Good afternoon, The length of this thread about the spelling of just one word, ie. Sergeant, etc,etc, etc amazes me. As Shakespeare said, over 400 years ago, " A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet " what more is there to be said ? Surely if a man ( or women) say they are a Sergeant and looks like a Serjeant (ie. he/she wears three stripes on the sleeve of his/her uniform ) and smells like one then surely that is what they are. After all, that 's all that a word is meant to do, convey a meaning. The meaning of the word " Sarg." is clear to everybody, I would have thought. As Robert Burns said, " The rank is but a guinea's stamp ; The man's the gowd for a' that ! " Patrick Holland. Perth Western Australia.

""Surely if a man ( or women) say they are a Sergeant and looks like a Serjeant (ie. he/she wears three stripes on the sleeve of his/her uniform ) and smells like one then surely that is what they are."" I must object! I have it on good authority that Serg/jents took baths at least as often as the men. They were expected to set a good example!. "A good rinse every spring does a man good." Field Marshal The Duke of Smelington