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Sir William Birdwood
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951), was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War as commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915, leading the landings on the peninsula and then the evacuation later in the year, before becoming commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army (United Kingdom), Fifth Army on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the closing stages of the war. He went on to be general officer commanding the Northern Command (India), Northern Army in India in 1920 and Commander-in-Chief, India, in 1925. Early life William Riddell Birdwood was born on 13 September 1865 in Khadki, Kirkee, India. His father, Herbert Mills Birdwood, born in Bombay and educated in the UK, had returned to Ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Marshal (United Kingdom)
Field marshal (FM) has been the highest rank in the British Army since 1736. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to an Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force in the Royal Air Force (RAF). A Field Marshal's insignia consists of two crossed batons surrounded by yellow leaves below Tudor Crown (heraldry), the Tudor Crown. Like Marshals of the Royal Air Force and Admirals of the Fleet, Field Marshals traditionally remain officers for life, though on half-pay when not in an appointment or retired. The rank has been used sporadically throughout its history, and was vacant during parts of the 18th and 19th centuries (when all former holders of the rank were deceased). After the Second World War, it became standard practice to appoint the Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Imperial General Staff (later renamed Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
