not stupid, just rather ignorant

[john fox]

to my eternal shame I had no idea I have always been writing this incorrectly, my father was a serjeant in the Pioneer Corps (1940 - 1946), not a sergeant 🙄
CWGC quote
" Concerning our spelling of Sergeant: "Serjeant" spelt with a "J" is peculiar to the British and New Zealand armies and is used in connection with those services only. The British army did not change its spelling to "Sergeant" with a "G" until November 1953. As we commemorate those who died during the two world wars only, the "Serjeant" spelling is historically correct."

Edited December 4, 2024 by john fox

[fv1609]

Interestingly my Imperial Dictionary of the English Language 1898 seems to give precedence to Sergeant, indicating it is not an entirely new term.

On the other hand that date given of 1953 is strange as the Queens Regulations 1955 still uses Serjeant.

PS I see that my Enlarged English Dictionary 1855 only refers to Sergeant with no mention of Serjeant.

I must stop looking now these contradictions are getting addictive!

 

[jmehner]

It has become more of a traditional thing, even before WWII. AFAIR, the pioneers, REME and its predecessors (possibly some others) used serjeant, while in most other documents of the period you will find sergeant. There were also sergeants in the British army of WWI.

Some regiments, certainly The Rifles, still use serjeant today. Unfortunately, my references are currently packed due to a move early next year, but I could revisit this subject in February.