Major, Officer Commanding (OC) Number IX Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, British Army. He was deployed with the UK contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
He was killed when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb while on patrol in Basharan, near Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. A second soldier was injured the incident.
Aged 33, from Guildford, Surrey. Maj Birchall was born in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa, however, his parents moved back to Britain when he was six months old. He was educated at Plymouth University, where he was a member of the Exeter University Officer Training Corps, and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Commissioned into the Welsh Guards in December 1999, his assignments included serving as platoon commander on ceremonial duties in London and overseeing jungle warfare training in Belize.
Maj Birchall is remembered as a devoted family man, athlete, adventurer and outstanding leader of men. He is survived by his wife Joanna Birchall, young son Charlie, parents Brian and Maureen, siblings Paul, Dominic, Claire, and Katherine, and other family members.
Funeral with full military honours took place on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 in the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks in London and was attended by some 700 mourners.
*Thanks to wertypop for the headstone photo.
Major, Officer Commanding (OC) Number IX Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, British Army. He was deployed with the UK contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
He was killed when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb while on patrol in Basharan, near Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. A second soldier was injured the incident.
Aged 33, from Guildford, Surrey. Maj Birchall was born in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa, however, his parents moved back to Britain when he was six months old. He was educated at Plymouth University, where he was a member of the Exeter University Officer Training Corps, and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Commissioned into the Welsh Guards in December 1999, his assignments included serving as platoon commander on ceremonial duties in London and overseeing jungle warfare training in Belize.
Maj Birchall is remembered as a devoted family man, athlete, adventurer and outstanding leader of men. He is survived by his wife Joanna Birchall, young son Charlie, parents Brian and Maureen, siblings Paul, Dominic, Claire, and Katherine, and other family members.
Funeral with full military honours took place on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 in the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks in London and was attended by some 700 mourners.
*Thanks to wertypop for the headstone photo.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
