A troop sergeant major (TSM)Note that in the British Army, the plural is "troop sergeant majors" and not "troop sergeants major". The earliest usage of "sergeant majors" in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' is in 1822. The last of the (very occasional) usages of "sergeants major", except when referring to American NCOs, is in 1938. is the senior non-commissioned officer in a

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, usually holding the rank of

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

class 2. This differs from a cavalry

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

platoon, in which the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer (NCO) is usually a sergeant.

Troop sergeant majors in the cavalry

The rank was formerly used in British cavalry units. It was introduced in 1813 to replace the

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

as the senior NCO of a troop, and was roughly equivalent to a colour sergeant in the infantry. As the squadron replaced the troop as the main tactical and administrative division of the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

, so the squadron sergeant major superseded the troop sergeant major. It was revived in 1938 as an appointment of the short-lived rank of warrant officer class III (WOIII). The new troop sergeant major, and his infantry counterpart, the platoon sergeant major, were part of an experiment in giving experienced NCOs command of units (troops and platoons) formerly reserved for commissioned officers. The experiment was not considered a success, and no promotions were made to the rank after 1940; most existing WOIIIs were commissioned as lieutenants. The old appointment is presumably why staff sergeants are referred to and addressed as "Sergeant Major" in British cavalry

s. A staff sergeant can command a cavalry troop, in the same way as the old WOIII troop sergeant majors.

Footnotes

{{Reflist Military appointments of the British Army Military ranks of the British Army Warrant officers