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The warrant officer corps began in the 13th century in the nascent British Royal Navy. At that time, nobles assumed command of the new Navy, adopting the Army ranks of lieutenant and captain. These officers often had no knowledge of life on board a ship —let alone how to navigate such a vessel or operate the guns— and relied on the expertise and cooperation of a senior sailor who tended to the technical aspects of running the ship and operating the cannons.
These sailors became indispensable to less-experienced officers and were rewarded with a royal warrant. This warrant was a special designation, designed to set them apart from other sailors, yet not violate the strict class system that was prevalent during the time.
In the British armed forces, a warrant officer is effectively a senior non-commissioned officer, although he or she holds the Queen's (or King's) warrant. Warrant officers are not saluted, but are usually addressed by their juniors as Sir or Ma'am.
In the British Army, there are two warrant ranks, warrant officer class 2 (WO2) and warrant officer class 1 (WO1), which is the senior of the two. It used to be more common to refer to these ranks as WOII and WOI (using Roman instead of Arabic numerals). The rank immediately below WO2 is staff sergeant.
Every warrant officer has an appointment, and is usually referred to by his appointment rather than by his rank.
Warrant officers were generally introduced throughout the British Army under Army Order 70 of 1915, although a few appointments had been warranted before that time (the first in 1879, when conductors of Stores and Supplies were warranted). These earlier warranted appointments, and some others, became WOIs. The appointments that were designated WOIIs had previously been senior sergeants.
WO2s wear a crown on the lower sleeve, surrounded by a wreath for Quartermaster Sergeants (for all WOIIs from 1938 to 1947Events January January 1 British mines nationalized January 1 Nigeria gains limited autonomy January 1 The Canadian Citizenship Act went into effect January 3 Proceedings of the United States Congress are televised for the first time. January 10 United Na). Appointments held by WO2s include:
WO1s wear a royal coat of arms on the lower sleeve, which may be surrounded by a wreath depending on appointment. Appointments held by WO1s include:
From 1938, there was also a rank of Warrant Officer Class III. 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. The rank was placed in suspension in 1940 and no new appointments were made, but it was never officially abolished.
WOs are officially designated using their rank and appointment. For instance, WO2 (CSM) Smith or WO1 (BM) Jones. However, they would usually be referred to as CSM Smith and Bandmaster Jones. WO2s are often referred to as Sergeant Major, Corporal Major, Quartermaster Sergeant or Quartermaster Corporal (or Q) as appropriate, but WO1s are only ever referred to using their full appointment or its abbreviation (RSM White or Garrison Sergeant Major Black, for instance).
The three most senior warrant officer appointments in the British Army are generally considered to be, in descending order of seniority, the Conductors, the Academy Sergeant Major and the Garrison Sergeant Major, London District, although there is some debate about their precedence within the army.