Major-General Humphrey Edgar Nicholson Bredin, (28 March 1916 – 2 March 2005), known as Bala Bredin, was a British Army officer whose military service took him from 1930s

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

via

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.North Africa and Italy to the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

in Germany.

Early life

Bredin was born at Peshawar on the North West Frontier of British India on 28 March 1916. Bredin was the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel A. Bredin, of the Indian Army. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury, and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. It was at Sandhurst that Bredin acquired the nickname Bala. This was the name of a fort in Peshawar as well as a

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

owned by the Aga Khan. After graduating from Sandhurst, Bredin was commissioned into the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1936. He deployed with the regiment to Palestine where he was quartered in a village called Bala.

Military career

Palestine

During the

1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, later known as The Great Revolt (''al-Thawra al- Kubra'') or The Great Palestinian Revolt (''Thawrat Filastin al-Kubra''), was a popular nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine a ...

Bredin was a

subaltern Subaltern may refer to: *Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power * Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer * Subalternation, going from a univer ...

with the 2nd Royal Ulster Rifles in Upper

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

. The Army was charged with protecting Jewish settlements and tracking down Arab insurgents. Bredin took part in

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

with Major

Orde Wingate Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma Campaign of the Second World ...

Special Night Squads The Special Night Squads (SNS) (Hebrew: ''Plagot Ha'Layla Ha'Meyukhadot'', פלוגות הלילה המיוחדות) was a joint British-Jewish counter-insurgency military unit, established by Captain Orde Wingate in Mandatory Palestine in 1938 ...

. He was awarded the Military Cross in a clash at a notorious ambush point on the Tulkarm-

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

road, in April 1938, and a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to the award a month later in a similar action. The citation recorded that, "he had already proved adept at this work which is both arduous and dangerous". He was also mentioned in dispatches for his services in Palestine.

Second World War

Bredin participated in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

in 1940, serving with the Royal Ulster Rifles. They marched from Louvain to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Isle of Man steamer. While on board Bredin came across a steward and asked for a beer, to which the steward replied, "Yes, sir, but I can't serve you till we are three miles out". Bredin received his beer as they were about to land in Kent and he thought to himself, "...we can't lose the war with people like that about". In 1944, Bredin was commanding the 6th Battalion

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

in Italy. He was tasked with breaching the Gustav Line, the German defensive position, leading the 78th Division in the engagement. A subsequent bravery citation relating to his actions of 15 May 1944 read - Two days later on 17 May 1944 he was ordered to attack Piumarola. Bredin was injured while on the start line for the attack but carried on with the engagement until loss of blood led to his fainting and he was evacuated. For his actions he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. After recovering from his wounds sustained in May, Bredin was placed in command of the 2nd Battalion, London Irish Rifles. The battalion were attached to the

9th Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but w ...

and deployed in

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s known as Kangaroos. In this role they captured bridges over the Fossa Sabbiosola and reached the Scolo Bolognese. The action resulted in the over-running of enemy artillery position with guns destroyed and

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

taken.

Post-war

After the war, Bredin served in Palestine once more before a stint as an instructor at Sandhurst. He then served as with the

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a locally recruited British-led force formed in 1925 to assist the police in the event of civil unrest, and to maintain the borders of British administered Sudan. During the Second World War, it also served bey ...

between 1949 and 1953. Bredin went on to command the 2nd Parachute Regiment at Suez and on Cyprus. It was on Cyprus that Bredin won his third DSO while carrying out counter-terrorism work. His men captured large quantities of weapons and broke up four groups. He was then posted home for two years before being sent to Malaya and Borneo where he commanded 99

Gurkha Brigade The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army ...

Group. In 1962, Bredin was sent to Germany as Chief of the British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS). This was a position he filled for two years. From there he was moved to command 42nd (Lancashire) Division/District of the Territorial Army in 1965. He went on to be General Officer Commanding North West District in 1967. The end of the decade saw Bredin appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in 1969. Between 1968 and 1971 Bredin served as Director of Volunteers, Territorials and Cadets, Ministry of Defence. It was also in this period that he was the first Colonel Commandant of the King's Division. Bredin was also Colonel of the Royal Irish Rangers from 1979 to 1984.

Retirement

In retirement Bredin was the Cancer Research campaign Essex and Suffolk appeals secretary. He was also a regular correspondent in the Daily Telegraph. This was the forum where he challenged defence cuts in 1991 and questioned remarks by

Field Marshal Lord Carver Field Marshal Richard Michael Power Carver, Baron Carver, (24 April 1915 – 9 December 2001) was a senior British Army officer. Lord Carver served as the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), the professional head of the British Army, and then as t ...

relating to the cavalry. Bredin said that field marshals never retire; "they had to defeat the Queen's enemies in the murky future and to harass the politicians accordingly". Bredin said of warfare that, "I've seen too much of war to like it". However, he believed that Britain should be prepared for any event and not rely on "peace in our time".

Family

Bredin's first marriage, to Jacqueline Geare in 1947, was dissolved in 1961. He married Anne Hardie in 1961. He had one daughter from his first marriage and two daughters from his second.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bredin, Bala 1916 births 2005 deaths British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British Army personnel of World War II British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Ulster Rifles officers Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers British Parachute Regiment officers Military personnel of British India British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst