Fraud-probe brigadier is most senior officer to face court martial since 1952
A BRIGADIER is to appear before a court martial – making him the most senior officer to be put on trial by the British Army since 1952, it is believed.
Brigadier Charles Beardmore, 51, faces charges of ‘negligently performing his duty’, but sources have told The Mail on Sunday that the case involves an allegation of fraud.
He was until recently the highestranking member of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) in Germany, controlling a budget of millions of pounds.
Last night, the Ministry of Defence refused to give details about the case, including the scale of the alleged fraud, where and when it took place, and if any taxpayers’ money remains unaccounted for.
Brig Beardmore held the German post, responsible for the health services of thousands of British troops and their families, for two years and recently moved to London as a general staff officer. The MoD refused to say which position the charges relate to.
Brig Beardmore is expected to attend the initial hearing in Colchester, Essex, on January 19.
The Mail on Sunday understands he is the only person charged in relation to the alleged fraud.
There are just 150 brigadiers in the British Army, senior to colonels and outranked only by generals. Their starting salary is £101,147.
Brig Beardmore was promoted to his present rank in 2014. He is hugely respected within the RAMC as an expert on treating battlefield casualties and planning large-scale medical operations supporting troops in war zones. He is also a leading fundraiser and president of the Penguins Against Cancer charity, set up in 2013 by rugby-playing doctors at Guy’s Hospital.
The charity has raised tens of thousands of pounds for specialist hospital wards and cancer research centres. Brig Beardmore’s wife Charlotte, 53, is also a trustee of the charity, according to its website.
The last British Army brigadier to appear before a court martial is thought to have been ‘Mad’ Mike Calvert, one of the most highly decorated commanders of the Second World War.
Brigadier Calvert, who o was twice awarded the he Distinguished Service ce Order after fighting the Japanese behind enemy linesi i in Burma, was found guilty of ‘gross indecency with male persons’ in 1952 – 15 years before homosexuality was decriminalised.
The former Royal Engineers and SAS officer vigorously denied the indecency charge until his death in 1999, insisting that top brass had w wanted to get rid of him be because he was unconventio tional and a heavy drinker. In 2007, Colonel Jorge Mend Mendonca of the Queen’s Lancashirehi Regiment became the most senior officer in recent times to be court-martialled. He was cleared of negligently performing a duty after his soldiers were found responsible for the death of Iraqi civilian Baha Mousa in Basra in 2003. The MoD said last night: ‘We do not comment on ongoing cases.’