Colonel Commandant - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

In the British Army, the term colonel commandant goes back at least to the American War of Independence, when it denoted an officer in command of a regiment.

In 1921, the Army abolished the rank of Brigadier-General and replaced it with the new ranks of Colonel-Commandant and Colonel on the Staff: Colonels-Commandant commanded brigades, depots or training establishments, while Colonels on the Staff held administrative appointments. Like Brigadier-General, both of the new ranks were temporary, the holder reverting to his original rank at the end of his appointment. They were both abolished in 1928, replaced by the rank of Brigadier (though the rank insignia — a crown over three "pips" or stars — remained the same).

In the Royal Marines, the ranks or appointments of Colonel Commandant and Colonel 2nd Commandant dated back to 1755, when fifty companies of marines were raised in three divisions: each division had a Colonel Commandant and Colonel 2nd Commandant. These ranked below Major-General and above Colonel. The Royal Marines did not use the rank of Brigadier-General until 1913, and dispensed with it again, along with the Army, in 1922. Like the Army, the Royal Marines adopted the appointment of Brigadier in 1928, but the two grades of Colonel Commandant persisted at least as far as World War II. By 1957, however, they had been abolished.

The title of Colonel-Commandant is now used as an honorary or ceremonial title relating to a military corps. For example, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has been Colonel-Commandant of the Army Air Corps as well as the full-time role as Chief of the General Staff and Brigadier Jane Arigho, a retired Director of Army Nursing Services, is the Colonel-Commandant of Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps.