Field Marshal Lord Edwin Noel Westby Bramall KG, GCB, OBE, MC died on 12 November at the age of 95.

Born on 18 December 1923 in Tonbridge, Kent, he attended Eton, where he developed a prowess at cricket, which became a lifelong passion.  Married to Katherine, née Westby, who died in 2015, they had two children. He fought on D-Day, and in 1944 spent his 21st birthday in a Belgian trench, celebrating the award of his Military Cross for attacking a bunch of Germans in the middle of a forest.  At the time of the Falklands War he was Chief of The Defence Staff. In 1985 he retired, and was appointed Lieutenant for Greater London and there followed a 26 year career in the House of Lords, retiring in 2013.  

Wrongly accused in 2014 of child sexual abuse by serial liar and malevolent fantasist Carl Beech, ‘Nick,’ in a disgraceful episode of police incompetence, which led to the ransacking of his home by 20 police officers, while his wife Dorothy lay terminally ill. No senior police officer was brought to book in the ensuing investigation into police misconduct. Lord Bramall was cleared in 2016, but after the death of his wife.

The present Chief of The Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Carter paid tribute to a great brave inspiring soldier with dedication to his country over decades.  In 2016, while honouring the Knights of The Garter at Windsor Castle, The Queen deliberately sat down next to Lord Bramall, her outstanding Field Marshal.