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33-664: Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall, Baron Bramall , KG , GCB , OBE , MC , JP , DL (18 December 1923 – 12 November 2019), also known as "Dwin", was a British Army officer. He served as Chief of the General Staff , the professional head of the British Army, between 1979 and 1982, and as Chief of the Defence Staff , professional head of

66-658: A "chorus of calls" for an official apology to Lord Bramall, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised to Bramall. On 1 September 2017, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police had paid substantial compensation to Bramall for having raided his home "after accepting that the searches had been unjustified and should never have taken place." Beech was subsequently arrested and committed to stand trial on 12 counts of perverting

99-518: A gold-tipped baton which they may carry on formal occasions. The vast majority of officers to hold the rank of field marshal were professional soldiers in the British Army, though eleven served as officers in the British Indian Army . At least fifty-seven field marshals were wounded in battle earlier in their careers, of whom 24 were wounded more than once, and eight had been prisoners of war. Fifteen future field marshals were present at

132-726: A statement after the search, saying: "Categorically, never have I had a connection or anything to do with the matters being investigated." On 30 April 2015, under the same investigation, Lord Bramall attended a police station in Surrey by appointment. While officers interviewed him for two hours, they did not charge or arrest him. On 15 January 2016, the police confirmed that there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges and he would face no further action. Bramall's wife Lady Bramall died in July 2015, without knowing that he would not be charged. In October 2016, after what The Guardian described as

165-481: The 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours . State of New South Wales State of Victoria State of Queensland Military Division Civil Division State of New South Wales State of Victoria State of Queensland At this time the two lowest classes of the Royal Victorian Order were "Member (fourth class)" and "Member (fifth class)", both with post-nominals MVO. "Member (fourth class)"

198-724: The Battle of Vitoria , where the Duke of Wellington earned the rank, and ten others served under Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo . However, only thirty-eight held independent commands in the field, and just twelve served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces (the pre-1904 professional head of the army) or Chief of the Imperial General Staff during a major war. Four field marshals ( Sir Evelyn Wood , Sir George White , Earl Roberts , and Lord Gort ) had previously received

231-682: The British Armed Forces , from 1982 to 1985. Bramall was born on 18 December 1923 in Tonbridge , Kent, England, the son of Major Edmund Haselden Bramall (1889−1964) (son of Ernest Edward Bramall (1864–1938), managing director of Desford Colliery, Leicester) by his wife Katherine Bridget Westby. He was educated at Eton College , where, among other accomplishments, he captained an undefeated first XI cricket team. In 1949 he married Dorothy Avril Wentworth Vernon, by whom he had one son and one daughter. His elder brother Ashley Bramall

264-545: The British Armed Forces . At the same time, Guthrie, who relinquished the post of CDS and retired from active service in 2001, was promoted to honorary field marshal. In June 2014, former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Walker of Aldringham was also promoted to honorary field marshal. Although the rank of field marshal is not used in the Royal Marines , the insignia is used on the uniform of

297-575: The Captain General , the ceremonial head of the corps (equivalent to colonel-in-chief ). The rank insignia of a field marshal in the British Army comprises two crossed batons in a wreath of laurel leaves, with a crown above. In some other countries, historically under the sphere of British influence, an adapted version of the insignia is used for field marshals, often with the crown being replaced with an alternative cultural or national emblem. On appointment, British field marshals are awarded

330-467: The Chief of the Imperial General Staff (later renamed Chief of the General Staff ) to the rank on his last day in the post. Army officers occupying the post of Chief of the Defence Staff , the professional head of all the British Armed Forces , were usually promoted to the rank upon their appointment. In total, 141 men have held the rank of field marshal. The majority led careers in the British Army or

363-678: The Grenadier Guards , commanded a series of attacks while severely wounded during the First World War in 1918. Roberts received his VC for actions during the Indian Mutiny . Wellington, 44 at the time of his promotion, was the youngest non-royal officer to earn the rank of field marshal. Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda was the oldest, promoted at the age of 91, while a further twenty-three officers were promoted to field marshal in their eighties. Wellington

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396-624: The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in the first half of 1966 where his actions earned him a mention in despatches . He was given command of the 5th (Airportable) Infantry Brigade in November 1967 with promotion to brigadier on 31 December 1967. Bramall was made General Officer Commanding the 1st Division on 6 January 1972, with the substantive rank of major general from 6 April 1972, Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong with

429-592: The Ministry of Defence in 1995 made a number of recommendations for financial savings in the armed forces' budget, one of which was the abolition of all five-star ranks. Part of the rationale was that these ranks were disproportionate to the size of the forces commanded by these officers, and that none of the United Kingdom's close allies, such as the United States (which reserves the rank of general of

462-664: The Special Air Service from 19 May 1985. Following his retirement from active military duty Bramall served as Lord Lieutenant of Greater London from 1986 to 1998. He was invested as a Knight Companion of the Garter in 1990. He served as President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1988. and was an Honorary Life Vice President of the MCC. His other interests included painting and travel and he

495-639: The Staff College, Camberley , from 1958, and then was appointed to serve on Lord Mountbatten's staff in 1963. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1965 New Year Honours , and promoted to lieutenant colonel on 25 January 1965, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 2nd Green Jackets, The King's Royal Rifle Corps : the Battalion was deployed to Borneo during

528-645: The Victoria Cross (VC), the United Kingdom's highest and most prestigious award for gallantry 'in the face of the enemy'. Wood, a famously injury-prone officer, was awarded the VC for two actions in 1858, in which he first attacked a group of rebels in India, and later rescued an informant from another group of rebels. White, a cavalry officer , led two charges on enemy guns in Afghanistan in 1879, while Gort, of

561-590: The end of World War II in Europe . Bramall was promoted to lieutenant on 18 June 1946 and served in the occupation of Japan from 1946, before becoming an instructor at the School of Infantry in 1949. Promoted to captain on 18 December 1950, he was stationed in the Middle East from 1953 and was then promoted to major on 18 December 1957. Continuing his military career, he served two years as an instructor at

594-645: The Bath in the 1979 New Year Honours , before being made ADC General to the Queen on 26 June 1979 and appointed Chief of the General Staff on 14 July 1979. In this role he strongly supported the plan in May 1982 to land troops at San Carlos Water and then advance rapidly from those positions at the early stages of the Falklands War . Bramall was promoted to field marshal on 1 August 1982, and appointed Chief of

627-531: The Defence Staff on 1 October that year. In this capacity he developed the concept of the "Fifth Pillar" pulling together the activities of defence attachés to form a structure for intervention in smaller countries. He retired in November 1985. He was also Colonel of the 3rd Battalion the Royal Green Jackets from December 1973, Colonel of the 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) from 14 September 1976 and Colonel Commandant of

660-516: The First World War, while one, Sir William Robertson , held every rank in the British Army, from private soldier to field marshal. Footnotes Works cited 1974 New Year Honours The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honours. At this time honours for Australians were still being awarded in the UK honours on the advice of the premiers of Australian states. The Australian honours system began with

693-676: The House of Lords. He died at the age of 95 on 12 November 2019, at his home in Crondall , Hampshire Bramall was one of several senior establishment figures targeted by convicted perjurer Carl Beech : following fabricated complaints made by Beech officers of the Metropolitan Police searched Bramall's home near Farnham on 4 March 2015 as part of the Operation Midland child sexual abuse investigation. Bramall released

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726-684: 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

759-659: The allegations made by [Beech] that formed the basis of Operation Midland." 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 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

792-464: The army for officers who have commanded large armies in major wars), used such ranks. The recommendation was not taken up in full, but the practice of promoting service chiefs to five-star ranks was stopped, and the ranks are now reserved for special circumstances. Sir Peter Inge was, in 1994, the last active officer to be promoted to the rank. Inge relinquished the post of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) in 1997, and his successor, Sir Charles Guthrie ,

825-753: The colonial British Indian Army , rising through the ranks to eventually become a field marshal. Some members of the British Royal Family , most recently Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Charles III , were promoted to the rank after shorter periods of service. Three British monarchs ( George V , Edward VIII , and George VI ) assumed the rank on their accessions to the throne, while Edward VII and Charles III were already field marshals, and two British consorts, Albert, Prince Consort and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , were appointed by their respective queens. Other ceremonial appointments were made as diplomatic gestures. Twelve foreign monarchs have held

858-413: The course of justice and one count of fraud in May 2019; he was convicted on all charges, and in July 2019 was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. The court was told that "immeasurable distress" had been caused to those falsely accused as well as "obvious reputational damage". Bramall said of the ordeal: "I can honestly say however I was never as badly wounded in all my time in the military as I have been by

891-553: The honour, though three ( Wilhelm II , German Emperor; Franz Joseph I , Emperor of Austria-Hungary; and Hirohito , Emperor of Japan) were stripped of it when their countries became enemies of Britain and its allies in the two world wars. Also awarded the rank were one Frenchman ( Ferdinand Foch ) and one Australian ( Sir Thomas Blamey ), honoured for their contributions in World War I and World War II respectively, and one South African statesman ( Jan Smuts ). A report commissioned by

924-409: The rank of lieutenant general on 1 December 1973 and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1974 New Year Honours . He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, UK Land Forces on 15 May 1976 and was promoted to full general on 25 June 1976. He was appointed Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel and Logistics) on 20 March 1978, advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of

957-888: Was a barrister , Labour politician and Leader of the Inner London Education Authority . Bramall was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 22 May 1943, during the Second World War . He took part in the Normandy landings in June 1944 and served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment in Northwest Europe during the later stages of the war, receiving the Military Cross on 1 March 1945, shortly before

990-628: Was a vice-president of the welfare organisation SSAFA Forces Help. Bramall was created a life peer as Baron Bramall , of Bushfield in the County of Hampshire in 1987. Bramall spoke out in the House of Lords against the involvement of the United Kingdom in the Second Iraq War warning that "unlike naked aggression, terrorism cannot be defeated by massive military means" but by "competent protection and positive diplomacy". On 27 August 2006 it

1023-445: Was also the only field marshal to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . No officer whose career was spent in the British Army has ever reached the rank of field marshal without having served in the cavalry , infantry , Royal Armoured Corps , Royal Artillery , or Royal Engineers . One non-British officer has been appointed field marshal in the British Army; Ferdinand Foch of France, in recognition of his contributions in

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1056-507: Was reported that Bramall, then aged 82, hit Lord Janner of Braunstone , then 78, after Bramall made what witnesses claim were a series of "anti-Israel" comments during an argument over the Lebanon conflict. Janner sought the advice of fellow peers about how and whether to make a formal complaint against Bramall, before deciding to accept an apology after which Janner said the matter was resolved. On 25 April 2013 Bramall retired from service in

1089-470: Was the first officer not to be promoted upon appointment as CDS, although he was promoted to the honorary rank of field marshal in June 2012. The most recent promotions to field marshal came in 2012, eighteen years after the moratorium on routine promotions to the rank, when Queen Elizabeth II promoted Prince Charles, her son and heir apparent, to the five-star ranks in all three services, in recognition of support provided for her in her capacity as Head of

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