Sir Nigel Bagnall | |
|---|---|
 Field Marshal Sir Nigel Bagnall, pictured here in 1989. | |
| Born | (1927-02-10)10 February 1927 India |
| Died | 8 April 2002(2002-04-08) (aged 75) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1946–1989 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Service number | 360763 |
| Unit | Green Howards Parachute Regiment 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards |
| Commands | Chief of the General Staff British Army of the Rhine I Corps 4th Division 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards |
| Battles / wars | Palestine Emergency Malayan Emergency Cyprus Emergency Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Military Cross &Bar |
Field MarshalSir Nigel Thomas Bagnall,GCB, CVO, MC (10 February 1927 – 8 April 2002) was a career British Army officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of theBritish Army of the Rhine, from 1983 to 1985, and then asChief of the General Staff (CGS), the professional head of theBritish Army, from 1985 to 1988. Early in his military career he saw action during thePalestine Emergency, theMalayan Emergency, theCyprus Emergency and theIndonesia–Malaysia confrontation, and later in his career he provided advice to the British Government on the future role of Britain'snuclear weapons.
Born inBritish India, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Stephen Bagnall and Marjory May Bagnall and educated atWellington College,[1] Bagnall undertookNational Service for a year[2] before being commissioned into theGreen Howards on 5 January 1946.[3] Shortly afterwards, however, on 13 February 1946 he transferred to theParachute Regiment[4] and was deployed toPalestine where theBritish Mandate was about to end.[2] Promoted tolieutenant on 24 September 1949,[5] he served inMalaya, where as a platoon commander, he was awarded theMilitary Cross in 1950,[6] and abar to the Military Cross in 1952.[7]
Promoted tocaptain on 10 February 1954,[8] he returned to the Green Howards in summer 1954 and then took part in counter-insurgency operations againstEOKA units inCyprus in 1955.[2] He transferred to the4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards on 24 April 1956.[9] He was promoted tomajor on 10 February 1961[10] and appointed Military Assistant to the Vice-Chief of Defence Staff in May 1964 and then became the Senior Staff Officer dealing with intelligence activities for operations inBorneo in March 1966.[10]
Promoted tolieutenant colonel on 31 December 1966,[11] he became theCommanding Officer of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in 1967 and served in that capacity inOmagh inNorthern Ireland andSennelager inGermany.[10] Promoted tocolonel on 31 December 1969,[12] he became CommanderRoyal Armoured Corps in1st (British) Corps in December 1970,[10] before receiving further promotion tobrigadier on 31 December 1970.[13] He went on to be Secretary of the Chiefs of Staff Committee at theMinistry of Defence in September 1973.[10] He was appointedGeneral Officer Commanding (GOC) of the4th Division on 21 September 1975[14] with the substantive rank ofmajor general from 1 November 1975[15] and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Policy) at theMinistry of Defence on 7 January 1978.[16]
He became commander of1st (British) Corps on 1 November 1980 with the rank oflieutenant general[17] and, having been appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath in theNew Year Honours 1981,[18] went on to beCommander-in-Chief of theBritish Army of the Rhine and Commander ofNATO'sNorthern Army Group with the rank ofgeneral on 1 July 1983.[19] As Commander of the Northern Army Group he grappled with NATO's strategy of forward defence, when he persuaded the Germans that some ground would have to be surrendered to withstand a massiveSoviet Army attack.[20]
After being advanced to aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in theQueen's Birthday Honours 1985[21] and also becomingADC tothe Queen on 30 July 1985,[22] he was appointedChief of the General Staff in August 1985[23] in which capacity he was closely involved in the debate about the future role of Britain'snuclear weapons.[24] He was promoted tofield marshal on 9 September 1988 on his retirement from the British Army.[23]
He was also appointed Colonel Commandant of theArmy Physical Training Corps on 5 February 1981[25] and Colonel Commandant of theRoyal Armoured Corps on 1 August 1985.[26]
In retirement he became a military historian and fellow ofBalliol College,Oxford. He wrote a history of thePunic wars published in 1990[27] and, two years after his death, he had a history of thePeloponnesian War published.[28]
He died on 8 April 2002, at the age of 75.[29]
In 1959 he married Anna Caroline Church; they had two daughters.[1]
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | GOC 4th Division 1975–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC I Corps 1980–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Sir Michael Gow | Commander-in-chief of theBritish Army of the Rhine 1983–1985 | |
| Preceded by | Chief of the General Staff 1985–1988 | Succeeded by |
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