{{Infobox noble, type , honorific-prefix =

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

, name = The Lord Birdwood , honorific-suffix = MVO , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reign = 1951–62 , reign-type = , predecessor = William Birdwood , successor = Mark William Ogilvie Birdwood , suc-type = , spouse = * Elizabeth Vere Drummond Ogilvie (married 1931) * Joan Pollack Graham (married 1954) , spouse-type = , issue = 2 , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , titles = , noble family = , house-type = , father = , mother = , birth_name = , birth_date = {{Birth date, 1899, 05, 22, df=y , birth_place =

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, London, England , christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = {{Death date and age, 1962, 01, 05, 1899, 05, 22, df=y , death_place = , burial_date = , burial_place = , religion = , occupation = Hereditary peer, soldier and author , memorials = , website = , module = {{Infobox officeholder , embed = yes , office1 = Member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Lord Temporal The Lords Temporal are secular members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament. These can be either life peers or hereditary peers, although the hereditary right to sit in the House of Lords was abolished for all but ni ...

, term_start1 = 17 May 1951 , term_end1 = 5 January 1962

Hereditary Peerage The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

, predecessor1 =

William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951), was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

, successor1 = Mark Birdwood, 3rd Baron Birdwood {{Use British English, date=March 2016 Christopher Bromhead Birdwood, 2nd Baron Birdwood, MVO (22 May 1899 – 5 January 1962), was a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

, soldier and author.{{cite journal , last1=Fraser-Tytler , first1=W. K. , title=In memoriam , journal=Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society , date=1 April 1962 , volume=49 , issue=2 , pages=116–119 , doi=10.1080/03068376208731770 , url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03068376208731770?journalCode=raaf19 , issn=0035-8789, url-access=subscription

Early life

The son of Field Marshal Lord Birdwood and Janetta Hope Gonville Bromhead (daughter of Sir Benjamin Parnell Bromhead, 4th Baronet, and niece of

Gonville Bromhead Major Gonville Bromhead VC (29 August 1845 – 9 February 1891) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. H ...

, VC), Christopher Birdwood was born and baptised at

, London, England. He was educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, Berkshire.

Military career

{{More citations needed, section, date=January 2023 Birdwood was commissioned as a second lieutenant on to the Unattached List,

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

on 21 December 1917. In France he was Aide-de-Camp to the General Officer Commanding the

Australian Corps The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 1 ...

and 5th Army, his father, from 10 March 1918 to 28 February 1919. For his service he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

.{{citation needed, date=December 2022 He was decorated with the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Aviz (), known previously to 1910 as the Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz (), and before 1789 as the Knights of Saint Benedict of Aviz () or ''Friars of Santa Maria of Évora'', is one of the four former ancien ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

.{{full citation needed, date=December 2022 He arrived in India on 10 April 1919, was appointed to the Indian Army on 15 April 1919 and posted to the 11th King Edward VII's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. As per the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' of 12 September 1919 he was promoted lieutenant, antedated to 22 December 1918, but not until the French Republic conferred the Chevalier de la

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

for helping save La Patrie. That same year, he fought in the Waziristan Campaign between 1919 and 1920. In February 1920, he was promoted Acting Captain while attached to the 2/76th Punjabis, additionally being made Adjutant in July 1920. Birdwood returned to the 11th KEO Lancers by March 1921, by which time they had amalgamated with the 12th Cavalry to form 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse, so named after General Sir Dighton Macnaghten Probyn, VC. He was eventually promoted to captain on 21 December 1921.{{citation needed, date=December 2022 Between 1923 and 1925, he served on the North West Frontier with various units of the Frontier Corps. He was Aide-de-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief at India, his father, between 13 May 1929 and 29 November 1930. He was appointed British Officer in Charge of the King's Indian Orderly Officers in 1932, promoted to major on 21 December 1935. He fought in the Waziristan Campaign again between 1936 and 1937. He was appointed a Squadron Commander in Probyn's Horse 15 January 1938, but was appointed Commandant of the Governors Body Guard, Bombay on 21 March 1938. He was again appointed British Officer in Charge of the King's Indian Orderly Officers in 1939.{{citation needed, date=December 2022 For this service, he was invested as a

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(MVO) in 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he returned with Probyn's Horse in August 1940 and rose to become temporary second in command by April 1942, later he served on the Staff. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 21 December 1943 but was retired due to ill-health on 4 June 1945.{{citation needed, date=December 2022

Personal life

He married, firstly, Elizabeth Vere Drummond Ogilvie, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Sir George Drummond Ogilvie and Lorna Rome, on 7 March 1931 at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, India. The couple had a son and daughter; they divorced in 1954. In the meantime, he had succeeded to his father's titles on 17 May 1951. He married, secondly, Joan Pollack Graham, by then known as Jane, daughter of Christopher Norman Graham, on 22 February 1954. After his death, Lady Birdwood became an activist on the far-right of British politics.{{citation needed, date=December 2022 Christopher Birdwood had a strong interest in humanitarian affairs: after World War 2 he was briefly Head of the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

, and later Chairman of the Hungarian Relief Fund. His concern about the spreading influence of communism during the "cold war" was exhibited in his speeches in the

, in becoming a Director of the Free Czechoslovak Information Service (1954–1961), his involvement in the British Tibet Society, and in numerous articles for the British press.{{citation needed, date=December 2022 His son from his first marriage, Mark William Ogilvie Birdwood (1938–2015), succeeded to the title.{{cite news, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11774268/Lord-Birdwood-obituary.html, title=Lord Birdwood – obituary, work=The Daily Telegraph, date=30 July 2015, accessdate=31 July 2015

Works

* ''The Worcestershire Regiment, 1922–1950'' (Gale & Polden, 1952) * ''A Continent Decides'' (Praeger, 1954) * ''Two Nations and Kashmir'' (Robert Hale, 1956) * ''Nuri as-Said: a study in Arab leadership'' (Cassell, 1959) * ''A Continent Experiments'' (Literary Licensing, 2013). {{ISBN, 1258605570.

Coat of arms

{{Infobox COA wide , image = , image size = , notes =

Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the Birdwood family , coronet = A

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

of a

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

, crest = Out of a Mural Crown Gules a Martlet Argent between two Branches of Laurel proper , escutcheon = Azure five Martlets two two and one within an Inescutcheon voided a representation of the

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

all Argent , supporters=Dexter: a Sergeant of the XIIth (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers mounted on a Bay Horse; Sinister: a Sikh Daffadar of the XIth (Prince of Wales's Own) Bengal Lancers mounted on a Chestnut Horse, both habited and accoutred proper , motto = In Bello Quies (Calm in action)

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

* {{Internet Archive film clip, id=gov.archives.arc.95823, description="Longines Chronoscope with Lord Christopher B. Birdwood" {{S-start {{s-reg, uk {{succession box , title= Baron Birdwood , before=

William Birdwood Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951), was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl ...

, after= Mark Birdwood , years=1951–1962 {{S-end {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Birdwood, Christopher Birdwood, 2nd Baron 1899 births 1962 deaths 2

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Indian Army personnel of World War I Indian Army personnel of World War II Members of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Clifton College British Indian Army officers Writers about the Kashmir conflict