Warrant officer (United Kingdom)

Before 1879, the Royal Marines had no warrant officers,[11] but by the end of 1881, warrant rank was held by sergeant - majors and some other senior NCOs, in a similar fashion to the Army.[12] Warrant officers were given equivalent status to those in the Royal Navy from 1910, with the Royal Marines gunner (originally titled gunnery sergeant-major) equivalent to the Navy's warrant rank of gunner.[13][14]

Shortly after the Army introduced the ranks of warrant officer classes I and II in 1915, the Royal Marines did the same.[15] From February 1920, Royal Marines warrant officers class I were once more retitled warrant officers and given the same status as Royal Navy warrant officers[16] and the rank of warrant officer class II was abolished in the Royal Marines, with no further promotions to the rank, although men who already held it retained it.[17]

As in the Royal Navy, by the Second World War there were warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers (e.g. staff sergeant majors, commissioned staff sergeant majors, Royal Marines gunners, commissioned Royal Marines gunners, etc.). As officers, they were saluted by junior ranks. These all became (commissioned) branch officer ranks in 1949, and special duties officer ranks in 1956.

In 1973 the Royal Marines reintroduced the same warrant ranks as the Army, warrant officer class 1 and warrant officer class 2, replacing the ranks (as opposed to appointments) of quartermaster sergeant and regimental sergeant major.[18] The insignia are the same, but all Royal Marines WO2s wear the crown-in-wreath variation. As in the Army, many warrant officers have appointments by which they are known, referred to and addressed.

WO2 appointments are:

• Company sergeant major
• Regimental quartermaster sergeant
• Bandmaster
• Drum Major

WO1 appointments are:

• Regimental Sergeant Major
• Artificer Sergeant Major
• Bandmaster
• Corps Bandmaster
• Corps Bugle Major
• Corps Drum Major

The most senior Royal Marines WO1 is the Corps Regimental Sergeant Major. Directly junior to him is the Command Warrant Officer.[3]

The rank below WO2 is colour sergeant, the Royal Marines equivalent of staff sergeant. The Royal Marines rank of warrant officer class 2 is unaffected by the 2014 phaseout of the rank in the Royal Navy.

The insignia of a warrant officer class one

Most warrant officers have an appointment, and they are usually referred to by their appointment rather than by their rank. Appointments held by WO1s include:

• Academy Sergeant Major (AcSM)
• Accountant Sergeant Major (obsolete)
• Armament Sergeant Major[21] (obsolete)
• Armourer Sergeant Major[22] (obsolete)
• Army Sergeant Major
• Artificer Sergeant Major (ASM)
• Bandmaster (BM)
• Band Sergeant Major (BSM)
• Clerk of Works
• Conductor (Cdr)
• Drum Major
• Farrier Corporal Major[22] (obsolete)
• Farrier Sergeant Major[22][23]
• Foreman of Signals (Information Systems) (FofS IS)
• Foreman of Signals (FofS)
• Foreman of Signals Sergeant Major[22] (obsolete)
• Foreman of Works Sergeant Major[22]
• Garrison Sergeant Major (GSM)
• Instructor (Educational)[24] (obsolete)
• Master Gunner 1st Class
• Master Gunner 2nd Class
• Mechanist Sergeant Major[21][23] (obsolete)
• Pipe Major
• Regimental Corporal Major (RCM)
• Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM)
• Regimental Sergeant Major Instructor (RSMI)
• Saddler Sergeant Major[22] (obsolete)
• Schoolmaster[22] (obsolete)
• 1st Class Schoolmaster[22] (obsolete)
• Senior Drum Major
• Sergeant Major (obsolete)
• Sergeant Major Artillery Clerk[22] (obsolete)
• Sergeant Major Instructor (SMI)
• Staff Sergeant Major (SSM)
• 1st Class Staff Sergeant Major (obsolete)
• Sub-Conductor (obsolete)
• Superintending Clerk[22][24]
• Yeoman of Signals (YofS)
• Yeoman of Signals (Electronic Warfare) (YofS (EW))

The insignia of a warrant officer class two (quartermaster sergeant appointments only)

WO2s wear a crown on the lower sleeve, surrounded by a wreath for quartermaster sergeants and all WO2s in the Royal Army Medical Corps and formerly in the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (The wreath was used for all WOIIs from 1938 to 1947).

Appointments held by WO2s include:

• Accountant Quartermaster Sergeant (obsolete)
• Armament Quartermaster Sergeant[21][22] (obsolete)
• Armourer Quartermaster Sergeant[22] (obsolete)
• Artificer Quartermaster Sergeant (AQMS)[25]
• Band Corporal Major (BCM)
• Band Sergeant Major (BSM)
• Battery Sergeant Major (BSM)
• Clerk of Works Quartermaster Sergeant
• Company Sergeant Major (CSM)
• Drill Sergeant (DSgt)
• Drum Major
• Farrier Corporal Major[26]
• Farrier Quartermaster Corporal (obsolete)
• Farrier Quartermaster Sergeant[21][22][23]
• Fitter Quartermaster Sergeant[21] (obsolete)
• Foreman of Signals (Information Systems) (FofS IS)
• Foreman of Signals (FofS)
• Foreman of Signals Quartermaster Sergeant[22] (obsolete)
• Foreman of Works Quartermaster Sergeant[22]
• Garrison Quartermaster Sergeant[22]
• Master Gunner 3rd Class (obsolete)
• Mechanist Quartermaster Sergeant[21][22][24][27] (obsolete)
• Orderly Room Quartermaster Sergeant (ORQMS)[22][28]
• Orderly Room Sergeant (ORS)[22][28] (obsolete)
• Pipe Major
• Quartermaster Corporal Major[22] (obsolete)
• Quartermaster Sergeant Artillery Clerk[22][24] (obsolete)
• Quartermaster Sergeant Instructor (QMSI)
• Regimental Quartermaster Corporal (RQMC)
• Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS)
• Saddler Quartermaster Sergeant[21][22] (obsolete)
• Schoolmaster[22] (obsolete)
• Sergeant Major Instructor Signals (SMIS) (osbolete)
• Sergeant Major Signals (SMS)
• Squadron Corporal Major (SCM)
• Squadron Sergeant Major (SSM)
• Staff Quartermaster Sergeant (SQMS)[29]
• Technical Quartermaster Sergeant (TQMS)[30]
• Troop Sergeant Major[22]
• Trumpet Major
• Yeoman of Signals (YofS)

From 1938, there was also a rank of warrant officer class III (WOIII). The only appointments held by this rank were platoon sergeant major, troop sergeant major and section sergeant major. The WOIII wore a crown on his lower sleeve (which is why all WOIIs switched to a crown in a wreath during this period). The rank was placed in suspension in 1940 and no new appointments were made, but it was never officially abolished.

How warrant officers are addressed depends, as does much else in the British Army, on the traditions of their regiment or corps. However, there are some general rules of thumb:

• WO1s are usually addressed as "Mr surname" by officers and by their peers, and as "sir" or "Mr surname, sir" by their subordinates (for female WO1s, "Mrs, Ms or Miss surname", "ma'am", and "Mrs, Ms or Miss surname, ma'am", respectively).
• WO2s should only be addressed by their appointment, for example "Sergeant Major", "Corporal Major", "Q" for quartermaster sergeants or "RQ" for the regimental quartermaster sergeant, by their peers and superiors. They should be addressed as "sir" or "ma'am" by subordinates, although some WO2s prefer to be addressed by their appointment by them too. It is common for a WO2 not in a sergeant major or quartermaster sergeant appointment to be addressed as "Mr surname" by officers.
• A notable exception to the above is the Foot Guards and Honourable Artillery Company, where the regimental sergeant major is known as, and addressed by officers as, "Sergeant Major" and the company (or squadron in the Honourable Artillery Company) sergeant majors are addressed as "Company Sergeant Major" or "Squadron Sergeant Major".[31]

Although unused for cadets by the Sea Cadet Corps, except for Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs), the Royal Navy Sections of the Combined Cadet Force use the rank of warrant officer as the most senior cadet rank. Cadet warrant officers are addressed as "Warrant Officer". They wear the Royal Coat of Arms in red with the "CCF" below also in red.

The rank of warrant officer does not exist in the Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force (Army). Instead, the ranks of sergeant major instructor (SMI) or regimental sergeant major instructor (RSMI) are used.[33] Their rank insignia is the similar to that as worn by Army warrant officers, but with the addition of the letters ACF or CCF. As with adult staff, cadets should not use the ranks of warrant officer. The ranks of cadet company sergeant major and cadet regimental sergeant major are used instead. Their rank insignia is similar to that worn by army warrant officers but with the addition of the word "cadet".

Cadets in the Air Training Corps and the RAF Section of the Combined Cadet Force may hold the rank of cadet warrant officer (CWO). This is the senior cadet rank of the RAF Air Cadets, and unlike other cadet promotions the appointment to CWO within the ATC is made by the wing commander on the recommendation of the cadet's squadron commander and usually follows a promotion board. Each wing has a limited number of CWO allocations amounting to one per Squadron plus 20%; as such, although rare, it is possible to have multiple CWOs in the same unit. For a CCF section, the appointment is made by the head of section or contingent commander but requires the approval of the TEST officer. The number of CWOs on a section depends on the size of the section/contingent and some smaller units are not permitted a CWO, although that rule can be waived for exceptional cadets. Their role will vary between squadrons/sections, but they are generally responsible for leading the cadet NCO team, managing training and liaising with the adult staff. In the Air Training Corps, cadets must be at least 18 years of age to become a CWO; this requirement does not apply to CCF (RAF).

ATC or CCF (RAF) adult staff who are promoted to warrant officer are known as warrant officers (RAF Air Cadets), and, as with other RAF Air Cadets NCO ranks, they are civilian members of the ATC or CCF (RAF), are not members of the Royal Air Force and have no obligation or commitment to duties within the regular or reserve Royal Air Force. Nor do they command any seniority within or over members of the regular or reserve Royal Air Force.

From October 2020, RAFAC warrant officers were authorised to wear the Royal Coat of Arms instead of the crown that they had worn since the 1980s. They were also granted a Cadet Forces Warrant from the Secretary of State.

The senior warrant officer in the RAF Air Cadets is called the Commandant Air Cadets Warrant Officer (CACWO), and holds a similar position to the Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer (CASWO) in the RAF. The CACWO was one of the twelve nominated warrant officers within the RAFAC who were always entitled to wear the Royal Coat of Arms. Others included:

• Regional warrant officers (RWOs)
• The Corps Bandmaster
• The Corps Drill and Ceremonial Warrant Officer

Former service personnel who reached the rank of warrant officer (or warrant officer class 1) in the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Marines were also always permitted to retain the Royal Arms rank insignia when serving in the Air Training Corps and CCF (RAF).

Adult warrant officers serving as aircrew in air experience flights or volunteer gliding schools wear a unique rank slide; those who were former master aircrew in the RAF wear the standard MAcr rank slides.

Cadet Warrant Officer

Adult Warrant Officer

Royal Arms

WO Aircrew

Former MAcr