order to distinguish Field Marshals (once the rank was established in 1813) and different graded General officers by the combination of chevron-shaped ess pattern laces on the sleeve.
During the Napoleonic wars, Field Marshals wore oak-leaf embroidered collar and cuff; and shoulder cord instead of previous pattern. It was continued till the end of 1830.
At the beginning of 1831, new rank distinction was ordered for Field Marshals and General officers.
After the Crimean War (30 January 1855), War Office ordered different rank badges for British General, staff and Regimental officers. It was the first complete set of rank badges to be used by the British Army.
In 1868, Brigadier Generals were ordered to wear the same collar as other General officers, but no device in the collar.
In 1880, War Office ordered to move rank badges from collar to shoulder.
In 1921, the War Office abolished the rank of Brigadier General and introduced a new rank called Colonel Commandant (Officer commanding a Brigade) or Colonel on the staff (officer not commanding a Brigade, but staff officer). The badges of Colonel Commandant and Colonel on the staff were the same, consisting of a crown and three stars. In 1928, Brigadier rank was introduced by abolishing the ranks of Colonel Commandant and Colonel on the Staff. Since 1928, a Brigadier has had the same rank badges as were displayed by a Colonel Commandant.
Regimental Officers
In 1791 the War Office ordered officers to wear different graded epaulettes and wings to distinguish regimental officer ranks (Colonel to Ensign/ Cornet). This was ordered only for line Infantry officers. According to the Army Order,
In 1795, sa pecial pattern of epaulettes was ordered for Fusiliers and Light Infantry officers. Field officers of those regiments wore epaulettes over wings. Company officers wore wings.
In February 1810, an order was issued by the War Office to distinguish Field officer ranks. The following devices were introduced in the epaulettes:
These badges were issued for all infantry regiments except the Foot Guards. In 1815, badges for Foot Guards were ordered. In Foot Guards regiments, all Field Officers were equivalent to the Colonel of line Infantry regiments. Captains were Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenants were Major and Ensigns were Captains of Battalion company of line Infantry.
In 1829, epaulettes and wings were standardised by maintaining the badges of rank issued in 1810 and 1815. According to the order, epaulettes of all regular infantry regiments and foot guards regiments would be in gold and other regiments were in silver. All officers including field and company officers wore epaulettes and wings on both shoulders. The epaulettes over wings system was abolished. Different graded officer wore different sized bullion to distinguish themselves from other.
In January 1855, at the end of the Crimean War, the War Office abolished all epaulette and wing rank badges. New rank badges were introduced in the collar. It was first time that a complete set of rank badges was used by the British Army.
The above rank badges were issued to all regiments except the Foot Guards regiments.
Field officers: Two rows of half inch laces with Crown and Bath star. Captain: Two rows of half inch laces with Crown. Lieutenant: One row of half inch lace on the top of collar with Crown and Bath star. Ensign: One row of half inch lace on the top of collar with Crown.
In April 1880, rank badges were moved from collar to shoulder. Officers of all regiments including Foot Guards wore the following rank badges.
In May 1902, the rank badges issued in 1880 were slightly modified.
In 1919, a new order was issued by the Horse Guards office—all Guards officers would wear special star badges.
During World War I, some officers took to wearing tunics with the rank badges on the shoulder, as the cuff badges made them too conspicuous to snipers. This practice was frowned on outside the trenches but was given official sanction in 1917 as an optional alternative, being made permanent in 1920, when the cuff badges were abolished.