buried in the cathedral there. Berwick had asked that his
body be eventually removed to the Rue Saint Jacques in
Paris, to be buried next to his eldest son, James Francis,
the duke of FitzJames and marquis of Teignmouth, who
had predeceased him in 1721 and was considered by
some to be the heir to the throne of England. Berwick’s
memoirs were published in 1778.
References: Stephens, Henry Morse, “Fitzjames, James,
Duke of Berwick,” in The Dictionary of National Biogra-
phy, 22 vols., 8 supps., edited by Sir Leslie Stephen and
Sir Sidney Lee, et al. (London: Oxford University Press,
1921–22), VII:178–179; Petrie, Sir Charles, The Marshal
Duke of Berwick: The Picture of an Age (London: Eyre &
Spottiswoode, 1953); Berwick, James Fitzjames, duke of
Berwick, Memoirs of the Marshal Duke of Berwick (Lon-
don: T. Cadell, 1779).
Bingham, George Charles See lucan, george
charles bingham, third earl of.
Birdwood, Sir William Riddell, Baron
Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes (1865–1951)
British general
Despite his great defeat at Gallipoli, Sir William Riddel
Birdwood was perhaps one of the few officers to escape
from that military disaster with his reputation intact.
He went on to a distinguished military career thereafter,
including his participation in several important battles
on the western front in the First World War. He was
born on 13 September 1865 at Kirkee, near Bombay,
India, where his father was serving in the Indian Civil
Service. As a boy, Birdwood returned to his native land
and attended Clifton College in Bristol, then the Royal
Military College at Sandhurst. In 1883, he was assigned
to the Royal Scots Fusiliers. Three years later, he was
transferred to the Indian staff corps, serving as a cavalry
officer in the 12th Lancers, the 11th Bengal Lancers, and
the Viceroy’s Bodyguard from 1886 to 1899. During the
Boer War (1899–1902), he served in South Africa and
was a member of the staff of General Horatio Herbert
kitchener. In 1911, he was promoted to major gen-
eral, and from 1912 to 1914 he served as secretary of the
Indian Army Department.
In November 1914, following the outbreak of the
First World War, Lord Kitchener, now serving as sec-
retary of state, selected Birdwood to command a com-
bined force of British, French, Australian, New Zealand
troops (the latter two designated the Australia-New Zea-
land Army Corps, or ANZAC). After several months of
training, in March 1915 Birdwood prepared his forces
to land in the Dardanelles. The aim of this mission was
to capture Istanbul, the Turkish capital, and thus aid
Russian forces against the Germans and Austrians from
the east. The main landing site was at the peninsula of
Gallipolli. This expedition would become one of the
worst tragedies of modern military fighting. Although
Kitchener had confidence in Birdwood’s strategy to take
the area, a more senior officer, Sir Ian hamilton, was
sent to command the operation. Birdwood took this in
his stride and went to work forming a plan to invade at
Gallipoli.
On paper, Birdwood’s plan—to land at dawn at a
spot where Turkish resistance was thought to be light—
seemed a perfect strategy. However, there were serious
flaws, many owing not to him but to his superiors. First,
he was given a force of men inexperienced in warfare;Sir William Birdwood binghAm, geoRge chARleS