{{Short description|Appointment in the British Army}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} A '''troop sergeant major''' ('''TSM''')<ref>Note that in the British Army, the plural is "troop sergeant majors" and not "troop sergeants major". {{London Gazette |issue=48587 |date=16 April 1981 |page=5671 |supp=y }} {{London Gazette |issue=25044 |date=2 December 1881 |page=6467 }} The earliest usage of "sergeant majors" in ''[[The Times]]'' is in 1822. The last of the (very occasional) usages of "sergeants major", except when referring to American NCOs, is in 1938.</ref> is the senior [[non-commissioned officer]] in a [[Royal Artillery]] [[troop]] of the [[British Army]], usually holding the rank of [[Warrant officer (United Kingdom)|warrant officer]] class 2. This differs from a [[cavalry troop]] or [[infantry]] [[platoon]], in which the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer (NCO) is usually a [[sergeant]].
==Troop sergeant majors in the cavalry== The rank was formerly used in British cavalry units. It was introduced in 1813 to replace the [[quartermaster]] as the senior NCO of a troop, and was roughly equivalent to a [[colour sergeant]] in the infantry. As the [[Squadron (army)|squadron]] replaced the troop as the main tactical and administrative division of the [[regiment]], so the [[Squadron Sergeant Major|squadron sergeant major]] superseded the troop sergeant major.
It was revived in 1938 as an appointment of the short-lived rank of warrant officer class III (WOIII). The new troop sergeant major, and his infantry counterpart, the [[Platoon Sergeant Major|platoon sergeant major]], were part of an experiment in giving experienced NCOs command of units (troops and platoons) formerly reserved for [[commissioned officer]]s. The experiment was not considered a success, and no promotions were made to the rank after 1940; most existing WOIIIs were commissioned as lieutenants.
The old appointment is presumably why [[staff sergeant]]s are referred to and addressed as "Sergeant Major" in British cavalry [[regiment]]s.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} A staff sergeant can command a cavalry troop, in the same way as the old WOIII troop sergeant majors.
==Footnotes== {{Reflist}}
[[Category:Military appointments of the British Army]] [[Category:Military ranks of the British Army]] [[Category:Warrant officers]]