11 Facts About Eric Birley

Eric Birley was born in Eccles, Lancashire, on 12 January 1906.

Eric Birley then studied classics at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he obtained a double first in Mods and Greats.

Eric Birley was influenced in the study of history and archaeology by Michael Holroyd, his Brasenose tutor; R G Collingwood, the renowned authority on Roman Britain; and Frank Gerald Simpson, Director of Field Studies at Durham, and a great influence on Birley vis-a-vis the art and science of excavation.

Simpson, Birley began excavating at Hadrian's Wall in 1927 while an undergraduate.

In 1929, having developed a keen interest in the Wall through his excavations, Eric Birley succeeded in buying the Clayton Estate at Chesterholm that had belonged to Anthony Hedley, the 19th century antiquary.

In 1949, Eric Birley established the first International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies.

Eric Birley would become known as an expert on the Roman army.

Eric Birley was appointed to the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers Special List as a second lieutenant on 25 August 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war.

Major Eric Birley reached the age limit for service on 12 January 1956 and retired from the army on that date, being granted the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel.

In 1934, Eric Birley married Margaret "Peggy" Isabel Goodlet, a former student of his who excavated at Housesteads and Vindolanda and with whom he published a report on the Vindolanda excavations.

Eric Birley died at Carvoran House, Greenhead, Northumberland, on 20 October 1995, at the age of 89.