Abbreviations used on this site
and some other useful information
Artillery
12pdr, 18pdr, 25pdr - Weight of the shell. The 18pdr had a calibre of 84mm, the 25pdr had a calibre of 3.45 inches (87.6mm)
AA - Anti-aircraft
AOP - Air Observation Party
BL - Breech loading
CES - complete equipment schedule
HAA - Heavy anti-aircraft
LAA - Light anti-aircraft
QF - Quick firing
RBL - Rifled breech loading
RML - Rifled muzzle loading
WL - Wagon Lines
Formations
AFA - Australian Field Artillery
AGRA - Army Group Royal Artillery. In essence an artillery brigade, they were 'army troops' and usually assigned to corps. The number and type of regiments in an AGRA was not fixed, but typically 5 or 6 mostly medium regiments and a heavy regiment. AGRAs were commanded by the CAGRA, a brigadier.
Bde - Brigade
Bn - Battalion
Bty - Battery
CFA - Canadian Field Artillery
DA - Divisional Artillery
GVA - Gloucestershire Volunteer Artillery
RA - Royal Artillery
Regt - Regiment
RGA - Royal Garrison Artillery
RFA - Royal Field Artillery
RHA - Royal Horse Artillery
TA - Territorial Army
TM - Trench Moertar
TF - Territorial Force
TAVR - Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve
On 1 April 1859, a Royal Artillery Reimental Order was signed that artillery gun groups were to be named a Battery rather than a Company with effect from 1 July 1859. From March 1860, the term Company was removed from the Monthly Army List.
Ranks
Brevet rank was Temporary, given to a officer who would revert back to his substantive rank on being posted or resigning.
Hon Col = Honorary Colonel
Maj = Major
Capt = Captain
Lt = Lieutenant
2/nd Lt = Second Lieutenant
WO 1 = Warrant Officer Class 1 (Regimental Sergeant Major)
WO11 = Warrant Officer Class 11 (Crown) (Battery Sergeant, Troop Sergeant Major)
S/Sgt = Staff/ Sergeant (Crown & 3 Stripes) (Battery Quarter Master Sergeant)
Sgt = Sergeant (3 Stripes)
Corpl/Cpl = Corporal (2 Stripes)
Bomd/Bdr = Bombardier same rank as Corporal (2 stripes) (came into being officially 1920 but was used from about 1916)
L/Cpl/L/Bdr = Lance Bombardier same as Lance Corporal (1 Stripe)
Gnr = Private Soldier
Dvr = Driver, Private Soldier
Rank and Appointment
An artillery soldier may have held a rank but have another appointment such as a Gunner with the appointment of Lance Bombardier. During WWI, a Lance Bombardier was an apppointment not a rank. It would not become so until 1920, when the rank of corporal was done away with the in the Royal Artillery. A Battery Quarter Master is a sergeant and an appointment with authority over other sergeants. Appointments could be paid or unpaid, and could be given and taken away by the commanding officer.
Ranks, appointments and trades - Kings Regs 1914
The list on the left are ranks, those on the right are trades and appointments
To give an example from the 1980/90s. I was a sergeant in 266 OP Bty (GVA). I had several trade qualifications one of those was Advanced Ack (an observer qualification for artillery). My appointment was BC's Ack (assistant). The appointment could have been changed at any time, but my rank and qualification not so easily.
Sergeant and Serjeant
Both spellings refer to the same rank and the word comes from the Latin serviens, 'one who serves', through the Old French term serjant. Serjeant is mostly found in older documents and most now use sergeant. Some British infantry units, such as the light infantry, The Rifles and Rangers, still use serjeant.
Corporal and Bombardier
Originally, the Royal Artillery had corporals, but not lance corporals. A bombardier was junior to a corporal. In 1920, corporals were abolished in the Royal Artillery and bombardiers became the equivalent to corporals in other arms. The rank of lance bombardier originated as acting bombardier, an appointment similar to lance corporal and also indicated by a single chevron. The appointment was renamed lance bombardier in February 1918. It became a full rank, along with lance corporal, in 1961.
Trades within Ranks
Farr = Farrier
Fit = Fitter
Sad = Saddler
S/S = Shoeing Smith
Sig = Signaller
Trpt = Trumpeter
Whlr = Wheeler
Lim/Gnr = Limber Gunner
Medals
DSO = Distinguished Service Order
DCM = Distinguished Conduct Medal (other ranks highest award, next in order to the V.C.)
MC = Military Cross
MM = Military Medal
MID = Mention In Dispatches
VD = Victorian Decoration (awarded after 20 years service)
VLSM = Volunteer Long Service Medal (awarded after 20 years service)
TD - Territorial Decoration (awarded after 12 years service)
TEM = Territorial Efficiency medal (awarded after 12 years service)
Slang
Chinese or Chineses Barrage - a false or feint artillery barrage designed to draw defensive action towards the point under assault. It is usually used as a diversion to force the enemy to concentrate more manpower in a given area, to weaken the opposing force in another area. For example, at Thelus in France on 4 December 1917, A & C batteries of 232 Brigade and B & D batteries of 240 brigade fired a Chineses dummy barrage, put up on 31st Divisional Artillery front to cover a raid carried out on 47th Divisional Artillery's front.
Sources and Resources
Derek Driscoll's original pages
Rank, Appointments and Medal Abbreviations
Rank, Appointments and Medal Abbreviations
Other Resources
Armed Forces Abbreviations
Armed Forces Network Abbreviations
Armor and Artillery Glossary
BBC News Style Guide
Bombardier (rank) - Wikipedia
Chinese attack / barrage - Language Log
Common British Army acronyms and abbreviations of the First World War
Glossary of military abbreviations
Guide To Understanding Military Jargon And Acronyms
Lance Bombardier & Bombardier in the RA - The Great War (1914-1918) Forum
List of artillery - Wikipedia
Military Rank - Wikipedia
MOD Acronyms and Abbreviations
Ranks and Appointments in Royal Artillery - The Great War (1914-1918) Forum
Rank vs Appointment - The Great War (1914-1918) Forum
Researching the Lives and Records of WW2 Soldiers
Royal Artillery - Corporals - The Great War (1914-1918) Forum
Sergeant
The A-to-Z of WWI Trench Slang - The Sheldon Museum
The History of the English Word Serjeant
The Volunteer Artillery 1859-1908 by Norman Litchfield and Ray Westlake, Sherwood Press
Trench Talk - The Guardian
UK Military Acronyms
Whizz Bangs And Wind-Ups - Imperial War Museums