Army Council (1904) practice, however, a huge amount of influence was retained by the exceedingly conservative C-in-C Field Marshal Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, who held the post between 1856–1895. His resistance to reform caused military efficiency to lag well behind Britain's rivals, a problem which became painfully obvious during the Second Boer War. The situation was only remedied in 1904 when the post of Commander-in-Chief was abolished and replaced with that of the Chief of the General Staff. An Army Council was created along similar lines to the Board of Admiralty, chaired by the Secretary of State for War, and an
Michael Biddulph (British Army officer) Anglo-Afghan War. He was given command of the Rawalpindi district in India in 1880 and made President of the Ordnance Committee in 1887 until his retirement in 1890. In retirement he served as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod 1896–1904 and was an Extra Groom in Waiting to King Edward VII 1901–1904. He also took to watercolor painting: Biddulph is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. In 1857 he married Katharine Stamati. Michael Biddulph (British Army officer) General Sir Michael Anthony Shrapnel Biddulph (30 July 1823 – 23 July 1904) was a British Army officer who became Black Rod. Educated at