WW1 Australian Army Rank Structures
Introduction
I have only shown Army ranks at this time. Should I eventually add any Navy personnel to the records, I will extend this table. Australian Flying Corps personnel were part of the AIF, wearing Army rank and the eight AFC Squadrons were attached to the British Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force formations.
Other Ranks
The British rank of Second Corporal, annotated as 2nd/Cpl was at times adopted by Australian Engineer Units. They wore the same rank chevron as a Lance Corporal but while Lance Corporal was actually an appointment rather than a rank, 2nd/Corporals were full non-commissioned officers in Engineer, Ordnance and Artillery units.
The rank of Lance Sergeant is an appointment to provide status to a Corporal acting in the capacity of a Sergeant within the Infantry Battalions where absences due to illness or wounds was common. They wore the same three stripes as a Sergeant, but were appointed by the Commanding Officer who could rescind the appointment whenever necessary whereas a sergeant promoted substantively can only be stripped of rank by a Court Martial. The rank is no longer used.
The Lance Sergeant was a formal rank in the Light Horse Regiments and was the senior sergeant who literally held the lance bearing the brigade pennant. The appointment no longer exists.
I have included the group titles which evolved over time, and while they seem complex there is a logic to it which enables specific rank groups to be quickly and specifically designated.
No Insignia |
Recruit
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Rank and File |
Other Ranks |
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No Insignia |
Private1
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2nd Corporal
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Junior
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Non-Commissioned
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Corporal
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Lance Sergeant
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Senior
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Sergeant
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Colour Sgt WW1
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Warrant Officer
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Warrant Officers |
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Warrant Officer
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1. Equivalent ranks include Craftsman (CFN), Driver (DVR), Gunner (GNR), Pioneer (PNR), Sapper (SPR), Signaller (SIG) and Trooper (TPR).
2. Sometimes seen as Colour Sergeant. Phased out in modern era.
3. WO1 Rank insignia up until the early 1970s was the British Coat of Arms ('Galloping Horses'), when it was replaced by the Australian Coat of Arms with the Kangaroo and Emu.
4. An addition rank of Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army has been appointed in the modern era, the badge of rank being the Australian Coat of Arms surrounded by a wreath of wattle. Navy and Army have equivalent ranks, and there is only one person of that rank in each service at any given time.
Commissioned Officers
The grouping of officers has changed over time as warfare has changed, and the following represents the current situation.
Images are from Wikipedia. Brigadier-General rank insignia during WW1 and following, was the crossed sword and baton alone,but after dropping the "General" appellation, the rank now has three lozenges (or "pips" as they are generally known), in a triangular array surmounted by a crown.
Being under training, Officer Cadets are not yet commissioned officers.
No Field Marshal has been apppointed since Sir Thomas Blamey GBE,KCB,DSO,CStJ,ED, 8 Jun 1950 who received his baton at his bedside at Heidelburg Repatriation Hospital where he died on 27 May 1951.
NAVY |
ARMY |
AIR FORCE |
NATO |
AUS/US |
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OFFICER CADET
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NONE |
O-0 |
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STAFF CADET
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NONE |
O-0 |
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SECOND LIEUTENANT |
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OF-1 |
O-1 |
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LIEUTENANT
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OF-1 |
O2 |
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CAPTAIN
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OF-2 |
O-3 |
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MAJOR
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OF-3 |
O-4 |
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LIEUTENANT COLONEL
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OF-4 |
O-5 |
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COLONEL
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OF-5 |
O-6 |
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BRIGADIER GENERAL
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NONE |
NONE |
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BRIGADIER
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OF-6 |
O-7 |
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MAJOR GENERAL
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OF-7 |
O-8 |
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LIEUTENANT GENERAL
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OF-8 |
O-9 |
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GENERAL
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OF-9 |
O-10 |
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FIELD MARSHAL
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OF-10 |
O-11 |
