Commissioned Warrant Officer (Royal Navy)
Commissioned Warrant Officer in the Royal Navy encompassed the following ranks:[1]
- Chief Gunner.
- Chief Boatswain.
- Chief Signal Boatswain.
- Commissioned Telegraphist.
- Chief Carpenter.
- Chief Artificer Engineer.
- Commissioned Mechanician.
- Commissioned Electrician.
- Chief Schoolmaster.
In 1904 W. Graham Greene, Head of Naval Branch in the Secretariat, proposed to give a generic name to this class of commissioned officer. He suggested "Commissioned Chief Officers" but recognised it could be confused with Chief Officers of the Coast Guard. He referred the matter to the committee revising the King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions. On 6 April President, Vice-Admiral Lewis A. Beaumont, suggested "Chief-rank Officers". The Second Naval Lord, Charles C. Drury, proposed "Chief Warrant Officers" on 26 April. The First Naval Lord, Lord Walter Kerr, thought the former title had merits but noted Drury's suggestion. The Junior Naval Lord, Frederick S. Inglefield, proposed Commissioned Warrant Officer on 29 April, and the Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy, William H. May, seconded it on 3 May. Kerr asked if Drury would agree, which he did on the 12th. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Selborne, initialled his concurrence the following day.[2]
Footnotes
- ↑ The King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions. I. p. x.
- ↑ Docket "Question of devising a generic title for the class of Chief Gunners, Chief Boatswains, &c., &c." The National Archives. ADM 1/7732.
Bibliography
- Admiralty (1913). The King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of His Majesty's Naval Service. 1913. Volume I. London: By Authority.
