Talk:Lance-Constable

Have this vague memory that in a mediaeval company of soldiers, a Lance was a unit of ten or twenty infantry/cavalry whose immediate officering would be done by a corporal of lance, later lance-corporal. Lancia coming from the Italian mediaeval mercenary tradition, the condottieri or "free soldiers". (Ref Mary Gentle's 'Ash, quoted in Reading Suggestions).

A multiple of Lances made a higher-order-unit officered by a Sergeant-At-Arms (another Pratchett connection there). A Knight might be nominally in charge of the company of armed infantry, but I suspect would be a bit of a Captain Tilden next to a Segeant Keele. --AgProv 15:14, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Objection

I wish to dissociate myself from the section on the meaning of the title, which I did write, of course, but had no intention of presenting as an annotation. I do not write annotations. I must acknowledge that whatever I add here is public domain and fair game for editing, and if the definition is rejected (in favor of AgProv's above, perhaps) it may be edited or eliminated. I protest being slandered as annotation, however. This may be within the rules, such as they are, but it's rude. --Old Dickens 00:14, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

I would humbly suggest that TP may have been alluding to the rank of PCSO, or to give the full title Police Community Support Officer, a soft of half-way stop between Traffic Warden and full PC in the UK's police service. Unlike PCs PCSO do not have a duty to act and do not have the same powers to arrest. --Megahurts 10:18, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Corrected somewhat. In the USMC both Private First Class and Lance-Corporal are in use. Removed the German reference because the Germans have about sixty-leven grades of 'lance-corporal'- Obergefreiter, Stabsgefreiter, Hauptgefreiter etcetera. Gefreiter is NOT equivalent to lance-corporal (much less corporal)- it means, literally, "exempted one", that is a senior private excused from menial duties. The German equivalent of Corporal is Unteroffizier, the first NCO rank. The various grades of Gefreiter have no command authority. Solicitr 03:51, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Re: the Dutch expert on British ranks, Wikipedia suggests that the Foot Guards actually retain Lance-Sergeants, while the Household Cavalry has a Lance-Corporal of Horse instead. It would be polite and informative, however, to discuss or at least explain the removal of big chunks of text. --Old Dickens 01:54, 21 October 2010 (CEST)