Ronald Brittain (2 September 1899 – 9 January 1981) was a

regimental sergeant major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by a warrant officer (WO) in the British Army, the Royal Marines, and the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations. It is also an actual rank in the Iri ...

(RSM) in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. Reported on widely in the newspapers of the day, he featured in several British military training films during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was said to have possibly the loudest voice in the British Army. On retiring from the army in the 1950s, Brittain's fame enabled him to enjoy a career in advertising, voice-over work and acting, playing characters that resembled an

archetypal The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, History of psychology#Emergence of German experimental psychology, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a stat ...

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

.Aldershot military museum, National service in Aldershot
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Early life

Brittain was born in Gordon Terrace,

Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Toxteth and Dingle to the north, Mossley Hill to the east, and Garston to the south, with the River Mersey forming its western boundary. Desc ...

Vale, Liverpool, the son of a gardener. After leaving school, he worked in a local butcher's shop until 1917, when he enlisted in the

King's (Liverpool) Regiment The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 when a single battalion was raised as The Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Military service

Brittain transferred into the

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

, where his imposing height of six feet three inches soon saw him promoted. Eventually Brittain transferred to the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

. He was attached to the training staff at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, where he became well known for his

parade ground A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

bellow. Known to the cadets as "The Voice", he was credited as the originator of that phrase so beloved of sergeant majors: "You 'orrible little man!". It was said he could reduce

gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

cadets — many of them foreign princes and titled sons of the

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

— to trembling wrecks. In his later years, he was assigned the position of Regimental Sergeant Major of the Guards Depot. He also served at

Mons Officer Cadet School Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. The training course at Mons was for National Servic ...

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, where it was estimated that around 40,000 officer cadets passed through his parade ground.

Retirement

In 1954 Brittain retired from the army after 37 years' service (20 years as an RSM); he was well above the normal retirement age for service personnel. After a spell as a salesman for an outsized clothing outfitters, he acted in films and plays. He also lent his legendary voice to a number of radio and television advertisements. In 1959 his voice was featured on a record, "Regimental Rock" released on the Saga label. Still an imposing figure in old age, Brittain was a popular presence at public functions and a member of the Society of Toastmasters.

Death

Brittain died at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in 1981, aged 81.

Award and decorations

Complete as at 1953.
As depicted worn in 1953 British Pathe news clip.

Filmography

Discography

Pass in Review -A brilliant program of marches of the British Armed Forces that pass in review on the mall with actual sounds of Big Ben, the Cavalry and commands by Regimental Sgt. Major Ronald Brittain, M.B.E. (Somerset) The Saga Satellites with RSM Brittain - Regimental Rock (Saga Records, 1959)

Notes

;Citations ;Bibliography

External links

*
The Army's Voice No 1
a news report from Pathé News, British Pathé in 1953
Picture of R.S.M. Brittain in actionPoster of R.S.M. Brittain from shinycapstar.com - Coldstream guards website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brittain, Ronald 1899 births 1981 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Aigburth Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst English male film actors English male voice actors Male actors from Liverpool 20th-century English male actors Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom) Military personnel from Liverpool British Army personnel of World War I Coldstream Guards soldiers South Wales Borderers soldiers King's Regiment (Liverpool) soldiers British Army personnel of World War II