Edwin Bramall, Baron Bramall

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The Lord Bramall
18 December 1923 -
Lord Bramall in the robes of a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1942-1985
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	2nd Royal Green Jackets 5th (Airportable) Infantry Brigade UK Land Forces
Battles/wars	Malaysia World War II
Awards	KG, GCB, OBE, MC

Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall, Baron Bramall, KG, GCB, OBE, MC, JP (born 18 December 1923) is a British Army officer who 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 the British Armed Forces, from 1982 to 1985.

Contents 1 Family 2 Army career 3 Later career 3.1 Life Peer 4 References 5 Further reading

[edit] Family

Bramall is known within his family and to his friends as Dwin. His older brother Ashley Bramall became a barrister, Labour politician and Leader of the Inner London Education Authority, but Bramall decided on a military career early in life.

[edit] Army career

After attending Eton College he was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1943^[1]. He served in Northwest Europe during the later stages of World War II, receiving the Military Cross for valour in 1945. For two years after the war's end, he served in the occupation of Japan, then served as a peacetime instructor at the School of Infantry. From 1953 to 1958, he was stationed in the Middle East^[2].

Continuing his military career, he served two years as an instructor at the Army Staff College, then in 1963 was appointed to serve on Lord Mountbatten's staff.^[2]

In 1965 he was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Royal Green Jackets which was deployed to Malaysia during the confrontation with Indonesia^[2] and in 1967 he was given command of 5th (Airportable) Infantry Brigade.^[2]

He was quickly promoted throughout the 1970s, reaching the rank of lieutenant-general in 1973 and full General in 1976. He served as Commander-in-Chief, UK Land Forces from 1976 to 1978, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff from 1978 to 1979, and as Chief of the General Staff from 1979 to 1982. He was promoted to Field Marshal and appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in 1982, serving in that position for three years. Retirement from this post marked the end of his active military career^[3].

[edit] Later career

After his retirement Bramall served as Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London from 1986 to 1998. He was created Baron Bramall, of Bushfield in the County of Hampshire, in 1987, then further invested as a Knight of the Garter (the United Kingdom's highest order of chivalry) in 1990.

[edit] Life Peer

As a Life Peer, he 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'.^[4]

On the 27th August 2006, the Mail on Sunday reported that Bramall hit Lord Janner, 78, a veteran campaigner for Holocaust victims and a senior member of Britain's Jewish community, after making what witnesses claim were a series of 'anti-Israel' comments during an argument over the Lebanon conflict. The newspaper reported that the incident took place in one of the rooms close to the debating chamber and the peers who witnessed the incident were extremely shocked by Bramall's behavior. The newspaper reported that Bramall later apologised by phone to Lord Janner who accepted his apology. No action was taken by the Lords authorities and Lord Janner has made no complaint.^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Tillotson, Michael (2006), The Fifth Pillar: the life and philosophy of the Lord Bramall K.G., Sutton Publishing, ISBN 0-7509-4239-8
• Heathcote, T.A. (1999), The British Field Marshals 1736-1997, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, ISBN 0-85052-696-5

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Roland Gibbs	Chief of the General Staff 1979–1982	Succeeded by Sir John Stanier
Preceded by Sir Terence Lewin	Chief of the Defence Staff 1982–1985	Succeeded by Sir John Fieldhouse
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Baroness Phillips	Lord Lieutenant of Greater London 1986–1998	Succeeded by Peter Imbert

v • d • e Chiefs of the General Staff of the British Army Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff Sir William Nicholson • Sir John French • Sir Charles Douglas • Sir James Murray • Sir Archibald Murray • Sir William Robertson • Sir Henry Wilson • Lord Cavan • Sir George Milne • Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd • Sir Cyril Deverell • Viscount Gort • Sir Edmund Ironside • Sir John Dill • Sir Alan Brooke • Viscount Montgomery • Sir William Slim • Sir John Harding • Sir Gerald Templer • Sir Francis Festing • Sir Richard Hull Chiefs of the General Staff Sir Richard Hull • Sir James Cassels • Sir Geoffrey Baker • Sir Michael Carver • Sir Peter Hunt • Sir Roland Gibbs • Sir Edwin Bramall • Sir John Stanier • Sir Nigel Bagnall • Sir John Chapple • Sir Peter Inge • Sir Charles Guthrie • Sir Roger Wheeler • Sir Michael Walker • Sir Mike Jackson • Sir Richard Dannatt

Persondata
NAME	Bramall, Edwin Noel Westby, Baron Bramall
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bramall, Lord
SHORT DESCRIPTION	British Field Marshall, Chief of General Staff, Chief of Defence Staff
DATE OF BIRTH	18 December 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH