Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Roy Charles Whitworth George Firebrace (16 August 1889 – 10 November 1974) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer, who served as Head of the British Military Mission in Moscow during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was also a sidereal astrologer, founder and editor of the journal ''Spica'', and a co-founder of the Astrological Association of Great Britain.

Early life

According to data reported by him in ''Spica'' (January 1973), Firebrace was born on 16 August 1889 at 5:00 p.m. AST, in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, where his English father had an army post. He was second son of Lieutenant-Colonel George Firebrace, of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, of a branch of the family from which also came the

Firebrace baronets The Firebrace Baronetcy, of London, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 28 July 1698 for Basil Firebrace, Member of Parliament for Chippenham from 1690 to 1692. He was the son of Sir Henry Firebrace. The third Baronet sa ...

, and Agnes Adela, daughter of Henry Aylmer Porter, of Cranborne Court, Windsor Forest, Berkshire. His elder brother was

Aylmer Firebrace Commander Sir Aylmer Newton George Firebrace, (17 June 1886 – 8 June 1972) was a British Royal Navy officer and fire chief. As a Royal Navy officer, he saw active service in World War I and participated in the Battle of Jutland. Following th ...

Military career

Firebrace was commissioned into the

in 1908. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel in 1936,

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1937, and retired as a

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in 1946. He was the British military attaché in Riga before the beginning of the

and later in Moscow until 1940 as Head of the British Military Mission in Moscow. He acted as an observer and interpreter for

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

at the

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

and

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

conferences and when Molotov visited London in 1942 and ran the War Office Russian Liaison Group.

Nikolai Tolstoy Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (; born 23 June 1935), better known as Count Nikolai Tolstoy, is a British historian and writer. He is a former parliamentary candidate of the UK Independence Party and is the current nominal hea ...

recounts some of Firebrace's military views and experiences in his 1977 book, ''

Victims of Yalta ''Victims of Yalta'' (British title) or ''The Secret Betrayal'' (American title) is a 1977 book by Nikolai Tolstoy that chronicles the fate of Soviet citizens who had been under German control during World War II and at its end fallen into the ha ...

''. Firebrace is also mentioned in Nicholas Bethell's 1974 book, ''The Last Secret''. During his service in military intelligence, Firebrace was involved (in 1944) in the affair surrounding the arrest and prosecution of

Helen Duncan Victoria Helen McCrae Duncan (née MacFarlane, 25 November 1897 – 6 December 1956) was a Scottish medium best known as the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735 ( 9 Geo. 2. c. 5) for fraudulent claims. She was famous for ...

, a famous British

spiritualist Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least ...

medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

, under the

Witchcraft Act 1735 The Witchcraft Act 1735 ( 9 Geo. 2. c. 5) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1735 which made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or was guilty of practising witchcraft. With this, the law abol ...

( 9 Geo. 2. c. 5) (repealed by a private member's bill in 1951).

Astrology

The Brigadier became interested in astrology relatively early in life but it was not until after the war that he became really active in astrological circles. At first his interest extended to psychic studies and for many years he was president of the College of Psychic Studies in London. A big-framed man, known affectionately as "the Brig", Firebrace worked closely with the eminent siderealist

Cyril Fagan Cyril Fagan ( Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 1896 – Tucson, Arizona, United States, January 5, 1970) was an Irish astrologer, Generally considered ''the father'' - alongside Donald A. Bradley, ''the mother'', of the western sidereal astrology In ...

(1896–1970) and gained a lifelong interest in

sidereal astrology In astrology, '' sidereal'' and ''tropical'' are terms that refer to two different systems of ecliptic coordinates used to divide the ecliptic into twelve "signs". Each sign is divided into 30 degrees, making a total of 360 degrees. The terms si ...

. Firebrace co-founded the Astrological Association of Great Britain with John Addey in 1958 and was its first president. His enthusiasm for sidereal astrology was resisted by other members; in March 1961 he resigned to found ''Spica'', the quarterly journal he published until October 1974. This publication was a major driving force behind the western siderealist movement in the second half of the 20th century.

Works

Firebrace wrote a series of books called the "Astrology Moray series" and contributed to ''American Astrology'' magazine. ;Astrology Moray series * * * * ;Current editions *

Personal life

In 1916, Firebrace married Esme, eldest daughter of Henry Claud Lyall, of The Hurst,

Headley, Surrey Headley is a village and civil parish in the North Downs in Surrey, England. The nearest settlements are, to the west, Mickleham and Leatherhead; to the north, Ashtead and Langley Vale; to the east, Walton-on-the-Hill; and to the south, Box ...

, of a landed gentry family. They had a son, Anthony, and a daughter, linguist Margaret Anne ("Margot"), who respectively married a daughter and a son (Richard John Boileau Walker, curator of the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in the UK and ...

), of Commander Kenneth Ralph Walker, RN, of Scotnish,

Lochgilphead Lochgilphead (; ) is a town and former burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute Council. The village lies at the end of Loch Gilp (a branch of Loch Fyne) an ...

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area now forms part of ...

and the Dower House,

Crawley, Hampshire Crawley is a small village in Hampshire, England. It is a few miles from the county town (and former capital) of Winchester. It is a civil parish within the City of Winchester local government district. The village is the location of Crawley ...

.Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage, John Debrett, Kelly's Directories Ltd, 1973, p. 2636

Notes

References

*Ken Gillman, "Roy C. Firebrace", in John McKay-Clements, ''The Canadian Astrology Collection,'' Toronto, Canadian Astrology Press, 1998, , pp. 24–25.

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firebrace, Roy C. 1889 births 1974 deaths 20th-century British astrologers British Army brigadiers of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Halifax, Nova Scotia Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I Military attachés for the United Kingdom War Office personnel in World War II