Originally Posted by
langleybaston
The seniority of conductors is and always was a myth, except that between 1879 and 1881 they were the ONLY Warrant officers. At various times since before Waterloo, Hospital Mates, Schoolmasters, cavalry Troop QMs and Master Gunners held army Warrants, issued on behalf of the Sovereign, in early days by Regimental Colonels, subsequently by a Secretary of State...
In 1881 a whole raft of the most senior NCOs including sergeant-majors were warranted, and the official top grouping was defined as alphabetical, thus Conductor looked senior. The conductor was always in this top bracket but seniority within that bracket was by date of promotion or appointment, and in practice was determined by who was the expert on the ground.
Since 1989, when the RA appointed "The RA Sergeant Major" with a special badge, there has been grade and badge inflation at an absurd, Disney-style pace, emulating the USA practice..
There are now two new, exalted strata among WO Class 1 in the army: They are The Army Command Sergeant Major, and a slack handful of Command Sergeant Majors, , one for each Corps and major grouping. All at this level hold LE commissions.
The Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chiefs of Staff could, in theory, be the RN or RAF equivalent of The Army Command Sergeant Major. I would not hold my breath .........
There I was thinking the US Army was messed up when they began to commission Warrant Officers instead of the old traditional way of Warrant Officers being issued Warrants by the Secretary of the Army and Commissioned Officers being Commissioned by Congress. US Army Warrant Officers are "Officers" not NCO's or OR's.
You folks take this confusion to a much higher and far more confusing standard!
