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William Birdwood

Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, CIE, DSO (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of 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 on the Western Front during the closing stages of the war. He went on to be general officer commanding the Northern Army in India in 1920 and Commander-in-Chief, India, in 1925.


The Lord Birdwood
General Sir W. R. Birdwood by Elliott & Fry
Nickname(s)Birdy
Born(1865-09-13)13 September 1865
Kirkee, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died17 May 1951(1951-05-17) (aged 85)
Hampton Court Palace, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Indian Army
Years of service1883–1930
RankField Marshal
Commands heldCommander-in-Chief, India
Northern Command, India
Fifth Army
Australian Corps
I ANZAC Corps
II ANZAC Corps
Australian Imperial Force
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
Kohat Brigade
Battles/wars
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Croix de Guerre (France)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Croix de Guerre (Belgium)
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword (Portugal)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
25 January 1938 – 17 May 1951
Hereditary Peerage
Succeeded byChristopher Birdwood, 2nd Baron Birdwood

Early life edit

William Riddell Birdwood was born on 13 September 1865 in Kirkee, India.[1] His father, Herbert Mills Birdwood, born in Bombay and educated in the UK, had returned to India in 1859 after passing the Indian Civil Service examination.[2] In 1861, Herbert Birdwood married Edith Marion Sidonie, the eldest daughter of Surgeon-Major Elijah George Halhed Impey of the Bombay Horse Artillery and postmaster-general of the Bombay Presidency.[2] They had five sons and a daughter; William was their second son. At the time of William's birth, his father held positions in the Bombay legislative council, and went on to become a Bombay high court judge.[2] William Birdwood was educated at Clifton College.[3][4]

Military career edit

After securing a militia commission in the 4th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1883,[5] Birdwood trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from which he was commissioned early, owing to the Russian war scare of 1885, becoming a lieutenant in the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers on 9 May 1885.[6] He joined his regiment in India and then transferred from the 12th Royal Lancers[7] to the Bengal Staff Corps on 20 December 1886.[8] He subsequently transferred to the 11th Bengal Lancers in 1887, seeing action on the North-West Frontier in 1891. He later became adjutant of the Viceroy's Bodyguard in 1893.[5] He was promoted to captain on 9 May 1896[9] and saw action during the Tirah Campaign in 1897.[5]

Birdwood served in the Second Boer War, initially as brigade-major with a mounted brigade in Natal from 10 January 1900 and then as Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General on the staff of Lord Kitchener from 15 October 1900.[10] Promoted to brevet major on 20 November 1901[11] and local lieutenant-colonel in October 1901,[12][13] he became military secretary to Lord Kitchener on 5 June 1902,[14] and followed him on his return to the United Kingdom on board the SS Orotava,[15] which arrived in Southampton on 12 July 1902.[16] He received a brevet promotion to lieutenant-colonel in the South African Honours list published on 26 June 1902.[17] In a despatch from June 1902, Lord Kitchener wrote the following about his work in South Africa:

This young officer has held a difficult position as Assistant Adjutant-General, Mounted Troops, and responsible adviser as to the distribution of remounts. In carrying out these duties he has proved himself to possess exceptional ability, and he has shown, moreover, remarkable tact in dealing with and conciliating the various interests which he had to take into consideration.[18]

When Kitchener went to India as commander-in-chief in November 1902, Birdwood joined him there as assistant military secretary and interpreter.[19][13] He was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 9 May 1903[20] and appointed Military Secretary to Lord Kitchener with the rank of full colonel on 26 June 1905.[21] Having been appointed an aide-de-camp to the King on 14 February 1906,[22] he was given command of the Kohat Brigade on the North West Frontier in 1908[23] and promoted to temporary brigadier-general on 28 June 1909.[24]

Promoted to the rank of major-general on 3 October 1911,[25] Birdwood became quartermaster-general in India and a member of the Viceroy's Legislative Council in 1912 and then Secretary of the Indian Army Department in 1913.[13]

Gallipoli edit

 
Anzac Cove looking towards Ari Burnu, 1915

In November 1914 Birdwood was instructed by Kitchener to form an army corps from the Australian and New Zealand troops that were training in Egypt.[13] He was promoted to temporary lieutenant-general on 12 December 1914[26] and given command of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.[13] Kitchener instructed General Sir Ian Hamilton, Commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, to carry out an operation to capture the Gallipoli peninsula and placed Birdwood's ANZAC Corps under Hamilton's command.[4] Hamilton ordered Birdwood to carry out a landing on 25 April 1915 north of Kabatepe at a site now known as ANZAC Cove.[13] The ANZAC Corps encountered high ridges, narrow gullies, dense scrub and strong Turkish resistance and became pinned down.[4] Major-General William Bridges and Major-General Alexander Godley, the divisional commanders, were both of the view that the Allied forces, dealing with stiffer-than-expected resistance, should be evacuated ahead of an expected attack by Turkish forces.[27] Nevertheless, Hamilton ordered them to hold fast.[28]

 
W. R. Birdwood
 
General Birdwood in Shrapnel Gully, Gallipoli, sometime in 1915 MS10484/PHO1 State Library Victoria (Australia)

Birdwood took effective command of the Australian Imperial Force, i.e. all Australian Forces in May 1915 while still commanding Allied troops on the ground at Gallipoli.[4] He launched a major attack on the Turks in August 1915 (the Battle of Sari Bair) but still failed to dislodge them from the peninsula.[4] Notwithstanding this, he was the only corps commander opposed to abandoning Gallipoli.[13] He was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant-general on 28 October 1915[29] and given command of the newly formed Dardanelles Army: the one outstanding success of the campaign was the evacuation led by Birdwood, which took place in December 1915 and January 1916, when the entire force was withdrawn before any Turkish reaction.[13]

Western Front edit

 
Sir Douglas Haig with his army commanders and their chiefs of staff, November 1918. Front row, left to right: Sir Herbert Plumer, Sir Douglas Haig, Sir Henry Rawlinson. Middle row, left to right: Sir Julian Byng, Sir William Birdwood, Sir Henry Horne. Back row, left to right: Sir Herbert Lawrence, Sir Charles Kavanagh, Brudenell White, Percy, Louis Vaughan, Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, Hastings Anderson.

In February 1916 the Australian and New Zealand contingents, back in Egypt, underwent reorganisation to incorporate the new units and reinforcements that had accumulated during 1915: the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was replaced by two corps, I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps, and Birdwood reverted to the command of II ANZAC Corps. When I ANZAC Corps became the first to depart for France, Birdwood, as senior corps commander, took over command.[13] During early 1916 Birdwood advocated for the formation of an Australian and New Zealand Army or a Dominion Army also including Canadian forces under his command, but this did not occur.[30][31]

Birdwood was promoted to the permanent rank of full general on 23 October 1917[32][33] with command of a formation then known as the Australian Corps in November 1917.[13] He was also appointed aide-de-camp general to the King on 2 November 1917[34] and given command of the British Fifth Army on 31 May 1918 and led the Army at the liberation of Lille in October 1918[35] and at the liberation of Tournai in November 1918.[13][36]

After the war edit

Birdwood was made a Baronet, of Anzac and of Totnes, in the County of Devon, on 29 December 1919.[37] He toured Australia to great acclaim in 1920 and then became general officer commanding the Northern Army in India later that year.[38] He was promoted to field marshal (with the corresponding honorary rank in the Australian Military Forces) on 20 March 1925[39][40] and, having been appointed a Member of the Executive Council of the Governor-General of India in July 1925,[41] he went on to be Commander-in-Chief, India, in August 1925.[38]

After leaving the service in 1930, Birdwood made a bid to become Governor-General of Australia. He had the backing of the King and the British government. However, the Australian Prime Minister James Scullin insisted that his Australian nominee Sir Isaac Isaacs be appointed.[4] Instead, Birdwood was appointed Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge on 20 April 1931[42] and Captain of Deal Castle in 1934.[43][44] In 1935 he wrote for the Western Australian distance education magazine Our Rural Magazine, saying that he had two granddaughters making good use of distance educational courses.[45] In May 1936, he returned to Gallipoli aboard RMS Lancastria and visited war memorials on the peninsula.[46][47] He retired from academic work in 1938.[38]

In retirement Birdwood was Colonel of the 12th Royal Lancers (1920–1951),[48] the 6th Gurkha Rifles (1926–1951),[49] and the 75th (Home Counties) (Cinque Ports) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (1939–1951).[50] In January 1936 he attended the funeral of King George V[51] and in May 1937 he was present for the coronation of King George VI.[52] He was raised to the peerage as Baron Birdwood, of Anzac and of Totnes in the County of Devon, on 25 January 1938, in recognition of his wartime service.[53][54]

His autobiography Khaki and Gown (1941) was followed by In my time: recollections and anecdotes (1946).[1] Lord Birdwood died at Hampton Court Palace, where he lived in grace-and-favour apartments, on 17 May 1951. He was buried at Twickenham Cemetery with full military honours;[4] the Australian Government pays for the upkeep of his grave.[55]

Honours and awards edit

 
Grave of William Birdwood and family in Twickenham Cemetery

British edit

Foreign edit

Family edit

In 1893 Birdwood married Janetta Bromhead, daughter of Sir Benjamin Bromhead; they had a son and two daughters.[5] His wife died in 1947.[1] Their son, Christopher Birdwood (1899–1962), succeeded him as 2nd Baron Birdwood. The elder daughter was Constance 'Nancy' Birdwood,[74] and the younger daughter was Judith Birdwood. Other members of the Birdwood family include Labour minister and peer Christopher Birdwood Thomson (1875–1930), Anglo-Indian naturalist Sir George Birdwood (1832–1917), and Jane Birdwood (1913–2000), the second wife of William Birdwood's son.[75]

Legacy edit

The town of Blumberg, South Australia, changed its German name to Birdwood in 1918,[76] and the soldier settlement of Birdwoodton, Victoria was named after Birdwood in 1920.[77] Mount Birdwood in Alberta, Canada also bears his name.[78]

Birdwood House in Geraldton, Western Australia, which was built in 1935 for the Geraldton RSL and named after Birdwood, has served as the centre of ANZAC Day commemorations in Geraldton since 1936. William Birdwood visited Birdwood House in Geraldton 1937 where he was presented with a gold key and Freedom of Birdwood House.[79][80] Birdwood House became Heritage Registered in 2016.[81][82]

Many streets and public spaces in Australia and New Zealand are named or commonly believed to be named after Birdwood, including Birdwood Park in Newcastle West in 1920[83] and a street in New Lambton in 1919.[83]

Coat of arms edit

Coat of arms of William Birdwood
 
Notes
Coat of arms of the Birdwood family
Coronet
A coronet of a Baron
Crest
Out of a Mural Crown Gules a Martlet Argent between two Branches of Laurel proper
Escutcheon
Azure five Martlets two two and one within an Inescutcheon voided a representation of the Southern Cross all Argent
Supporters
Dexter: a Sergeant of the XIIth (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers mounted on a Bay Horse; Sinister: a Sikh Daffadar of the XIth (Prince of Wales's Own) Bengal Lancers mounted on a Chestnut Horse, both habited and accoutred proper
Motto
In Bello Quies (Calm in action)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c James, Robert Rhodes (2009) [2004]. "Birdwood, William Riddell". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31898. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b c Brown, F. H.; Stearn, Roger T. (2012) [2004]. "Birdwood, Herbert Mills". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31897. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p70: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April 1948 Bristol
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Birdwood, William Riddell (Baron Birdwood) (1865–1951)". William Birdwood. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d Heathcote, p. 43
  6. ^ "No. 25468". The London Gazette. 8 May 1885. p. 2105.
  7. ^ "No. 25688". The London Gazette. 1 April 1887. p. 1915.
  8. ^ "No. 25812". The London Gazette. 1 May 1888. p. 2469.
  9. ^ "No. 26768". The London Gazette. 14 August 1896. p. 4632.
  10. ^ "No. 27382". The London Gazette. 3 December 1901. p. 8563.
  11. ^ "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6325.
  12. ^ "No. 27383". The London Gazette. 6 December 1901. p. 8643.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Heathcote, p. 44
  14. ^ "No. 27460". The London Gazette. 1 August 1902. p. 4969.
  15. ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 10.
  16. ^ "Lord Kitchener′s return". The Times. No. 36819. London. 14 July 1902. p. 6.
  17. ^ "No. 27448". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 June 1902. pp. 4191–4194.
  18. ^ "No. 27459". The London Gazette. 29 July 1902. pp. 4835–4836.
  19. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence – Lord Kitchener´s staff". The Times. No. 36857. London. 27 August 1902. p. 4.
  20. ^ "No. 27578". The London Gazette. 21 July 1903. p. 4592.
  21. ^ "No. 27851". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 November 1905. p. 7425.
  22. ^ "No. 27885". The London Gazette. 13 February 1906. p. 1054.
  23. ^ Tucker; Roberts, p.388
  24. ^ "No. 28288". The London Gazette. 14 September 1909. p. 6874.
  25. ^ "No. 28580". The London Gazette. 13 February 1912. p. 1066.
  26. ^ "No. 29115". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 March 1915. p. 3099.
  27. ^ Bean, 1981, pp. 456–457
  28. ^ Bean, 1981, pp. 460–461
  29. ^ "No. 29341". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 October 1915. p. 10615.
  30. ^ Beckett & Corvi 2006, p. 38.
  31. ^ Grey 2001, p. 46.
  32. ^ "No. 30376". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 November 1917. p. 11661.
  33. ^ Beckett & Corvi 2006, p. 34.
  34. ^ "No. 30365". The London Gazette. 2 November 1917. p. 11361.
  35. ^ Beckett & Corvi 2006, p. 51.
  36. ^ Beckett & Corvi 2006, p. 52.
  37. ^ "No. 31708". The London Gazette. 30 December 1919. p. 15988.
  38. ^ a b c Heathcote, p. 45
  39. ^ "No. 33031". The London Gazette. 20 March 1925. p. 1954.
  40. ^ "Australian Military Forces". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. 14 January 1926. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  41. ^ "No. 33069". The London Gazette. 24 July 1925. p. 4957.
  42. ^ "The colleges and halls – Peterhouse". British History Online. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  43. ^ "No. 34140". The London Gazette. 8 March 1935. p. 1631.
  44. ^ "Captains of Deal Castle". East Kent freeuk. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  45. ^ "Our rural magazine". The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879–1954). 18 October 1934. p. 14. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  46. ^ "Gallipoli Pilgrimage". The West Australian. 27 May 1936. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  47. ^ "Personalities" (PDF). The Listening Post. 15 June 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  48. ^ "No. 31889". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 May 1920. p. 5218.
  49. ^ "No. 33141". The London Gazette. 12 March 1926. p. 1834.
  50. ^ Army List, May 1939.
  51. ^ "No. 34279". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 April 1936. p. 2770.
  52. ^ "No. 34453". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 November 1937. p. 7081.
  53. ^ "No. 34477". The London Gazette. 28 January 1938. p. 578.
  54. ^ "No. 34469". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1938. p. 1.
  55. ^ Miranda, Charles (11 April 2015). "Brit revered by Diggers". The Courier-Mail. p. 54.
  56. ^ "No. 13881". The Edinburgh Gazette. 5 January 1923. p. 18.
  57. ^ "No. 30111". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1917. p. 5454.
  58. ^ "No. 28505". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1911. p. 4590.
  59. ^ "No. 14615". The Edinburgh Gazette. 7 January 1930. p. 16.
  60. ^ "No. 29024". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1915. p. 2.
  61. ^ "No. 28324". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1910. p. 1.
  62. ^ "No. 31092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1919. p. 3.
  63. ^ "No. 29202". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 June 1915. p. 6113.
  64. ^ "No. 34396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1937. p. 3084.
  65. ^ "No. 28095". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1908. p. 2.
  66. ^ "No. 28168". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 August 1908. p. 6066.
  67. ^ "No. 14351". The Edinburgh Gazette. 28 June 1927. p. 741.
  68. ^ "No. 31222". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 March 1919. p. 3281.
  69. ^ "No. 13052". The Edinburgh Gazette. 16 February 1917. p. 367.
  70. ^ "No. 30568". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 March 1918. p. 3095.
  71. ^ "No. 31451". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 July 1919. p. 8937.
  72. ^ "No. 31514". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 August 1919. p. 10614.
  73. ^ "No. 13673". The Edinburgh Gazette. 25 January 1921. p. 138.
  74. ^ Schmidt, Nicholas (14 February 2011). "For Valentine's Day – The airman who married the general's daughter". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  75. ^ "The Dowager Lady Birdwood". The Telegraph. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  76. ^ . www.slsa.sa.gov.au. State Library of South Australia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020.
  77. ^ . www.victorianplaces.com.au. Monash University and the University of Queensland. 2015. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
  78. ^ Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 20.
  79. ^ . Geraldton City RSL Sub-Branch. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  80. ^ "WA State Heritage Register - supporting document".
  81. ^ "Iconic RSL building Birdwood House is latest addition to WA heritage register". ABC. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  82. ^ "State Heritage Office - Birdwood House, Geraldton". Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  83. ^ a b Wetherall, Lachlan. "Birdwood Park | A bit of this, a bit of that". Retrieved 28 October 2020.

Sources edit

External links edit

  • A. J. Hill, 'Birdwood, William Riddell (Baron Birdwood) (1865–1951)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, Melbourne University Press, 1979, pp 293–296.
  • Birdwood's introduction to The New Zealanders at Gallipoli
  • Birdwood's AIF service record, available in the as a digital image
  • Birdwood presenting medals during the First World War (British-Pathé)
  • Bust of Birdwood by Barbara Tribe (Australian National Portrait Gallery)
  • In the thick of it, article on Birdwood and items relating to him at the Australian National Portrait Gallery
  • Collection of photographs and artworks of Birdwood (UK National Portrait Gallery)
  • Collection of photographs of Lady Birdwood, also includes photographs of their younger daughter Judith (UK National Portrait Gallery)
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding Australian Imperial Force
May 1915 – November 1919
Succeeded by
Preceded by
New Command
General Officer Commanding Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
December 1914 – February 1916
Succeeded by
Preceded by
New command
(Part of Anzac Corps)
General Officer Commanding II ANZAC Corps
February – March 1916
Succeeded by
Preceded by General Officer Commanding I ANZAC Corps
March 1916 – May 1918
Succeeded by
Preceded by General Officer Commanding British Fifth Army
May – November 1918
Succeeded by
Post disbanded
Preceded by GOC-in-C, Northern Command, India
1920–1924
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Walter Howorth Greenly
Colonel of the 12th Royal Lancers
1920–1951
Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, India
1925–1930
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards
1933–1951
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Birdwood
1938–1951
Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Anzac)
1919–1951
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
1931–1938
Succeeded by

william, birdwood, field, marshal, william, riddell, birdwood, baron, birdwood, gcsi, gcmg, gcvo, september, 1865, 1951, british, army, officer, active, service, second, boer, staff, lord, kitchener, action, again, first, world, commander, australian, zealand,. Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood 1st Baron Birdwood GCB GCSI GCMG GCVO CIE DSO 13 September 1865 17 May 1951 was a British Army officer He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of 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 on the Western Front during the closing stages of the war He went on to be general officer commanding the Northern Army in India in 1920 and Commander in Chief India in 1925 Field Marshal The Right HonourableThe Lord BirdwoodGeneral Sir W R Birdwood by Elliott amp FryNickname s BirdyBorn 1865 09 13 13 September 1865Kirkee Bombay Presidency British IndiaDied17 May 1951 1951 05 17 aged 85 Hampton Court Palace EnglandAllegianceUnited KingdomService wbr branchBritish Indian ArmyYears of service1883 1930RankField MarshalCommands heldCommander in Chief IndiaNorthern Command IndiaFifth ArmyAustralian CorpsI ANZAC CorpsII ANZAC CorpsAustralian Imperial ForceAustralian and New Zealand Army CorpsKohat BrigadeBattles warsNorth West Frontier Tirah Campaign Second Boer War First World War Gallipoli Campaign Western FrontAwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the BathKnight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of IndiaKnight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderCompanion of the Order of the Indian EmpireDistinguished Service OrderCroix de Guerre France Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown Belgium Croix de Guerre Belgium Distinguished Service Medal United States Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword Portugal Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun Japan Member of the House of LordsLord TemporalIn office 25 January 1938 17 May 1951Hereditary PeerageSucceeded byChristopher Birdwood 2nd Baron Birdwood Contents 1 Early life 2 Military career 2 1 Gallipoli 2 2 Western Front 3 After the war 4 Honours and awards 4 1 British 4 2 Foreign 5 Family 6 Legacy 7 Coat of arms 8 References 9 Sources 10 External linksEarly life editWilliam Riddell Birdwood was born on 13 September 1865 in Kirkee India 1 His father Herbert Mills Birdwood born in Bombay and educated in the UK had returned to India in 1859 after passing the Indian Civil Service examination 2 In 1861 Herbert Birdwood married Edith Marion Sidonie the eldest daughter of Surgeon Major Elijah George Halhed Impey of the Bombay Horse Artillery and postmaster general of the Bombay Presidency 2 They had five sons and a daughter William was their second son At the time of William s birth his father held positions in the Bombay legislative council and went on to become a Bombay high court judge 2 William Birdwood was educated at Clifton College 3 4 Military career editAfter securing a militia commission in the 4th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1883 5 Birdwood trained at the Royal Military College Sandhurst from which he was commissioned early owing to the Russian war scare of 1885 becoming a lieutenant in the 12th Prince of Wales s Royal Lancers on 9 May 1885 6 He joined his regiment in India and then transferred from the 12th Royal Lancers 7 to the Bengal Staff Corps on 20 December 1886 8 He subsequently transferred to the 11th Bengal Lancers in 1887 seeing action on the North West Frontier in 1891 He later became adjutant of the Viceroy s Bodyguard in 1893 5 He was promoted to captain on 9 May 1896 9 and saw action during the Tirah Campaign in 1897 5 Birdwood served in the Second Boer War initially as brigade major with a mounted brigade in Natal from 10 January 1900 and then as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of Lord Kitchener from 15 October 1900 10 Promoted to brevet major on 20 November 1901 11 and local lieutenant colonel in October 1901 12 13 he became military secretary to Lord Kitchener on 5 June 1902 14 and followed him on his return to the United Kingdom on board the SS Orotava 15 which arrived in Southampton on 12 July 1902 16 He received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel in the South African Honours list published on 26 June 1902 17 In a despatch from June 1902 Lord Kitchener wrote the following about his work in South Africa This young officer has held a difficult position as Assistant Adjutant General Mounted Troops and responsible adviser as to the distribution of remounts In carrying out these duties he has proved himself to possess exceptional ability and he has shown moreover remarkable tact in dealing with and conciliating the various interests which he had to take into consideration 18 When Kitchener went to India as commander in chief in November 1902 Birdwood joined him there as assistant military secretary and interpreter 19 13 He was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 9 May 1903 20 and appointed Military Secretary to Lord Kitchener with the rank of full colonel on 26 June 1905 21 Having been appointed an aide de camp to the King on 14 February 1906 22 he was given command of the Kohat Brigade on the North West Frontier in 1908 23 and promoted to temporary brigadier general on 28 June 1909 24 Promoted to the rank of major general on 3 October 1911 25 Birdwood became quartermaster general in India and a member of the Viceroy s Legislative Council in 1912 and then Secretary of the Indian Army Department in 1913 13 Gallipoli edit nbsp Anzac Cove looking towards Ari Burnu 1915 In November 1914 Birdwood was instructed by Kitchener to form an army corps from the Australian and New Zealand troops that were training in Egypt 13 He was promoted to temporary lieutenant general on 12 December 1914 26 and given command of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps 13 Kitchener instructed General Sir Ian Hamilton Commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to carry out an operation to capture the Gallipoli peninsula and placed Birdwood s ANZAC Corps under Hamilton s command 4 Hamilton ordered Birdwood to carry out a landing on 25 April 1915 north of Kabatepe at a site now known as ANZAC Cove 13 The ANZAC Corps encountered high ridges narrow gullies dense scrub and strong Turkish resistance and became pinned down 4 Major General William Bridges and Major General Alexander Godley the divisional commanders were both of the view that the Allied forces dealing with stiffer than expected resistance should be evacuated ahead of an expected attack by Turkish forces 27 Nevertheless Hamilton ordered them to hold fast 28 nbsp W R Birdwood nbsp General Birdwood in Shrapnel Gully Gallipoli sometime in 1915 MS10484 PHO1 State Library Victoria Australia Birdwood took effective command of the Australian Imperial Force i e all Australian Forces in May 1915 while still commanding Allied troops on the ground at Gallipoli 4 He launched a major attack on the Turks in August 1915 the Battle of Sari Bair but still failed to dislodge them from the peninsula 4 Notwithstanding this he was the only corps commander opposed to abandoning Gallipoli 13 He was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant general on 28 October 1915 29 and given command of the newly formed Dardanelles Army the one outstanding success of the campaign was the evacuation led by Birdwood which took place in December 1915 and January 1916 when the entire force was withdrawn before any Turkish reaction 13 Western Front edit nbsp Sir Douglas Haig with his army commanders and their chiefs of staff November 1918 Front row left to right Sir Herbert Plumer Sir Douglas Haig Sir Henry Rawlinson Middle row left to right Sir Julian Byng Sir William Birdwood Sir Henry Horne Back row left to right Sir Herbert Lawrence Sir Charles Kavanagh Brudenell White Percy Louis Vaughan Archibald Montgomery Massingberd Hastings Anderson In February 1916 the Australian and New Zealand contingents back in Egypt underwent reorganisation to incorporate the new units and reinforcements that had accumulated during 1915 the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was replaced by two corps I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps and Birdwood reverted to the command of II ANZAC Corps When I ANZAC Corps became the first to depart for France Birdwood as senior corps commander took over command 13 During early 1916 Birdwood advocated for the formation of an Australian and New Zealand Army or a Dominion Army also including Canadian forces under his command but this did not occur 30 31 Birdwood was promoted to the permanent rank of full general on 23 October 1917 32 33 with command of a formation then known as the Australian Corps in November 1917 13 He was also appointed aide de camp general to the King on 2 November 1917 34 and given command of the British Fifth Army on 31 May 1918 and led the Army at the liberation of Lille in October 1918 35 and at the liberation of Tournai in November 1918 13 36 After the war editBirdwood was made a Baronet of Anzac and of Totnes in the County of Devon on 29 December 1919 37 He toured Australia to great acclaim in 1920 and then became general officer commanding the Northern Army in India later that year 38 He was promoted to field marshal with the corresponding honorary rank in the Australian Military Forces on 20 March 1925 39 40 and having been appointed a Member of the Executive Council of the Governor General of India in July 1925 41 he went on to be Commander in Chief India in August 1925 38 After leaving the service in 1930 Birdwood made a bid to become Governor General of Australia He had the backing of the King and the British government However the Australian Prime Minister James Scullin insisted that his Australian nominee Sir Isaac Isaacs be appointed 4 Instead Birdwood was appointed Master of Peterhouse Cambridge on 20 April 1931 42 and Captain of Deal Castle in 1934 43 44 In 1935 he wrote for the Western Australian distance education magazine Our Rural Magazine saying that he had two granddaughters making good use of distance educational courses 45 In May 1936 he returned to Gallipoli aboard RMS Lancastria and visited war memorials on the peninsula 46 47 He retired from academic work in 1938 38 In retirement Birdwood was Colonel of the 12th Royal Lancers 1920 1951 48 the 6th Gurkha Rifles 1926 1951 49 and the 75th Home Counties Cinque Ports Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery 1939 1951 50 In January 1936 he attended the funeral of King George V 51 and in May 1937 he was present for the coronation of King George VI 52 He was raised to the peerage as Baron Birdwood of Anzac and of Totnes in the County of Devon on 25 January 1938 in recognition of his wartime service 53 54 His autobiography Khaki and Gown 1941 was followed by In my time recollections and anecdotes 1946 1 Lord Birdwood died at Hampton Court Palace where he lived in grace and favour apartments on 17 May 1951 He was buried at Twickenham Cemetery with full military honours 4 the Australian Government pays for the upkeep of his grave 55 Honours and awards edit nbsp Grave of William Birdwood and family in Twickenham Cemetery British edit Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath GCB 1 January 1923 56 KCB 4 June 1917 57 CB 19 June 1911 58 Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India GCSI 1 January 1930 59 KCSI 1 January 1915 60 CSI 1 January 1910 61 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George GCMG 1 January 1919 62 KCMG 3 June 1915 63 Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order GCVO 11 May 1937 64 Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire CIE 1 January 1908 65 Companion of the Distinguished Service Order DSO 14 August 1908 66 Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of St John KStJ 21 June 1927 67 Foreign edit Croix de Guerre France 22 February 1916 and 11 March 1919 with Palm 68 Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown Belgium 2 November 1916 69 Croix de Guerre Belgium 11 March 1918 70 Distinguished Service Medal United States 12 July 1919 71 Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword Portugal 21 August 1919 72 Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun Japan 21 January 1921 73 Family editIn 1893 Birdwood married Janetta Bromhead daughter of Sir Benjamin Bromhead they had a son and two daughters 5 His wife died in 1947 1 Their son Christopher Birdwood 1899 1962 succeeded him as 2nd Baron Birdwood The elder daughter was Constance Nancy Birdwood 74 and the younger daughter was Judith Birdwood Other members of the Birdwood family include Labour minister and peer Christopher Birdwood Thomson 1875 1930 Anglo Indian naturalist Sir George Birdwood 1832 1917 and Jane Birdwood 1913 2000 the second wife of William Birdwood s son 75 Legacy editThe town of Blumberg South Australia changed its German name to Birdwood in 1918 76 and the soldier settlement of Birdwoodton Victoria was named after Birdwood in 1920 77 Mount Birdwood in Alberta Canada also bears his name 78 Birdwood House in Geraldton Western Australia which was built in 1935 for the Geraldton RSL and named after Birdwood has served as the centre of ANZAC Day commemorations in Geraldton since 1936 William Birdwood visited Birdwood House in Geraldton 1937 where he was presented with a gold key and Freedom of Birdwood House 79 80 Birdwood House became Heritage Registered in 2016 81 82 Many streets and public spaces in Australia and New Zealand are named or commonly believed to be named after Birdwood including Birdwood Park in Newcastle West in 1920 83 and a street in New Lambton in 1919 83 Coat of arms editCoat of arms of William Birdwood nbsp Notes Coat of arms of the Birdwood family Coronet A coronet of a Baron Crest Out of a Mural Crown Gules a Martlet Argent between two Branches of Laurel proper Escutcheon Azure five Martlets two two and one within an Inescutcheon voided a representation of the Southern Cross all Argent Supporters Dexter a Sergeant of the XIIth Prince of Wales s Royal Lancers mounted on a Bay Horse Sinister a Sikh Daffadar of the XIth Prince of Wales s Own Bengal Lancers mounted on a Chestnut Horse both habited and accoutred proper Motto In Bello Quies Calm in action References edit a b c James Robert Rhodes 2009 2004 Birdwood William Riddell Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 31898 Subscription or UK public library membership required a b c Brown F H Stearn Roger T 2012 2004 Birdwood Herbert Mills Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 31897 Subscription or UK public library membership required Clifton College Register Muirhead J A O p70 Bristol J W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society April 1948 Bristol a b c d e f g Birdwood William Riddell Baron Birdwood 1865 1951 William Birdwood Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University Retrieved 27 May 2013 a b c d Heathcote p 43 No 25468 The London Gazette 8 May 1885 p 2105 No 25688 The London Gazette 1 April 1887 p 1915 No 25812 The London Gazette 1 May 1888 p 2469 No 26768 The London Gazette 14 August 1896 p 4632 No 27382 The London Gazette 3 December 1901 p 8563 No 27359 The London Gazette 27 September 1901 p 6325 No 27383 The London Gazette 6 December 1901 p 8643 a b c d e f g h i j k Heathcote p 44 No 27460 The London Gazette 1 August 1902 p 4969 The Army in South Africa Troops returning home The Times No 36804 London 26 June 1902 p 10 Lord Kitchener s return The Times No 36819 London 14 July 1902 p 6 No 27448 The London Gazette Supplement 26 June 1902 pp 4191 4194 No 27459 The London Gazette 29 July 1902 pp 4835 4836 Naval amp Military intelligence Lord Kitchener s staff The Times No 36857 London 27 August 1902 p 4 No 27578 The London Gazette 21 July 1903 p 4592 No 27851 The London Gazette Supplement 7 November 1905 p 7425 No 27885 The London Gazette 13 February 1906 p 1054 Tucker Roberts p 388 No 28288 The London Gazette 14 September 1909 p 6874 No 28580 The London Gazette 13 February 1912 p 1066 No 29115 The London Gazette Supplement 29 March 1915 p 3099 Bean 1981 pp 456 457 Bean 1981 pp 460 461 No 29341 The London Gazette Supplement 27 October 1915 p 10615 Beckett amp Corvi 2006 p 38 Grey 2001 p 46 No 30376 The London Gazette Supplement 12 November 1917 p 11661 Beckett amp Corvi 2006 p 34 No 30365 The London Gazette 2 November 1917 p 11361 Beckett amp Corvi 2006 p 51 Beckett amp Corvi 2006 p 52 No 31708 The London Gazette 30 December 1919 p 15988 a b c Heathcote p 45 No 33031 The London Gazette 20 March 1925 p 1954 Australian Military Forces Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 14 January 1926 Retrieved 14 March 2019 No 33069 The London Gazette 24 July 1925 p 4957 The colleges and halls Peterhouse British History Online Retrieved 27 May 2013 No 34140 The London Gazette 8 March 1935 p 1631 Captains of Deal Castle East Kent freeuk Retrieved 10 January 2017 Our rural magazine The West Australian Perth WA 1879 1954 18 October 1934 p 14 Retrieved 27 May 2013 Gallipoli Pilgrimage The West Australian 27 May 1936 Retrieved 15 November 2020 Personalities PDF The Listening Post 15 June 1936 p 12 Retrieved 15 November 2020 No 31889 The London Gazette Supplement 4 May 1920 p 5218 No 33141 The London Gazette 12 March 1926 p 1834 Army List May 1939 No 34279 The London Gazette Supplement 29 April 1936 p 2770 No 34453 The London Gazette Supplement 10 November 1937 p 7081 No 34477 The London Gazette 28 January 1938 p 578 No 34469 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1938 p 1 Miranda Charles 11 April 2015 Brit revered by Diggers The Courier Mail p 54 No 13881 The Edinburgh Gazette 5 January 1923 p 18 No 30111 The London Gazette Supplement 4 June 1917 p 5454 No 28505 The London Gazette Supplement 19 June 1911 p 4590 No 14615 The Edinburgh Gazette 7 January 1930 p 16 No 29024 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1915 p 2 No 28324 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1910 p 1 No 31092 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1919 p 3 No 29202 The London Gazette Supplement 23 June 1915 p 6113 No 34396 The London Gazette Supplement 11 May 1937 p 3084 No 28095 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1908 p 2 No 28168 The London Gazette Supplement 14 August 1908 p 6066 No 14351 The Edinburgh Gazette 28 June 1927 p 741 No 31222 The London Gazette Supplement 11 March 1919 p 3281 No 13052 The Edinburgh Gazette 16 February 1917 p 367 No 30568 The London Gazette Supplement 11 March 1918 p 3095 No 31451 The London Gazette Supplement 12 July 1919 p 8937 No 31514 The London Gazette Supplement 21 August 1919 p 10614 No 13673 The Edinburgh Gazette 25 January 1921 p 138 Schmidt Nicholas 14 February 2011 For Valentine s Day The airman who married the general s daughter Australian War Memorial Retrieved 4 January 2014 The Dowager Lady Birdwood The Telegraph 29 June 2000 Retrieved 4 January 2014 Place Names of South Australia B Blumberg www slsa sa gov au State Library of South Australia Archived from the original on 2 October 2020 Birdwoodton and Cabarita www victorianplaces com au Monash University and the University of Queensland 2015 Archived from the original on 28 October 2020 Place names of Alberta Ottawa Geographic Board of Canada 1928 p 20 Geraldton City RSL Sub Branch Geraldton City RSL Sub Branch Archived from the original on 24 March 2023 Retrieved 24 April 2023 WA State Heritage Register supporting document Iconic RSL building Birdwood House is latest addition to WA heritage register ABC 9 September 2016 Retrieved 24 April 2023 State Heritage Office Birdwood House Geraldton Retrieved 24 April 2023 a b Wetherall Lachlan Birdwood Park A bit of this a bit of that Retrieved 28 October 2020 Sources editBean C E W 1921 Official History of Australia in the War of 1914 1918 Angus amp Robertson ASIN B00144LQWM Beckett Ian F W Corvi Steven J 2006 Haig s Generals Barnsley Pen amp Sword Military ISBN 978 1 84415 169 1 Farrimond Richmond 2023 Birdie Field Marshal Lord Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes 1865 1951 Warwick UK Helion ISBN 978 1 804512 36 4 Grey Jeffrey 2001 The Australian Army The Australian Centenary History of Defence Vol I Melbourne Victoria Oxford University Press ISBN 0195541146 Heathcote Tony 1999 The British Field Marshals 1736 1997 Barnsley UK Pen amp Sword ISBN 0 85052 696 5 Neillands Robin 1999 The Great War Generals on the Western Front 1914 1918 Robinson ISBN 1 84119 063 2 Tucker Spencer Roberts Priscilla Mary 2005 The Encyclopedia of World War I A Political Social and Military History ABC CLIO Ltd ISBN 978 1851094202 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Birdwood A J Hill Birdwood William Riddell Baron Birdwood 1865 1951 Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 7 Melbourne University Press 1979 pp 293 296 Birdwood s introduction to The New Zealanders at Gallipoli Birdwood s AIF service record available in the Australian National Archives as a digital image Birdwood presenting medals during the First World War British Pathe Bust of Birdwood by Barbara Tribe Australian National Portrait Gallery In the thick of it article on Birdwood and items relating to him at the Australian National Portrait Gallery Collection of photographs and artworks of Birdwood UK National Portrait Gallery Collection of photographs of Lady Birdwood also includes photographs of their younger daughter Judith UK National Portrait Gallery Military offices Preceded bySir William Bridges General Officer Commanding Australian Imperial ForceMay 1915 November 1919 Succeeded byCarl Jess Preceded byNew Command General Officer Commanding Australian and New Zealand Army CorpsDecember 1914 February 1916 Succeeded bySplit I Anzac Corps Alexander Godley II Anzac Corps Birdwood Preceded byNew command Part of Anzac Corps General Officer Commanding II ANZAC CorpsFebruary March 1916 Succeeded byAlexander Godley Preceded byGeneral Alexander Godley General Officer Commanding I ANZAC CorpsMarch 1916 May 1918 Succeeded byJohn Monash Preceded byWilliam Peyton General Officer Commanding British Fifth ArmyMay November 1918 Succeeded byPost disbanded Preceded bySir Arthur Barrett GOC in C Northern Command India1920 1924 Succeeded bySir Claud Jacob Honorary titles Preceded byWalter Howorth Greenly Colonel of the 12th Royal Lancers1920 1951 Succeeded bySir Richard McCreery Military offices Preceded bySir Claude William Jacob Commander in Chief India1925 1930 Succeeded byThe Lord Chetwode Honorary titles Preceded bySir William Robertson Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards1933 1951 Succeeded bySir Richard Howard Vyse Peerage of the United Kingdom New creation Baron Birdwood1938 1951 Succeeded byChristopher Birdwood Baronetage of the United Kingdom New creation Baronet of Anzac 1919 1951 Succeeded byChristopher Birdwood Academic offices Preceded byRobert Chalmers Master of Peterhouse Cambridge1931 1938 Succeeded byHarold Temperley Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Birdwood amp oldid 1220809615, wikipedia, wiki, book, 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