Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Bertram Stuart Trevelyan Archer, (3 February 1915 – 2 May 2015), known as Stuart Archer, was a recipient of the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

, the highest British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

award for gallantry not in the face of the enemy. On 3 February 2015 Archer became the first recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

or the George Cross to reach 100 years of age.

Early life

Before joining the army, Archer was a qualified architect with the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, receiving his certification at the youngest possible age of 21. In July 1936, he started work in

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

with a firm in which he eventually became a partner and remained with for all of his working life. Upon joining the army, he first served with the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

as an enlisted soldier before joining the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, who carried out bomb disposal work in the United Kingdom. He received an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 30 March 1940, and carried out bomb disposal work from that June. He had dealt with 200 bombs prior to the awarding of the George Cross, and provided the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

with five different fuses as well as the Zus anti-handling devices.

Award of George Cross and citation

He was awarded the medal on 30 September 1941. The award was for extensive work on defusing German bombs dropped on the United Kingdom during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The original announcement of the award read simply: The full citation is: Archer's exploits, including the circumstances of the awarding of the GC, are detailed at length in ''Danger UXB'', a history of wartime bomb disposal by James Owen.

Subsequent career and later life

At the end of the war, Archer was a lieutenant with the war-substantive rank of captain. On 10 March 1951, he was appointed to a regular commission as a captain in the emergency reserves (seniority from 19 May 1946). He was promoted to major on 30 November 1951 and to lieutenant-colonel on 7 February 1955. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 1961 Birthday Honours. He was promoted lieutenant colonel in the regular army reserve on 1 August. On 28 October 1963 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the bomb disposal regiments of the Royal Engineers. He relinquished his appointment as honorary colonel on 31 March 1967. Archer served as Chairman of

the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association is made up of holders of the Victoria Cross (VC), Britain's highest military award for bravery in the field, and the George Cross (GC), the equivalent award for civilians and military personnel who ...

from 1994 to 2006, and represented the association at the funeral of the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

in 2002. He died on 2 May 2015, three months after his 100th birthday. He was elected a Fellow of the

in 1970.

References

External links

Royal Engineers website: ''History of Bomb Disposal''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Betram Stuart Trevelyan 1915 births 2015 deaths British colonels Architects from London Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects British centenarians Men centenarians British recipients of the George Cross Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War II Honourable Artillery Company officers Bomb disposal personnel People from Hampstead Military personnel from London

Early life

Award of George Cross and citation

Subsequent career and later life

See also

References

Further reading

External links