![Ranks and Insignia of the British Armed Forces [1], 1943 UK poster: One side of a folded sheet shows colour plates of British](../images/uk-ranks-and-insignia-army-raf-auxiliaries-1943.jpg)
Ranks and Insignia of the British Armed Forces [1]
One side of a folded sheet shows colour plates of British Army and Royal Air Force rank insignia, wings and brevets, and auxiliary service badges, each with a label, and a note on the Combined Operations shoulder flash worn by British and U.S. Rangers and other Allied personnel. It is largely an explanatory chart; the tell for transfer is the display of insignia as authority symbols for an American audience.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- British Information Services, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York (an agency of the British Government)
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Churchill Government
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- World War II
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- UK Crown copyright or unstated rights holder, published 1939-1945; held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
British Information Services, New York. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-367.
Text on the object
ARMY ROYAL AIR FORCE AUXILIARIES and COMBINED OPERATIONS [labels include:] FIELD-MARSHAL; GENERAL; COLONEL; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL; BRIGADIER; MAJOR; CAPTAIN; LIEUTENANT; 2nd LIEUTENANT; MARSHAL OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE; AIR CHIEF MARSHAL; QUALIFIED PILOT'S WINGS; NAVIGATOR; BOMBARDIER; FLIGHT ENGINEER; AIR GUNNER; NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE; AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS; WOMEN'S LAND ARMY; CIVIL DEFENSE; AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE COMBINED OPERATIONS (Shoulder Flash) Worn by all personnel serving permanently under Combined Operations Command. They include not only the British "Commandos" and men of the Royal Navy and the R.A.F., but also U. S. Rangers and personnel of other Allied forces.
