Ronald Brittain

Ronald Brittain MBE (September 12, 1899- January 9 1981) was well known during his lifetime as an archetypal Regimental Sergeant Major (R.S.M.) and for having possibly the loudest voice in the British Army. He was often featured in World War II training films and was reported on widely in the newspapers of the day. [ [http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=205292002 "My life of top hat and tales" - Edinburgh Evening News - Friday 22, 2002] ] On retirement from the army, R.S.M. Brittain's notoriety enabled him to enjoy a career in advertising, voice over work [ [http://www.hants.gov.uk/museum/aldershot/nat_service/ns03.html Aldershot military museum,National service in Aldershot] ] and film acting, usually playing a Sergeant Major.

He was born in Aigburth Vale, Liverpool, the son of a gardener and worked in a local butcher's shop from leaving school until 1917, when he enlisted first in the King's (Liverpool) Regiment and then transferred into the South Wales Borderers, where his imposing height of six feet three inches soon saw him promoted. He eventually transferred to the Coldstream Guards. Attached to the training staff at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he was well known for his parade ground bellow, which could reduce the gentleman cadets - many of them foreign princes and titled sons of the aristocracy - to trembling wrecks. 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!" He eventually became Regimental Sergeant Major of the Guards Depot, the most senior non-commissioned appointment in the British Army, and later of Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, where it was estimated that around 40,000 officer cadets passed through his tender care. Brittain retired from the army in 1954 and, after a spell as a salesman for an outsize clothing outfitters, he acted in films and plays and lent his legendary voice to a number of radio and television advertisements. Still an imposing figure in old age, Brittain was a member of the Society of Toastmasters and was a popular presence at public functions.

Filmography

Discography

Regimental Rock on the Saga Record Label.

References

*LEASOR, James. "THE SERJEANT-MAJOR. A Biography of R.S.M.Ronald Brittain M.B.E", London, George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1955

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110094/ R.S.M. Brittain's filmography on IMDb]
* [http://search.empics.co.uk/urn/1254289.html Picture of R.S.M. Brittain in action]
* [http://www.shinycapstar.com/RSM%20Brittain%201938.jpgPoster of R.S.M. Brittain from shinycapstar.com - Coldstream guards website]