Field Marshal
The highest rank of the British Army, OF-10, ceremonial since the 1990s, marked by crossed batons in a wreath.
Overview
Field Marshal is the highest British Army rank, created in 1736 for the Duke of Argyll from the German Feldmarschall. The badge is crossed batons in a laurel wreath with a crown. Wellington, Roberts, Haig, and Montgomery held it. The rank came with command of vast armies: it was substantive only in wartime or for the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. No new field marshals have been appointed since the 1990s, apart from honorary and royal grants, and the rank survives ceremonially. OF-10 in NATO terms, it peers with the five-star General of the Army. Tradition holds a field marshal never retires.
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