Shelford Bidwell (British Army officer)

military historian

Second World War, and saw action in the Western Desert campaign

Lieutenant Colonel Reginald Frank Bidwell, a British Indian Army officer, and his wife, Mabel Alice Graves née Petley. He had a younger brother who died in infancy, and a half-sister from his mother's first marriage, the poet and novelist Ida Affleck Graves. He was known as "Ginger" after his red hair. Much of his early life was spent in India, but his father was invalided out of the Indian Army in 1919, and the family returned to England. Bidwell was educated at Abbotsford, a preparatory school in Burgess Hill, Sussex, and then at Wellington School, Somerset from 1923 to 1931. He then entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, from which he graduated near the top of his class in 1936.^[1]

Dorsetshire Yeomanry).^[1] He was promoted to captain on 31 August 1941.^[3]

landings at Salerno. He was a student at Staff College, Haifa, from March to May 1944, and then returned to Italy, where he served on the Royal Artillery staff of the 6th Armoured Division. In October 1944 he returned to Haifa as a member of the instructional staff there. In 1945 he was appointed second in command of the 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, and transferred to the Royal Horse Artillery.^[1]

2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, at the War Office as a General Staff Officer (Grade 3), and at Headquarters, West Africa Command, where he helped prepare the defence forces of Ghana for independence. Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 2 November 1954,^[6] he commanded the BAOR's 58th Medium Regiment from 1956 to 1956.^[1]

Queen Elizabeth II from 11 November 1966 to 12 August 1968.^[11][12]

Basil Liddell Hart and others that underestimated the importance of artillery and the need its fire to be concentrated. He followed it up with Modern Warfare: a Study of Men, Weapons and Theories (1973), in which he attacked Hart's indirect approach theory, arguing that wars cannot be won cheaply by small forces attacking around the periphery. More controversially, he argued that the UK should commit to continental Europe and its defence through the BAOR.^[1]

Air Vice Marshal Stewart Menaul, overhauled it, introducing colour covers and illustrations. Bidwell subsequently became editor-in-chief and deputy director. Under their leadership, the RUSI became an important voice influencing the nation's strategic policy.^[13] In 1976 he retired as deputy director and editor-in-chief in order to concentrate on his book writing. He was a proponent of the advancement of women, and Jennifer Shaw was his chosen successor. He remained involved with RUSI as its vice president.^[1]

First World War. The two had a long and close collaboration despite living on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Their first book, Fire-Power (1982) was about the development of artillery in the two world wars. Their second, Tug of War (1986), was about the Italian campaign during the Second World War, in which they had both participated. Finally, they wrote Coalitions, Politicians and Generals (1993), in which they wrote about the command and staff systems in the British, French and German armies in the two world wars.^[14]