Joseph Edward Michel
Brigadier Joseph Edward Michel was a Ghanaian soldier. He was one of the early commissioned officers in the Ghana Army.
Early life and education
Michel was the son of Alexander Michel, a French Trader at Tarkwa and Afua his wife who hailed from Atikpui near Ho. He received his education at the Ewe Presbyterian Boarding School at Amedzofe and continued at the Presbyterian Training College at Akropong where he qualified as a teacher.Career
Joseph Michel initially taught at the Kpando Presbyterian Senior School. On 4 August 1943, he joined the colonial army at Ho in the Volta Region via the school teachers' special enlistment programme. He started as a"local" sergeant. He was initially a schoolmaster / instructor in the army. He was appointed full sergeant in January 1945.Michel was commissioned as a second lieutenant in April 1947. He was promoted a lieutenant in with effect from 27 November 1947. He was appointed platoon commander at Kumasi. He attended a Platoon Commander's Tactical course at Warminster in the United Kingdom in relation to his appointment. Between 1948 and 1950, he was the second-in-charge of the Gold Coast Regiment Training Centre at Kumasi. In 1950, he attended the Company Commanders' Course 67/50 at the School of Infantry, Warminster. He returned to the GCR Training Centre where he was promoted to rank of captain. He was made the Company Commander of the GCR Training Centre in April 1951.
He was transferred in July 1951 to the 3rd Battalion of the GRC. In August 1952, he was transferred again to the First Battalion of the RTC at Kumasi. In January 1953, he was transferred again to the Boys' Company as the Commanding Officer.
Michel was promoted to the rank of major in May 1953. Brigadier Alexander G. V. Paley, who was then Head of the Gold Coast Army, in a response to a report recommending his promotion wrote:
"He is loyal to his immediate superiors and is obedient both to orders and to the wishes they express. I agree that he should be fit for promotion - though not yet."In February 1956, Michel was posted to the Second Gold Coast Regiment in Accra. He was cleared by the Medical Board in July 1956 and he was nominated for Staff College which he attended during 1957 at Camberley, United Kingdom. His final report mentioned that he was:
"An intelligent and shrewd officer with a pleasant personality who has entered fully into staff college life and made many friends. He is most conscientious and works well in a team. Although he has been prone to listen and learn rather than put forward his own views, he has shown that he possesses much sound common sense and a very fair military background. He should make a useful reliable staff officer in his own country."
In February 1958, he was posted to the Second Ghana Regiment and later moved to the Headquarters of the Ghana Army. In 1959, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel along with Major S. J. A. Otu and Major J. A. Ankrah. He then assumed command of the Second Ghana Regiment in November 1959. Lt. Colonel Gilmour, the Chief of General Staff at the Ghana Army Headquarters rated his work at Army headquarters very highly. Brigadier G. H. Tadman, Commanding Officer of the Infantry Brigade at the time rated him as the "beset Ghanaian officer of his rank in the army." Major General Paley, now General Officer Commanding the Ghana Army agreed with the assessment.
Following the April 1960 plebiscite on a republican constitution, Michel was selected to become the aide-de-camp of President Kwame Nkrumah. He and Brigadier S. J. A. Otu were the most senior African officers in the Ghana Army at the time.