Editing Warrant officer (section)

===Demise of the royal naval warrants===
In 1843, the [[wardroom]] warrant officers were given commissioned status, while in 1853 the lower-grade warrant officers were absorbed into the new rate of [[chief petty officer]], both classes thereby ceasing to be warrant officers. On 9 July 1864 the standing warrant officers were divided into two grades: warrant officers and chief warrant officers (or "commissioned warrant officers", a phrase that was replaced in 1920 with "commissioned officers promoted from warrant rank", although they were still usually referred to as "commissioned warrant officers", even in official documents).

By the time of the [[First World War]], their ranks had been expanded with the adoption of modern technology in the Royal Navy to include [[telegraphist]]s, [[electrician]]s, [[shipwright]]s, [[engine room artificer|artificer]] [[Engineer officer (Royal Navy)|engineer]]s, etc. Both warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers messed in the warrant officers' mess rather than the wardroom (although in ships too small to have a warrant officers' mess, they did mess in the wardroom). Warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers also carried swords, were saluted by [[Naval rating|ratings]], and ranked between [[sub-lieutenant]]s and [[midshipman|midshipmen]].<ref name="WarrantHistory"/>

In 1949, the ranks of warrant officer and commissioned warrant officer were changed to "commissioned officer" and "senior commissioned officer", the latter ranking with but after the rank of lieutenant, and they were admitted to the wardroom, the warrant officers' messes closing down. Collectively, these officers were known as "branch officers", being retitled "special duties" officers in 1956. In 1998, the special duties list was merged with the general list of officers in the Royal Navy, all officers now having the same opportunity to reach the highest commissioned ranks.<ref name="WarrantHistory"/>