Soldier in company wanting 'proper speech' spoken (8)
I believe the answer is:
corporal
'soldier' is the definition.
'company wanting proper speech spoken' is the wordplay.
'company' becomes 'co' (abbreviation).
'wanting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'proper speech' becomes 'rp' (short for Received Pronunciation, formal UK accent).
'spoken' becomes 'oral' (similar in meaning).
'co'+'rp'+'oral'='CORPORAL'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for corporal that I've seen before include "soldier?" , "in the flesh" , "NCO rank below sergeant" , "Of the body, say punishment" , "Of the body, like NCO" .)