Edward Vivian Dearman Birchall (10 August 1884 – 10 August 1916[1]), was an English philanthropist who died of wounds at the Battle of the Somme. He left a legacy of £1000 for the promotion of voluntary services. The money was used to help create, in 1919, the National Council of Social Services. It later became the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, an umbrella body for charities in England.[2][3]
Edward Vivian Birchall | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edward Vivian Dearman Birchall |
| Born | 10 August 1884 |
| Died | 10 August 1916 (aged 32) |
| Buried | Étaples Military Cemetery |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands | 1/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion |
| Battles / wars | First World War |
Early life and education
editHe was born on 10 August 1884 at Bowden Hall,[nb 1] Upton St Leonards, Gloucestershire, the third, and youngest, son of Dearman and Emily Jowitt Birchall.[1]
Birchall attended school in Sunningdale, Berkshire, from 1893 to 1898 and Eton College from 1898 to 1903. He graduated from Magdalen College, University of Oxford with a BA in 1908.[3]
Military service
editBirchall was a captain in the 1/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion. He died on 10 August 1916 and is buried in France, at Étaples Military Cemetery near Boulogne.
Notes
edit- ^ Bowden Hall was purchased by Birchall's father in 1868 and is now a hotel.
"Bowden Hall (also known as Creed's Place, Bounden Hall, Bowden Hall Ramada Hotel Gloucester)". Parks and Gardens. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
"Edward Vivian Dearman Birchall, BA, DSO". Magdalen College, University of Oxford. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
References
edit- ^ a b Laybourn, Keith (September 2004). "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Birchall, Edward Vivian Dearman (1884–1916), philanthropist. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/68990. Retrieved 5 May 2024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Smith, Susan (5 August 2014). "Soldier's legacy lives on through a century of voluntary action". Third Force News. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Edward Vivian Dearman Birchall, BA, DSO". Magdalen College, University of Oxford. Retrieved 25 January 2022.