Edwin Bramall

Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall, Baron Bramall, KG, GCB, OBE, MC, JP, DL (born 18 December 1923) is a retired senior 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 the British Armed Forces, from 1982 to 1985. He developed the concept of the "Fifth Pillar" pulling together the activities of defence attachés to form a structure for intervention in smaller countries.

Early life and family

Bramall was born on 18 December 1923 in Tonbridge, Kent, England. He was born the son of Edmund Haselden Bramall and Katherine Bridget Bramall (née Westby) and was educated at Eton College. In 1949 he married Dorothy Avril Wentworth Vernon; they had one son and one daughter. His older brother Ashley Bramall was a barrister, Labour politician and Leader of the Inner London Education Authority.

Military career

Bramall was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 22 May 1943. He took part in the Normandy landings in 1944 and served with his regiment in Northwest Europe during the later stages of World War II, receiving the Military Cross on 1 March 1945.