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Duncan Maxwell
Brigadier (Australia), Brigadier Duncan Stuart Maxwell, Military Cross, MC (8 January 1892 – 21 December 1969), also known as Duncan Struan Maxwell, was a medical practitioner and an Australian Army officer who served in the First World War, First and the Second World Wars. He was commander of the 27th Brigade (Australia), 27th Brigade during the Japanese invasion of Malaya and the Battle of Singapore in the Second World War. Early life Maxwell was born on 8 January 1892 in Hobart, Tasmania, the son of a bank manager. He and his brother both served in the First World War, volunteering for the Australian Light Horse and participating in the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. He was six feet, three inches, tall and nicknamed "Big" Maxwell, with his brother being two inches taller and known as "Shorty" Maxwell. After Gallipoli, Maxwell transferred to the infantry and fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front with the 52nd Battalion (Australia), 52nd Battalion. He was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half of Tasmania's population, Hobart is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest by population and area after Darwin if territories are taken into account. Material was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Its skyline is dominated by the kunanyi / Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate. The city lies on country which was known by the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Light Horse
Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I, World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-time military force. These units were gradually mechanised either before or during World War II, World War II, although only a small number undertook operational service during the war. A number of #Legacy, Australian light horse units are still in existence today. Origins The Australian Light Horse was established as the outcome of a debate that took place in military circles in Australia in the late 19th – early 20th centuries concerning the future of mounted troops. The example of the Franco-Prussian War illustrated that the battlefield had become dominated by massed land armies supported by artillery. For Australia the reality was vast spaces with sparse populations making it difficult to consider anything that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Bennett (general)
Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett, (15 April 1887 – 1 August 1962) was a senior Australian Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II. Despite highly decorated achievements during World War I, during which he commanded at both battalion and brigade level and became the youngest general in the Australian Army, Bennett is best known for his role in the Fall of Singapore in February 1942. As commander of the 8th Australian Division, he chose to escape to Sumatra after the British-led garrison surrendered to the Japanese. His soldiers became prisoners of war of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Bennett claimed he left in order to avoid capture and report directly to Australian authorities, believing he could better serve the war effort from outside captivity. His decision was met with widespread criticism. Many viewed his departure as a breach of military responsibility and abandonment of his men. In 1945, both a Royal Commission and a military inquir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Malaya
The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the term "British Raj, British India", which excludes the Indian princely states, British Malaya is often used to refer to the Federated Malay States, Federated and the Unfederated Malay States, which were British protectorates with their own local rulers, as well as the Straits Settlements, which were under the sovereignty and direct rule of the British Crown, after a period of control by the East India Company. Before the formation of the Malayan Union in 1946, the territories were not placed under a single unified administration, with the exception of the immediate post-war period when a British military officer became the temporary administrator of Malaya. Instead, British Malaya comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay State ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Burfield Taylor
Brigadier Harold Burfield Taylor, (10 August 1890 – 15 March 1966) was an analytical chemist and an Australian Army officer who served in the First and the Second World Wars. A junior officer in the First World War, during the Second World War he was commander of the 22nd Infantry Brigade during the Japanese invasion of Malaya. Captured along with many of his fellow soldiers following the fall of Singapore, he spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war. In civilian life, he was an analyst for the government and an expert in poisons, often called upon to give evidence in criminal trials involving poisoning. Early life and scientific career Taylor was born on 10 August 1890 in Enfield, Sydney to Ernest Taylor, a civil servant originally from England, and his Australian wife, Louisa Chowne. He was educated at Sydney Boys' High School and the University of Sydney, where he graduated Bachelor of Science in 1912. Interested in chemistry and military science, he served ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
8th Division (Australia)
The 8th Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the Australian Army, formed during World War II as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force. The 8th Division was raised from volunteers for overseas service from July 1940 onwards. Consisting of three infantry brigades, the intention had been to deploy the division to the Middle East to join the other Australian divisions, but as Pacific War, war with Japan loomed in 1941, the division was divided into four separate forces, which were deployed in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region. All of these formations were destroyed as fighting forces by the end of February 1942 during the Battle of Singapore, fighting for Singapore, and in Battle of Rabaul (1942), Rabaul, Battle of Ambon, Ambon, and Battle of Timor (1942–43), Timor. Most members of the division became Prisoner of war, prisoners of war, waiting until the war ended in late 1945 to be liberated. One in three died in captivity. Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
22nd Brigade (Australia)
The 22nd Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. It was briefly raised in 1912 as a Australian Army Reserve, Militia formation providing training as part of the Conscription in Australia, compulsory training scheme. Later, during World War II, the brigade was raised as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force in April 1940. Assigned to the 8th Division (Australia), 8th Division, in early 1941 the brigade was deployed to British Malaya, where it formed part of the defensive garrison that was established there by the British, eventually establishing its headquarters in the Mersing–Endau area. In early 1942, following the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the brigade participated in the Malayan Campaign, fighting along the eastern coast before being forced to withdraw to Singapore as the Japanese advanced along the Malayan peninsula. The brigade later fought in the Battle of Singapore. Occupying the north-western sector of the island, the briga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
