Noel Birch
Encyclopedia
General
Sir James Frederick Noel Birch KCB
KCMG
(29 December 1865 – 4 October 1939) was a British Cavalry
Officer during the Second Boer War
and World War I
and subsequently Master-General of the Ordnance
. The Birch gun
was named after him.
, Denbighshire
and educated at Giggleswick School
, Marlborough College
and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery
in 1885. In 1895 to 1896 he took part in the Ashanti expedition, and in South Africa he served with the Royal Horse Artillery in the Cavalry Division under the command of Sir John French
, taking part in the relief of Kimberley
, the operations in the Orange Free State
and the Transvaal
, and being present at the Battle of Diamond Hill
. He was promoted major in June 1900 and in 1901 was given command of a battalion of Imperial Yeomanry
, which he led in the operations in Cape Colony from December 1901 to the conclusion of hostilities. Birch was in command of the Riding Establishment at Woolwich
from 1905 to 1907. In 1912 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and commanded the 7th brigade, Royal Horse Artillery.
Birch went with his brigade to France in August 1914, serving under the command of Sir Edmund Allenby
, in the retreat from Mons
and in the battle of the Aisne
and Ypres-Armentieres
. In January 1915 he was appointed brigadier-general on the general staff of the Cavalry Corps, and a few months later C.R.A. of the 7th division going in the same position in July to the I Corps, then commanded by Sir Douglas Haig
. In May 1916 Haig brought him to general headquarters as artillery adviser, a post he held until the end of the war. He was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1919 when he was made a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery
.
In 1920, he became director of remounts at the War Office
. In the following year he was appointed director-general of the Territorial Army and the development of cadet corps. In 1923 he became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Horse Artillery, and in the same year he was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance
, a post he held until 1927. He was promoted general in 1926 and retired from the army in the following year in order to become a director of Vickers-Armstrong.
Noel Birch married Florence Hyacynthe Chetwode (1876–1938) the third daughter of Sir George Chetwode and Alice Jane Bass, and sister of Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode
.
General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....
Sir James Frederick Noel Birch KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(29 December 1865 – 4 October 1939) was a British Cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
Officer during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and subsequently Master-General of the Ordnance
Master-General of the Ordnance
The Master-General of the Ordnance was a very senior British military position before 1855, when the Board of Ordnance was abolished.-Responsibilities:...
. The Birch gun
Birch gun
The Birch Gun was the world's first practical self-propelled artillery gun, built at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich in 1925. The gun was never highly regarded by the British High Command, purely for prejudicial beliefs and political pressure rather than any real lack of ability...
was named after him.
Military career
Birch was the second son of Major Richard Birch and was born at LlanrhaiadrLlanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch
Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch is a village and local government community in Denbighshire, Wales. It lies in the Vale of Clwyd near the A525 road between Denbigh and Ruthin...
, Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
and educated at Giggleswick School
Giggleswick School
Giggleswick School is an independent co-educational boarding school in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England.- Early school :...
, Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery
Royal Horse Artillery
The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
in 1885. In 1895 to 1896 he took part in the Ashanti expedition, and in South Africa he served with the Royal Horse Artillery in the Cavalry Division under the command of Sir John French
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres
Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, KP, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG, ADC, PC , known as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a British and Anglo-Irish officer...
, taking part in the relief of Kimberley
Siege of Kimberley
The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony , when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the British enclave when war broke out between the British and the two...
, the operations in the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
and the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, and being present at the Battle of Diamond Hill
Battle of Diamond Hill
The Battle of Diamond Hill took place on 11 and 12 June 1900 during the Second Boer War. Fourteen thousand British soldiers squared up against four thousand Boers and forced them from their positions on the hill....
. He was promoted major in June 1900 and in 1901 was given command of a battalion of Imperial Yeomanry
Imperial Yeomanry
The Imperial Yeomanry was a British volunteer cavalry regiment that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Officially created on 24 December 1899, the regiment was based on members of standing Yeomanry regiments, but also contained a large contingent of mid-upper class English volunteers. In...
, which he led in the operations in Cape Colony from December 1901 to the conclusion of hostilities. Birch was in command of the Riding Establishment at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
from 1905 to 1907. In 1912 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and commanded the 7th brigade, Royal Horse Artillery.
Birch went with his brigade to France in August 1914, serving under the command of Sir Edmund Allenby
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby GCB, GCMG, GCVO was a British soldier and administrator most famous for his role during the First World War, in which he led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the conquest of Palestine and Syria in 1917 and 1918.Allenby, nicknamed...
, in the retreat from Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
and in the battle of the Aisne
Battle of the Aisne
The Battle of the Aisne is the name of three battles fought along the Aisne River in northern France during the First World War.*First Battle of the Aisne - Anglo-French counter-offensive following the First Battle of the Marne....
and Ypres-Armentieres
Armentières
Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys....
. In January 1915 he was appointed brigadier-general on the general staff of the Cavalry Corps, and a few months later C.R.A. of the 7th division going in the same position in July to the I Corps, then commanded by Sir Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
. In May 1916 Haig brought him to general headquarters as artillery adviser, a post he held until the end of the war. He was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1919 when he was made a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
.
In 1920, he became director of remounts at the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
. In the following year he was appointed director-general of the Territorial Army and the development of cadet corps. In 1923 he became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Horse Artillery, and in the same year he was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance
Master-General of the Ordnance
The Master-General of the Ordnance was a very senior British military position before 1855, when the Board of Ordnance was abolished.-Responsibilities:...
, a post he held until 1927. He was promoted general in 1926 and retired from the army in the following year in order to become a director of Vickers-Armstrong.
Noel Birch married Florence Hyacynthe Chetwode (1876–1938) the third daughter of Sir George Chetwode and Alice Jane Bass, and sister of Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode
Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode
Field Marshal Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode, 7th Baronet of Oakley, GCB, OM, GCSI, KCMG, DSO was a British cavalry officer who became Commander in Chief in India.-Early life and education:...
.