Major General Sir Wilkinson Dent Bird, (4 May 1869 – 6 January 1943) was an officer of the

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 ...

during the late-19th century and the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early career

Dent was born 0n 4 May 1869, the son of J.D. Bird, a captain in the

20th Hussars The 20th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. After service in the First World War it was amalgamated with the 14th King's Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 1922. History Early wars The regiment was originally ra ...

. After studying at

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, he took a commission as a second lieutenant in the

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

on 22 August 1888. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 December 1890, and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 21 April 1897. That year, he served with the Niger Expedition, where he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and received a

brevet promotion Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 6 June 1897. His next posting took him to the North-Western Frontier of India.''Who Was Who'' Bird served with his regiment in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, where he was present at the

Relief of Mafeking The siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mahikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son o ...

and was again mentioned in despatches, but was severely wounded and returned home in 1900. For his service, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO).

Staff duties and regimental command

Bird was back as a regular captain in his regiment in July 1902. From 1903 to 1905 he was chief instructor at the School of Musketry, and from 1905 to 1909 a lecturer at the Staff College, India. He was promoted to a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy in December 1909, and appointed a General Staff Officer, Grade 2, at the War Office the following year. In 1913 Bird was transferred to command the 2nd Battalion,

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal ...

, and promoted to colonel. He was in command of the battalion at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, when it was sent to France with the 7th Brigade, 3rd Division. On 26 August, at the

Battle of Le Cateau The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 A ...

, he assumed command of the 7th Brigade when its commander, Brigadier General

Frederick McCracken Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick William Nicholas McCracken, (18 August 1859 – 8 August 1949) was a British Army officer who saw regimental service in Africa during the late nineteenth century, and later held senior command during the First Wo ...

, was disabled by an artillery shell. Bird was severely wounded at the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne () was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated after the First Battle of the ...

, on 15 September; his leg had to be amputated as a result, and on recovery he returned to the general staff rather than regimental service. He was promoted to brevet colonel in February 1915. He was made a General Staff Officer, Grade 1 in 1915, and appointed Director of Staff Duties in 1916. In May 1918, after being promoted to temporary major general, he took up the post of lieutenant-governor of the

Royal Hospital, Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

, and retired in 1923, having received a promotion to major general in 1921. He was appointed the

Lees Knowles Lecturer The Lees Knowles Lectureship was established at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1912 and first started in 1915. Lectures are given by distinguished experts in military and naval history and selection for this lectureship is considered one of the hig ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

for the year 1927. From December 1929 to 1939, Bird served as the

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 ...

of the

, taking over from General Sir Charles Monro.

Family

Bird married Winifred Barker in early 1902; the couple had two daughters. The eldest daughter was born in Westminster on 1 January 1903.

Notes

References

*''

History of the Great War The ''History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Committee of Imperial Defence'' (abbreviated to ''History of the Great War'' or ''British Official History'') is a series of concerning the war effort of the Britis ...

: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1914'', by

J. E. Edmonds Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General Sir James Edward Edmonds, (25 December 1861 – 2 August 1956) was an commissioned officer, officer of the Royal Engineers in the late-Victorian era British Army who worked in the Intelligence Corps ...

. Macmillan & Co., London, 1922
Digitised copy
*"BIRD, Major-General Sir Wilkinson Dent". (2007). In ''Who Was Who''. Online edition. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Wilkinson 1869 births 1943 deaths Academics of the Staff College, Quetta Queen's Royal Regiment officers Royal Ulster Rifles officers British Army major generals People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army generals of World War I Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath British amputees Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst