article_snippet: At 91, Lord Bramall – the latest VIP to be dragged into the sex abuse inquiry – is the oldest and most respected of Britain's eight living Field Marshals.
article_snippet: Lord Bramall held that role during the Falklands War of 1982, and was a strong admirer of Margaret Thatcher. '
article_snippet: A wonderful war leader,' a strong admirer of Margaret Thatcher said, 'probably even better than Churchill'.
article_snippet: Born in 1923, Lord Bramall father came from a merchant family in the Potteries in Staffordshire, while Lord Bramall mother hailed from impoverished aristocracy.
article_snippet: his mother would forever call Lord Bramall 'my baby' – even when phoning Lord Bramall office while Lord Bramall was head of the Army.
article_snippet: Lord Bramall captained Eton's cricket team, had two pictures displayed at the Royal Academy, and to his mother's chagrin, turned down a place at Oxford to join the Army.
article_snippet: Lord Bramall married Lord Bramall wife Avril in 1949 and The couple have two children.
article_snippet: After Lord Bramall retired, festooned with decorations, Lord Bramall became a life peer – and has never been afraid to speak Lord Bramall mind in the Lords – opposing the second war in Iraq and what Lord Bramall termed 'mission creep' in Afghanistan.
article_snippet: More recently, Lord Bramall has also been a vocal critic of defence cuts, which Lord Bramall fears could weaken the Army.
article_snippet: Lord Bramall told peers that when it comes to dealing with threats you 'have to prepare for the unexpected'.