Edward Vivian Dearman Birchall (10 August 1884 – 10 August 1916), was an English

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

who died of wounds at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. He left a legacy of £1000 for the promotion of voluntary services. The money was used to help create, in 1919, the National Council of Social Services. It later became the

National Council for Voluntary Organisations The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no 225922). NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an ...

, an umbrella body for charities in England.

Early life and education

He was born on 10 August 1884 at Bowden Hall,Bowden Hall was purchased by Birchall's father in 1868 and is now a hotel.

Upton St Leonards,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, the third, and youngest, son of Dearman and Emily Jowitt Birchall. Birchall attended school in

Sunningdale, Berkshire Sunningdale is a large village with a retail area and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England. It has a railway station on the (London) Waterloo to Reading ...

, from 1893 to 1898 and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

from 1898 to 1903. He graduated from

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with a BA in 1908.

Military service

Birchall was a captain in the 1/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion. He died on 10 August 1916 and is buried in France, at

Étaples Military Cemetery Étaples Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Étaples, near Boulogne on the north-west coast of France. The cemetery holds over 11,500 dead from both World War I and World War II. History Étaples was the sce ...

near

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birchall, Edward Vivian 1884 births 1916 deaths 19th-century British philanthropists 20th-century British philanthropists Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme Burials at Étaples Military Cemetery English philanthropists Military personnel from Gloucestershire Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers People educated at Eton College People from Stroud District