General Sir James Frederick Noel Birch, GBE, KCB, KCMG (29 December 1865 – 3 February 1939) was a British Royal Artillery officer during the Second Boer War and the First World War who served as Master-General of the Ordnance from 1923 to 1927. The Birch gun was named after him.
Sir Noel Birch | |
|---|---|
 1917 portrait by Francis Dodd | |
| Birth name | James Frederick Noel Birch |
| Nickname(s) | 'Curly' |
| Born | 29 December 1865 Llanrhaiadr, Denbighshire |
| Died | 3 February 1939 (aged 73) Lambeth, London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1885–1927 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Royal Horse Artillery |
| Commands | Master-General of the Ordnance Territorial Army 7th Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery 30th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George[1] |
Military career
editBirch was the second son of Major Richard Birch and was born at Llanrhaiadr, Denbighshire and educated at Giggleswick School, Marlborough College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. After graduating from the latter, he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery in May 1885.[2]
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 served in Cape Colony the following year. In January 1902 he received the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel when he was given command of the 30th Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry,[3] which left Southampton for South Africa four months later.[4] The battalion arrived in early May, shortly after the conclusion of hostilities, and he left for home again with the battalion in December 1902.[5]
Birch was in command of the Riding Establishment at Woolwich from 1905 to 1907. In 1912 he was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel and commanded the 7th Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery.
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Birch went with his brigade to France in August 1914, serving under the command of Major General Sir Edmund Allenby, in the retreat from Mons and in the First Battle of the Aisne and Ypres-Armentières. In January 1915 he was appointed brigadier-general on the general staff of the Cavalry Corps, and a few months later Commander Royal Artillery of the 7th Division going in the same position in July to the I Corps, then commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig. In May 1916, the month before he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath,[6] Haig brought him to general headquarters as artillery adviser, a post he held until the end of the war. He was promoted to the substantive rank of major general in January 1917[7] and substantive lieutenant-general in January 1919[8] when he was made a colonel commandant of the Royal Artillery.
In 1920, Birch 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 to become a director of Vickers-Armstrong.
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.
Birch died on 3 February 1939 at Kings College Hospital, London aged 73.
Publications
edit- Modern Riding (1909)
- Modern Riding and Horse Education (1912)
References
edit- ^ "No. 13186". The Edinburgh Gazette. 1 January 1918. p. 9.
- ^ "No. 25469". The London Gazette. 12 May 1885. p. 2157.
- ^ "No. 27415". The London Gazette. 11 March 1902. p. 1731.
- ^ "The War – The reinforcements". The Times. No. 36763. London. 9 May 1902. p. 10.
- ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36957. London. 22 December 1902. p. 10.
- ^ "No. 29608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1916. p. 5555.
- ^ "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1916. p. 15.
- ^ "No. 31092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1918. p. 13.