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In military organizations, a colour guard is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young officer (Ensign), while experienced non-commissioned officers are assigned to the protection of the national flag. These NCOs, accompanied sometimes by warrant officers, can be ceremonially armed with either sabres or rifles to protect the colour. Colour guards are generally dismounted, but there are also mounted colour guard formations as well.
Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, the various degrees of sergeant major are appointments held by warrant officers. In the United States, there are also various grades of sergeant major, all of the same pay grade of E-9; however, the Sergeant Major of the Army and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, as their respective service's Senior Enlisted Advisor, receive a special rate of basic pay that is higher than all other sergeants major.
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy Scouts, civil defence organisations, ambulance services, customs services, fire services etc.
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' they are usually worn as a cloth slide on the chest. Although these insignia apply across the British Army there is variation in the precise design and colours used and it can take some time to become familiar with them all.
"Other ranks" is the term used to refer to all ranks below officers in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It includes warrant officers, non-commissioned officers ("NCOs") and ordinary soldiers with the rank of private or regimental equivalent. Officers may, in speaking, distinguish themselves from those "in the ranks".
In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago. The Roman Empire also made battle standards a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, with standards being emblazoned with the commander's coat of arms.
The following is a list of historical military colours, standards and guidons in different countries that do not exist today.
The Somerset Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry which was again amalgamated, in 1968, with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry. In 2007, however, The Light Infantry was amalgamated further with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to form The Rifles.
In the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, a guidon is a military standard or flag that company/battery/troop or platoon-sized detachments carry to signify their unit designation and branch/corps affiliation or the title of the individual who carries it. A basic guidon can be rectangular, but sometimes has a triangular portion removed from the fly.
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
The Regulation Colours are the standard colours used in the armed forces of the countries falling under the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and became part of the English establishment in 1689.
The coat of arms of Gibraltar was first granted by a Royal Warrant passed in Toledo on 10 July 1502 by Isabella I of Castile during Gibraltar's Spanish period. The arms consists of an escutcheon and features a three-towered red castle under which hangs a golden key.
The 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Worcestershire Regiment in 1881. Its lineage is continued today by the Mercian Regiment.
In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification.
A formation patch or formation badge is a military insignia that identifies a soldier's military formations. Originally developed during the 20th century for battlefield identification, it has persisted into the 21st century as an element of military heraldry.
The following battle honours were awarded to units of the British Army and the armies of British India and the Dominions of the British Empire. From their institution until the end of the Second World War, awards were made by, or in consultation with, the British government, but, since 1945, the individual countries of the former British Empire have awarded battle honours to their forces independently.
Major David Rankin-Hunt is a British member of the Royal Household at St James's Palace in London. He has been the Norfolk Herald Extraordinary since 1994.
The President's Colour Award is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon any military unit of India. It is also known as ′Nishaan′ which is an emblem that is worn by all unit officers on the left-hand sleeve of their uniform.
References
- 1 2 "Naval, Military and R.A.F. insignia". College of Arms . Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Edwards, T. J. (1953). Standards, Guidons and Colours of the Commonwealth Forces. Gale & Polden. pp. 89–96, 134.
- ↑ Sumner, Ian (2001). British Colours & Standards 1747-1881 (1) Cavalry. Oxford: Osprey. p. 12. ISBN 9781841762005.
- ↑ Sumner, Ian (2001). British Colours & Standards 1747-1881 (2) Infantry. Oxford: Osprey. p. 32. ISBN 9781841762012.
- 1 2 "Naval & Military Intelligence". The Times . 11 June 1904. p. 3.
- 1 2 "Inspector of Regimental Colours". The Times . 31 May 1957. p. 6.
- 1 2 "Inspector of Regimental Colours". The Times . 11 August 1961. p. 10.
- ↑ "WALKER, John Riddell Bromhead". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ↑ "Obituary: Lieutenant-Colonel John Riddell Bromhead Walker". The Times . 11 September 1984. p. 16.
- ↑ Patric Dickinson (28 February 2001). "Obituary: Sir Colin Cole". The Independent . p. 6.
- ↑ "College of Arms". The Times . 2 August 1993. p. 16.
- ↑ "SWAN, Sir Conrad (Marshall John Fisher)". Who's Who. Oxford University Press. December 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- ↑ "No. 63522". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 November 2021. p. 20040.