Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Archibald Bentley Beauman

CBE 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 ...

DSO and Bar (30 November 1888 – 22 March 1977) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, who at the start of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, raised and commanded an improvised force of second-line troops called the

Beauman Division The Beauman Division was an improvised formation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the Second World War, which fought in France against the German 4th Army in June 1940, during (Case Red), the final German offensive of the Batt ...

, in an attempt to stem the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Blitzkrieg during the Battle of France.

Early life and First World War

Beauman was born in the

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

area of London on 30 November 1888, the son of Bentley Martin Beauman (or Baumann), a stockbrokers agent and his wife Estelle (née Beddington). His younger brother was Eric Bentley Beauman (1891–1989), 1891 Census of Paddington, RG12/15, Folio 159, Page 29, Archibald B. Baumann, aged 2, 9 Cleveland Gardens, Paddington, London. a Royal Naval Air Service pilot and mountaineer. Educated at

Windlesham House School Windlesham House School is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4 to 13 on the South Downs, in Pulborough, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1837 by Charles Robert Malden and was the first boys' preparatory schoo ...

, Malvern College and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, Beauman was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 2nd Battalion,

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

in 1908. Having served in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Beauman's battalion was amongst the first units of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) which went to France in August 1914: the "Old Contemptibles". After being invalided home in November 1914, he returned to the front in January 1915 when he served as Staff Captain, Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quarter Master General, and then acting lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshires. In May 1918, he took command of the 69th Brigade on the Italian Front. He was made a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) for an action during the

Battle of Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

on 16 May 1915, when he commanded the leading company of his battalion in an assault on enemy trenches; after reaching the line allotted to his battalion, his company held the position for three days under intense artillery fire. Beauman received a Bar to his DSO in November 1917, for an action in which he re-deployed his own battalion to support another on his right which was "in difficulties" during an enemy attack. The citation states that he "proved himself to be a leader of exceptional capability". He was also mentioned in despatches six times and was awarded two

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

medals.

Between the wars

Remaining in the army after the war, Beauman served at the Staff College, Camberley, initially as a student and then as a General Staff Officer (GSO) in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, as Chief Instructor at the

Royal Military Academy Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Si ...

, and commanded the

1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

. Following a spell as the Chief Instructor in the Small Arms School Corps at Netheravon, he took command of the 15th Infantry Brigade which was deployed to suppress the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine; Beauman was made a

Commander 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 ...

for his services there in 1937. In 1938, Beauman became an aide-de-camp (ADC) to King George VI and following his retirement in October of that year, was made an Honorary

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Second World War

On the outbreak of the

, Beauman returned to active service and was appointed Commanding Officer Northern Area with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France, with the rank of (acting) brigadier. Based at Rouen, the main role of his command was managing

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

within the Lines of Communication area. This area was divided from the "forward area" by the River Somme but included a coastal strip up to Dunkirk. (Chapter 8 and pp. 123–124) With the start of the German offensive in May 1940, Beauman was ordered by Major-General de Fonblanque, the General Officer Commanding Lines of Communication Troops, to strengthen his local defences. He formed a small mobile force, known as "Beauforce", consisting of four

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s that had been intended to defend communications and undertake

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

work. On 27 May, Beauman was promoted to (temporary)

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and ordered to form a new division from "Beauforce" and a similar formation called "Vicforce", together with a third unit called "Digforce" which was composed of infantry reservists that were serving with the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. The new formation was called the "

"; this was the only example of a British division being named after its commander since the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. Although supported only by a few field guns that had been under repair in base depots, some of them lacking sights, the division was ordered to defend a 55-mile (89 km) line defined by the small rivers Andelle and

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

Upper Normandy Upper Normandy (french: Haute-Normandie, ; nrf, Ĥâote-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. History It was created in 1956 from two d ...

. On 8 June, the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 7th Panzer Divisions attacked towards Rouen. Despite desperate fighting, the line was penetrated first at

Forges-les-Eaux Forges-les-Eaux () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Le Fossé was merged into Forges-les-Eaux. Geography A farming and spa town, with considerable ...

and then in many other places, so that by that night, Beauman Division had been forced to withdraw across the Seine. The division was eventually evacuated from Cherbourg on 17 June, during

Operation Aerial Operation Aerial was the evacuation of Allied forces and civilians from ports in western France from 15 to 25 June 1940 during the Second World War. The evacuation followed the Allied military collapse in the Battle of France against Nazi Germ ...

. On arrival in England, the division was dispersed; an entry in the London Gazette for 16 August 1940 says: ''"Colonel A B Beauman, CBE, DSO, relinquishes the acting rank of Major-General on ceasing to command a Division – 21st July 1940."'' He was mentioned in despatches for his services. In 1941, he was appointed Commanding Officer of

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10 ...

and in 1943 became the District Officer Commanding

North Riding The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

District, before finally resuming his retirement in October 1944.

Family life

Archibald Beauman married Eva Dorothy Dunn in 1928. They had a daughter and a son, Donald Beauman, a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

driver who was killed on 9 July 1955 at the Leinster Trophy race at

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...

, Ireland, when his Connaught A-type car crashed. Eva died in 1949 and he married Barbara Arnold in 1952. In retirement, Beauman pursued his interest in horse racing, becoming Vice-Chairman of the Racehorse Owners' Association in 1959.

Bibliography

* ''With the 38th in France and Italy: Being a Record of the Doings of the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, from 26th September, 1916, to 26th May, 1918'', F H Bull & E Wiseman, 1919. * ''Common Mistakes in the Solution of Tactical Problems and how to Avoid Them: Hints to Officers Studying for the Staff College and Promotion Examinations'', Hugh Rees Limited, London, 1925. * ''A Short Outline Of Modern Tactics'', Hugh Rees Limited, London, 1939. * ''Then a Soldier'' (autobiography), P R Macmillan, 1960.

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauman, Archibald 1888 births 1977 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I British Army brigadiers of World War II British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley People educated at Malvern College People from Paddington Military personnel from London Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the War Cross for Military Valor South Staffordshire Regiment officers York and Lancaster Regiment officers People educated at Windlesham House School Academics of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich