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Ronald Brittain

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Regimental Sergeant Major, R. Brittain

Ronald Brittain, MBE (2 September 1899 – 9 January 1981) was a Regimental Sergeant Major (R.S.M.) in the British Army. The Warrant Officer class 1, who was reported on widely in the newspapers of the day, featured in several British military training films during the Second World War. He was said to have possibly the loudest voice in the British Army[1]

On retiring from the army in the 1950s, R.S.M. Brittain's fame enabled him to enjoy a career in advertising, voice-over work and acting, playing characters that resembled an archetypal Sergeant Major.[2]

Early life

Brittain was born in Gordon Terrace, Aigburth Vale, Liverpool, Lancashire, the son of a gardener. After leaving school, he worked in a local butcher's shop until 1917, when he enlisted in the King's (Liverpool) Regiment during the First World War.

Military service

He transferred into the South Wales Borderers, where his imposing height of six feet three inches soon saw him promoted. Eventually Brittain transferred to the Coldstream Guards.

He was attached to the training staff at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where he became well known for his parade ground bellow. Known to the cadets as "The Voice", he was credited as the originator of that phrase so beloved of sergeant majors: "You 'orrible little man!". It was said he could reduce gentleman cadets — many of them foreign princes and titled sons of the aristocracy — to trembling wrecks.

In his later years, he was assigned the position of Regimental Sergeant Major of the Guards Depot. He also served at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, where it was estimated that around 40,000 officer cadets passed through his parade ground.

Retirement

In 1954 Brittain retired from the army after 37 years service (20 years as an RSM); he was well-above the normal retirement age for service personnel. After a spell as a salesman for an outsized clothing outfitters, he acted in films and plays. He also lent his legendary voice to a number of radio and television advertisements. Still an imposing figure in old age, Brittain was a popular presence at public functions and a member of the Society of Toastmasters.

Death

He died at Chester in 1981, aged 81.

Award & decorations

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Defence Medal 1939-1945
War Medal 1939-1945
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal 1935
King George VI Coronation Medal 1937
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953
Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with clasp
Meritorious Service Medal

Complete as at 1953.[3]

Filmography

Film or Series Role Notes
They Were Not Divided (1950) Regimental Sergeant Major
You Lucky People (1955) Appearing as himself
Carrington V.C. (1955) Sergeant Major
 Uncredited
Alfred Marks Time (1956) Performer
 BBC TV Series
The Criminal (1960) Kitchen warder
The Missing Note (1961) Commissionaire Uncredited
The Inspector MP Sergeant
The Amorous Prawn (1962) Sergeant Major
55 Days at Peking (1963) Sergeant Major Uncredited
The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966) Commissionaire
Casino Royale (1967) Sergeant Major Uncredited, (final film role)

Discography

The Saga Satellites with RSM Brittain - Regimental Rock (Saga Records, 1959)

Notes

Citations
  1. ^ My life of top hat and tales – Edinburgh Evening News – Friday 22, 2002
  2. ^ Aldershot military museum,National service in Aldershot
  3. ^ [1] As depicted worn in 1953 British Pathe news clip.
Bibliography

Leasor, James. (1955). The Serjeant-major; a biography of R.S.M. Ronald Brittain, M.B.E., Coldstream Guards. London: Harrap. OCLC 2154501.

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