William Trevor Bird

  General Notes:

Profession - Soldier
Place of Birth - Bangalore
Born - 1890 Died - 1992

LT-COL TREVOR BIRD, died at the age of 101, he served in the First World War in France and the Middle East, and in the Second in India and Ceylon, latterly on Mountbatten's staff. William Trevor Bird was born in Bangalore on Sept 1 1890 into a family which had a tradition of service to the Raj since 1745. He was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, and Woolwich, and commissioned into the XXXth Bengal Lancers (his father's regiment) in 1912. He returned to Europe in 1914 to serve in the Indian Corps as dismounted cavalry in France. He took part in the gruelling battles of 1915 when, although their losses were horrific, the regiments in the Indian Corps battled on undaunted. In 1916 his regiment was posted to the Middle East, where it took part in Allenby's successful campaign against the Turks in Palestine. In 1922 it was amalgamated with King Edward's Light Horse and then became the 8th (King George V's Own) Light Cavalry. Bird served with the regiment until 1934, when he returned to England to attend the RAF Staff College at Andover. The next year he became brigade major to the Quetta mixed cavalry/infantry brigade. He was there at the time of the earthquake, and subsequently became an instructor at its Staff College.

He retired for the first time in 1938 and after a short business course was hired by the Appleby-Frodingham steel works at Scunthorpe to organise air raid precautions in the event of war. In doing so he created an ingenious system of underground tunnels. On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 the company made strenuous efforts to retain Bird's services, but the War Office was adamant and recalled him to military duty. He was on the staff of 15th Scottish Division when it was visited by King George VI. After an exhausting day visiting the Division, the King, Bird and the General returned to the Officers' Mess, where the General, who was a teetotaller, began to talk of cups of tea. Bird, sensing that something stronger would be welcome, procured two large glasses of whisky which he and His Majesty found far more acceptable. Bird's next posting was back to India to run three officer cadet training units for Indian officers; he was then sent to Trincomalee, Ceylon, as communications director on Mountbatten's staff, providing forward support to units in Burma.

Having retired for the second time in 1945 he settled in Devon, where he observed that the erudite local vicar sprinkled his sermons and discourse with Greek and Latin quotations to the bewilderment of his rustic congregation. Bird, a man of strong religious convictions, felt that a simpler approach was desirable and became a lay reader. He toured the county taking services until his late eighties. He also took on an honorary appointment as chairman of the local housing committee in a rapidly expanding area, and managed to house everyone successfully. He was president of the local British Legion and would march on the parade even when well into his 10th decade.

Six-foot four inches tall and an excellent horseman and useful polo player, Trevor Bird was a man who did everything in moderation. Kind and considerate, democratic in outlook, he kept himself on a tight rein and never swore even in the most frustrating circumstances. A versatile linguist, he was fluent in French, German, Urdu and Pushtu. A good shot with both rifle and gun, a competent performer at both hockey and athletics, he could also out-walk people half his age. His wife, Mary, died in 1957. They had a son and a daughter.
Daily Telegraph

Newspaper article from our research archive:
Christmas letter from trenches 93 years ago
Article from: Western Morning News, The Plymouth (UK) Article date: December 13, 2007 Author: Adam Wilshaw | Copyright information
A copy of a letter written by a soldier in the trenches in France - on Christmas Day 1914 - has finally arrived at his grandson's doorstep in Devon.
Stephen Birley, from Bradninch, near Tiverton, received the memo on November 27 after his cousin, Phillip, now living in France, discovered a chest containing letters written during the First World War and the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
One of the First World War letters was written by Colonel William Trevor Bird, grandfather to both Stephen and Phillip, and was originally sent to his own father with harrowing details of the war over the festive period.
Col Bird served in the 8th Light Cavalry of the Indian Army and died - aged 102 - 15 years ago.

William married Nina (Mary) Parsons Feltham. (Nina (Mary) Parsons Feltham was born in 1895 in Stoke, Damerel, Devon, England and died in 1957.)