Major & Second Lieutenant: Can You Spot the Difference? 🇬🇧 ​ ​A clear look at British Army ranks. ​We see two Officers walking together, giving us a perfect comparison of rank insignia. ​On the Right: A Major (Field Officer). You can identify him by the single St Edward's Crown on his shoulder. ​On the Left: A Second Lieutenant (Junior Officer). He wears a single "Pip" (Bath Star) on his shoulder. The rider is a Corporal of Horse. ​It's rare to see such a clear side-by-side example of the rank

The British Army is struggling to fill its ranks, and the numbers are stark. New Ministry of Defence data shows that the number of recruits completing training has plummeted by nearly 40% since before the pandemic, painting a worrying picture of a force facing one of its toughest manpower challenges in years. Figures published on 10 November reveal that total intake across all Army training establishments dropped from 8,956 recruits in 2019/20 to just 5,560 in 2022/23, a 38% fall. Even more trou