Major general (Maj Gen) is a "two-star" rank in the British Army[1] and Royal Marines. The rank was also briefly used by the Royal Air Force for a year and a half, from its creation in April 1918 until August 1919. In the British Army, a major general is the customary rank for the appointment of division commander. In the Royal Marines, the Commandant General holds at least the rank of major general.
The rank insignia is the star (or 'pip') of the Order of the Bath, over a crossed sword and baton.
In terms of orthography, compound ranks were invariably hyphenated prior to about 1980. Nowadays the rank is almost equally invariably non-hyphenated.[a] When written as a title, especially before a person's name, both words of the rank are always capitalised, whether using the "traditional" hyphenated style or the modern un-hyphenated style. When used as common nouns, they might be written in lower-case: "Major General Montgomery was one of several major generals to be promoted at this time."
Until around the 1980s, the heads of each branch of service, such as the Royal Armoured Corps, the Royal Artillery and the Corps of Infantry, were major generals. Other, administrative, commands were also appointments for a major general. In addition, the senior officer of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, the Chaplain-General, is accorded "the relative precedence" – the respect, courtesies and insignia, rather than the full powers and authority – of the rank of major general.
Royal Marines in tri-service roles may still hold the rank of major general: in April 2019, James Morris was appointed as commander of the Standing Joint Force, with the rank of major general.[7]
As in the British Army, a Royal Marines major general ranks below a lieutenant general and above a brigadier.
Royal Air Force usage
From its foundation on 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force (RAF) briefly used the rank of major-general. The service was a wartime amalgamation of the Army's Royal Flying Corps and the Navy's Royal Naval Air Service, so the ranks were a compromise between these two traditions. The insignia of the rank was derived from that of a Royal Navy rear-admiral and featured a broad gold stripe on the cuff below one narrow gold stripe. The two stripes were surmounted by an eagle (volant and affronty) under a King's crown. The RAF replaced the rank of major-general with the rank of air vice-marshal on 1 August 1919.
Despite the short duration, the significance of the RAF to modern warfare was indicated by the number of senior officers who did hold the rank of major-general in the RAF:
