Need ID on a Canadian or British rank

I'm reading a book that refers to either a British or Canadian rank in WWII Europe after D-Day as '2 i/c' and 'Major 2 i/c' Is this an NCO rank or officer's? Where does it fit in the hierarchy?

Thanks for any help.

Barry Camroc Press, LLC

'Second in command'.

Roughly equivelent to a US battalion executive officer.

'Major' would designate the rank while '2 i/c' would designate the position held within the battalion.

Cheers and all,

Major would be the rank 2i/c would be the appointment held by that Major. As in 'Major Smith is second in command of 1st Battalion The Green Howards'. And all Regimental Sgts Major are WO1 but not all WO1 are Regimental Sgts Major ( in theory anyway, the position would have called for the rank of WO1 ). WO1 is rank, RSM is appointment.

IBM

Second in command. In American parlance, the executive officer or sometime assistant commander. Getting back to BCE usage, a Major 2i/c would be a major who is second in command of, I guess, a battalion-sized unit. In BCE armies a major would normally command a company in the infantry. I'm not exactly sure what position he would occupy in artillery or armor.

'i/c' is short hand for 'in charge'. If somebody orders you to be 'i/c potato peeling detail' you're running the detail peeling the potatoes. If you're '2 i/c' potato peeling detail, you're the second in charge of the potato peeling job, and if the i/c wounds himself with his knife and gets sent to hospital you become the i/c, and you're on your way in the promotion stakes.

A British batttalion is usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel, so a Major 2 i/c would be the second in command and the officer who takes over a battalion if the CO goes down. A classic example is the 2nd Para Battalion at Goose Green.