Mr. Ogilvy,

Thank you for your response to my query.

1. You are correct to infer that in a practical application, the cells
are not confined to contain single letters only.

2. Furthermore, the data range (located on a worksheet) would encompass
Names, Coded Identification Numbers and (meaningful) Expressions
(consisting of multiple words).

3. In an application (that's akin to reality), I have attempted to
sort a collection of names such as Mac's and Mc's delineated as
follows :-

4. A1:C1 = McAdoo, MacArthur, MaCaulay
5. A2:C2 = McCarran, McCarthy, McClellan
6. A3:C3 = McClintock, McClure, McCormick
7. A4:C4 = McCoy, McCracken, McCullers
8. A5:C5 = McCulloch, McDiarmid, MacDonald

9. Although the formula,

{=CHAR(LARGE(CODE($A$1:$C$5),COUNTA($A$1:$C$5)-
(COLUMN()-COLUMN($E$1))-(ROW()-ROW($A$1))*COUNTA($A1:$C1)))},

does not scale (meaning that extending application from single letters
to full words but in vain), it has provided a starting point.

10. Hopefully, when the formula is modified to suit, a practical
solution will be in sight.

11. Regards.