Edwin Bramall, Baron Bramall

The Lord Bramall
Lord Bramall in the robes of a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter, June 2006
Born	(1923-12-18) 18 December 1923 (age 93) Tonbridge, Kent, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1942–85
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	Chief of the Defence Staff Chief of the General Staff Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces Commander British Forces in Hong Kong 1st Division 5th (Airportable) Infantry Brigade 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets
Battles/wars	Second World War Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Falklands War
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches

Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall, Baron Bramall, KG, GCB, OBE, MC, JP, DL (born 18 December 1923) is a retired senior British Army officer. He served as Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1979 and 1982, and as Chief of the Defence Staff, professional head of the British Armed Forces, from 1982 to 1985. He developed the concept of the "Fifth Pillar" pulling together the activities of defence attachés to form a structure for intervention in smaller countries.

Bramall was born on 18 December 1923 in Tonbridge, Kent, England. He was born the son of Edmund Haselden Bramall and Katherine Bridget Bramall (née Westby) and was educated at Eton College. In 1949 he married Dorothy Avril Wentworth Vernon; they had one son and one daughter. His older brother Ashley Bramall was a barrister, Labour politician and Leader of the Inner London Education Authority.

Bramall was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 22 May 1943 during the Second World War. He took part in the Normandy landings in June 1944 and served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment in Northwest Europe during the later stages of the war, receiving the Military Cross on 1 March 1945.