Army Council (1904) Army Council (1904) The Army Council was the supreme administering body of the British Army from its creation in 1904 until it was reconstituted as the Army Board in 1964. The disastrous campaigns of the Crimean War led to the consolidation of all administrative duties in 1855 under the Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet post. That office was not, however, solely responsible for the Army; the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) held a virtually equal level of responsibility. This was reduced in theory by the 1870 reforms introduced by Edward Cardwell, which subordinated the C-in-C to the Secretary for War. In
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