William Birdwood

The Lord Birdwood
General Sir William Birdwood by Elliott & Fry
Nickname(s)Birdy/Birdie
Born(1865-09-13)13 September 1865
Kirkee, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died17 May 1951(1951-05-17) (aged 85)
Hampton Court Palace, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Indian Army
Years of service1883–1930
RankField Marshal
CommandsCommander-in-Chief, India
Northern Command, India
Fifth Army
Australian Corps
I ANZAC Corps
II ANZAC Corps
Australian Imperial Force
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
Kohat Brigade
Battles / wars
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Croix de Guerre (France)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Croix de Guerre (Belgium)
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword (Portugal)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
25 January 1938 – 17 May 1951
Hereditary Peerage
Succeeded byChristopher Birdwood, 2nd Baron Birdwood

Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, CIE, DSO, (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 as commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915, leading the landings on the peninsula and then the evacuation later in the year, before becoming commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army on the Western Front during the closing stages of the war. He went on to be general officer commanding the Northern Army in India in 1920 and Commander-in-Chief, India, in 1925.