General Sir James Frederick Noel Birch (29 December 1865 – 3 February 1939) was a British
Royal Artillery officer during the
Second Boer War and World War I and subsequently
Master-General of the Ordnance. The
Birch gun was named after him.
Military career
Birch was the second son of Major Richard Birch and was born at
Llanrhaiadr, Denbighshire and educated at
Giggleswick School,
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
and the
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...
. He was commissioned into the
Royal Horse Artillery in 1885. In 1895 to 1896 he took part in the
Ashanti expedition, and in South Africa he served with the Royal Horse Artillery in the Cavalry Division under the command of Sir
John French, taking part in the
relief of Kimberley, the operations in the
Orange Free State and the
Transvaal, and being present at the
Battle of Diamond Hill
The Battle of Diamond Hill (Donkerhoek) () was an engagement of the Second Boer War that took place on 11 and 12 June 1900 in central Transvaal.
Background
The Boer forces retreated to the east by the time the capital of the South African ...
. He was promoted major in June 1900, and served in
Cape Colony the following year. In January 1902 he received the temporary rank of
lieutenant-colonel when he was given command of the 30th battalion of the
Imperial Yeomanry, which left
Southampton for South Africa four months later. They arrived in early May, shortly after conclusion of hostilities, and he left for home again with the battalion in December 1902.
Birch was in command of the Riding Establishment at
Woolwich from 1905 to 1907. In 1912 he was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel and commanded the 7th brigade, Royal Horse Artillery.
Birch went with his brigade to France in August 1914, serving under the command of Sir
Edmund Allenby, in the retreat from
Mons
Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...
and in the
battle of the Aisne The Battle of the Aisne is the name of three battles fought along the Aisne River in northern France during the First World War.
* First Battle of the Aisne (12–15 September 1914), Anglo-French counter-offensive following the First Battle of the ...
and Ypres-
Armentières
Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud).
Geogra ...
. In January 1915 he was appointed brigadier-general on the general staff of the Cavalry Corps, and a few months later C.R.A. of the 7th division going in the same position in July to the I Corps, then commanded by Sir
Douglas Haig. In May 1916 Haig brought him to general headquarters as artillery adviser, a post he held until the end of the war. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1919 when he was made a colonel commandant of the
Royal Artillery.
In 1920, he became director of remounts at the
War Office. In the following year he was appointed director-general of the
Territorial Army and the development of cadet corps. In 1923 he became colonel commandant of the Royal Horse Artillery, and in the same year he was appointed
Master-General of the Ordnance, a post he held until 1927. He was promoted general in 1926 and retired from the army in the following year to become a director of Vickers-Armstrong.
Birch married Florence Hyacynthe Chetwode (1876–1938) the third daughter of Sir George Chetwode and Alice Jane Bass, and sister of
Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode.
Birch died on 3 February 1939 at Kings College Hospital, London aged 73.
Publications
* ''Modern Riding'' (1909)
* ''Modern Riding and Horse Education'' (1912)
References
* ''Who's Who''
* ''The Times'', Obituaries February 1939
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Noel
1865 births
1939 deaths
British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War
British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
Royal Horse Artillery officers
British Army generals of World War I
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
People educated at Giggleswick School
Military personnel from Denbighshire
People educated at Marlborough College
Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
Imperial Yeomanry officers