Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
welcome.......
How do all?
The Highway Man
Brit Pack 2I/C
That ringleader, The Highway Man, needs putting in his place pronto. His lack of respect for officers needs addressing.
I'm all for running a tight ship and ruling with an iron fist! :twisted:
With all due respect Sir (see, I'm very polite) - don't confuse your IQ with your payband!!
and don't confuse your rank with my authority.
Capt Frogman
Brit Pack (Troop Commander)
With all due respect Sir (see, I'm very polite) - don't confuse your IQ with your payband!!
Tbh, when you were on my payband, who gives a feck about IQ!
A hair on my balls has more authority than you sunshine. :lol:
The Highway Man
Brit Pack 2I/C
Your lass said you waxed!!!
Capt Frogman
Brit Pack (Troop Commander)
How would she know? She's only interested in the business end! :lol:
The Highway Man
Brit Pack 2I/C
Exactly - oh you mean your wallet?
Capt Frogman
Brit Pack (Troop Commander)
Exactly - oh you mean your wallet?
Come on now, I'm a Scotsman. My wallet's always empty!
How did I miss this???
Welcome aboard, albeit belatedly...
I think I have asked this before, but I am going to again... What the heck is a Rupert?
I have been an NCO and I have had the previlege of being an officer- I still like being an NCO- so much fun...
BritinBritain
Per Ardua Ad Astra
lol a Rupert is an officer Viper.
Capt Frogman
Brit Pack (Troop Commander)
Rupert is the nickname/slang term for an officer.
Rupert is the nickname/slang term for an officer.
Ok, duly noted, but why Rupert....?
I've called officers by a few names, so nasty enought that I will get banned if I print it. I was called by a few names when I became an officer (payback is always a b!tch, ain't it?), but why Rupert- actually it sounds like some innocent teddy bear..., if you ask me.
Capt Frogman
Brit Pack (Troop Commander)
Officers tend(ed) to be posh highly educated upper class people hence the nickname Rupert. Traditionally Rupert was a name often chosen by the upper classes to name their sons. Officers tended to be posh, hence the use of the nickname Rupert.
I know I certainly ain't posh or upper class, not all officers are. But they are usually all highly educated though.
Hope that makes sense!
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The Highway Man
Brit Pack 2I/C
What went wrong with you?
Capt Frogman
Brit Pack (Troop Commander)
What went wrong with you?
I often ask myself that very question (as do many others I suspect)! :lol:
Then I think, well at least I was never in the RMP so it can't be that bad!
Welcome Captain, I have an uncle currently serving in HM Royal Marines Band. And another uncle whose a retired Royal Marine. Grandfather served 22 years in the British Army. I, myself am planning on joining up - Canadian Armed Forces, as I live in Canada.
Welcome again!
Welcome again!
Officers tend(ed) to be posh highly educated upper class people hence the nickname Rupert. Traditionally Rupert was a name often chosen by the upper classes to name their sons. Officers tended to be posh, hence the use of the nickname Rupert.
I know I certainly ain't posh or upper class, not all officers are. But they are usually all highly educated though.
Hope that makes sense!
Ok, now it does make sense. Thanks
BritinBritain
Per Ardua Ad Astra
Many sons of aristocrats either went into the clergy or joined the army, who's commission was purchased in a regiment of their choice.
The sale of commissions was a common practice in most European armies where wealthy and noble officers purchased their rank. Only the Imperial Russian Army and the Prussian Army never used such a system. While initially shunned in the French Revolutionary Army, it was eventually revived in the Grande Armée of Napoleon I (mainly in the French allied and satellite states). The British Army, which used this practice through most of its history, was last to abolish it.
The practice started in 1683 during the reign of Charles II and continued until abolished on 1 November 1871, as part of the Cardwell Reforms.
Commissions could only be purchased in cavalry and infantry regiments (and therefore up to the rank of Colonel only). Commissions in the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery were awarded to those who graduated from a course at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, and subsequent promotion was by seniority. Such officers (and those of the Army of the British East India Company), were often looked down upon as being "not quite gentlemen" by officers who had purchased their commissions. Nor did the Royal Navy ever practice the sale of commissions, with advancement in officer ranks being solely by merit (at least in theory).
There were several key reasons behind the sale of commissions:
It preserved the social exclusivity of the officer class.
It served as a form of collateral against abuse of authority or gross negligence or incompetence. Disgraced officers could be cashiered by the crown (that is, stripped of their commission without reimbursement).
It ensured that the officer class was largely populated by persons having a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, thereby reducing the possibility of Army units taking part in a revolution or coup.
It ensured that officers had private means and were unlikely to engage in looting or pillaging, or to cheat the soldiers under their command by engaging in profiteering using army supplies.
It provided honourably retired officers with an immediate source of capital.
The official values of commissions varied by regiment, usually in line with the differing levels of social prestige of different regiments.
The malpractices associated with the purchase of commissions reached their height in the long peace between the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War, when Lord Cardigan paid £40,000 for the Colonelcy of the stylish 11th Hussars. It became obvious in the Crimea that the system of purchase often led to incompetent leadership, such as that which resulted in the Charge of the Light Brigade. An inquiry (the Commission on Purchase) was established in 1855, and commented unfavourably on the institution. The practice of purchase of commissions was finally abolished as part of the Cardwell reforms which made many changes to the structure and procedures of the Army.
The sale of commissions was a common practice in most European armies where wealthy and noble officers purchased their rank. Only the Imperial Russian Army and the Prussian Army never used such a system. While initially shunned in the French Revolutionary Army, it was eventually revived in the Grande Armée of Napoleon I (mainly in the French allied and satellite states). The British Army, which used this practice through most of its history, was last to abolish it.
The practice started in 1683 during the reign of Charles II and continued until abolished on 1 November 1871, as part of the Cardwell Reforms.
Commissions could only be purchased in cavalry and infantry regiments (and therefore up to the rank of Colonel only). Commissions in the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery were awarded to those who graduated from a course at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, and subsequent promotion was by seniority. Such officers (and those of the Army of the British East India Company), were often looked down upon as being "not quite gentlemen" by officers who had purchased their commissions. Nor did the Royal Navy ever practice the sale of commissions, with advancement in officer ranks being solely by merit (at least in theory).
There were several key reasons behind the sale of commissions:
It preserved the social exclusivity of the officer class.
It served as a form of collateral against abuse of authority or gross negligence or incompetence. Disgraced officers could be cashiered by the crown (that is, stripped of their commission without reimbursement).
It ensured that the officer class was largely populated by persons having a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, thereby reducing the possibility of Army units taking part in a revolution or coup.
It ensured that officers had private means and were unlikely to engage in looting or pillaging, or to cheat the soldiers under their command by engaging in profiteering using army supplies.
It provided honourably retired officers with an immediate source of capital.
The official values of commissions varied by regiment, usually in line with the differing levels of social prestige of different regiments.
The malpractices associated with the purchase of commissions reached their height in the long peace between the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War, when Lord Cardigan paid £40,000 for the Colonelcy of the stylish 11th Hussars. It became obvious in the Crimea that the system of purchase often led to incompetent leadership, such as that which resulted in the Charge of the Light Brigade. An inquiry (the Commission on Purchase) was established in 1855, and commented unfavourably on the institution. The practice of purchase of commissions was finally abolished as part of the Cardwell reforms which made many changes to the structure and procedures of the Army.
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