Archibald Murray

Sir Archibald Murray
Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Murray
Nickname(s)	"Old Archie"
Born	(1860-04-23)23 April 1860 Kingsclere, Hampshire
Died	21 January 1945(1945-01-21) (aged 84) Reigate, Surrey
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1879–1922
Rank	General
Commands held	Aldershot Command Egyptian Expeditionary Force Chief of the Imperial General Staff 2nd Division 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Battles/wars	Second Boer War First World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches

General Sir Archibald James Murray GCB, GCMG, CVO, DSO (23 April 1860 – 21 January 1945) was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. He was Chief of Staff to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in August 1914 but appears to have suffered a physical breakdown in the retreat from Mons, and was required to step down from that position in January 1915. After serving as Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff for much of 1915, he was briefly Chief of the Imperial General Staff from September to December 1915. He was subsequently Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force from January 1916 to June 1917, in which role he laid the military foundation for the defeat and destruction of the Ottoman Empire in the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant.

Born the son of Charles Murray and Anne Murray (née Graves), and educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Archibald Murray was commissioned into the 27th Regiment on 13 August 1879. He was appointed adjutant of his regiment on 12 February 1886. After promotion to captain on 1 July 1887 and taking part in the suppression of a Zulu uprising in 1888, he became adjutant of the 4th Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment on 15 December 1890. He attended Staff College, Camberley in 1897.