Voluntarily lowering rank
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by
Stork
Why does a soldier voluntarily lower his rank? On the page I'm tagging it says that a Lance Corporal "reverted to Private (own request)" I've seen this twice before. Does he want less responsibility? I assume this lowering of rank includes a pay cut.
Posted
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by
ral104
moderator, scientist
Yes, I think that was pretty much it. Not all men wanted to advance through the ranks. They might step up for a while, but not wish to make it a permanent thing.
Posted
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by
cyngast
moderator
Isn't it true that not all Lance Corporals had an increase in pay over being a private? I've seen mention of men being promoted to lance corporal with pay and without pay. So if they hadn't had a pay increase, they just might not want the responsibility or to back with their pals.
Posted
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by
ral104
moderator, scientist
Yes, Lance Corporal was just an appointment for a long time, even after the war. So the man's permanent rank would still have been Private. I assume the pay issue had to do with how long they were expected to carry out the additional duties for.
Certain units had Second Corporals, which was a permanent rank.
Posted
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by
141Dial34
in response to ral104's comment.
Usually the rank confirmation is backdated though (this can be seen when order is actually printed in the diary ) so I presume the pay would be backdated too?
Posted
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by
ral104
moderator, scientist
I'm not certain of that - time in service for things such as pensions and the like probably would have been, but pay might not. I think it varied from case to case, but perhaps others might know more.
Posted