Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Alfred Richard Baxter-Cox, (7 September 1898 – 18 October 1958) was an Australian architect and

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer, who served during both the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Baxter-Cox was born in

Cue, Western Australia Cue is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia, located 620 km north-east of Perth. At the 2016 census, Cue had a population of 178. Cue is administered through the Cue Shire Council, which has its chambers in the histori ...

on 7 September 1898. His father, Alfred Edward Cox, was an architect practising in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Baxter-Cox himself became an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

, and served in the

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

prior to his enlistment in the Australian Imperial Force on 13 January 1916.Service Record
National Australian Archives. Retrieved 13 Nov 2009.

First World War

Enlisting as an other rank in the

Royal Australian Engineers The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army. The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Corps of Staff Cadets, Staff Cadets, Royal Australian Armoured C ...

, Baxter-Cox held the rank of

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

when he was posted to Engineering Reinforcements camped on

Blackboy Hill, Western Australia Blackboy Hill was named after the Australian native plant Xanthorrhoea preissii, which dominated the site that is now absorbed into Greenmount, Western Australia, Greenmount, Western Australia. Originally a military camp, the facilities and adj ...

on 29 February 1916. He embarked for service overseas on ''A38 Ulysses'' on 26 March 1916, disembarking at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France, on 5 May 1916, after which time he was posted to the Mining Corps. On 19 August 1916 he was promoted to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

, and on 18 December he transferred to 3rd Tunnelling Coy. After being selected for

commissioning Commissioning is a process or service provided to validate the completeness and accuracy of a project or venture. It may refer more specifically to: * Project commissioning, a process of assuring that all components of a facility are designed, in ...

, Baxter-Cox attended officer training at No. 6 Officers Cadet Battalion in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from November 1917 to March 1918 and was appointed as a second lieutenant on 1 May 1918. The confidential report from the Officer Cadet Unit stated that his special qualifications included riding, surveying and speaking French. Upon graduation, he was transferred to the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and joined the 4th Battalion in France on 14 May 1918. On 28 November 1918, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, serving in the

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

area before being transferred to England in April 1919 as part of the demobilisation process. On 26 May 1919 he married Ivy Gertrude, daughter of Frank James Sanders, at "S. Cross Holywell Oxford". From June to September 1919 he arranged to attend a three-month course in architecture under Gilbert I Gardner, RIBA, in Oxford; the start date was delayed, and he completed the course on 31 October 1919. He and his wife returned to Australia on the H.T. ''Shropshire'', embarking on 2 December 1919. He was discharged from the 4th Battalion, 1st AIF, on 7 March 1920, and received the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...

and the Victory Medal.

Between the wars

In between the wars, Baxter-Cox returned to the Militia, obtaining the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving as the commanding officer of the 11th/16th Battalion in Western Australia. On 30 April 1936 he was transferred to the unattached list. In May 1939 he took up an appointment as commanding officer of the 13th Brigade, and with it came the rank of temporary brigadier.

Second World War

Following the outbreak of the

in September, Baxter-Cox was appointed to Land Headquarters on 26 April 1940, and enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

on 9 May 1940. Shortly afterwards he was posted to the 2/16th Battalion and given responsibility for raising the battalion. He remained in command of the battalion during its deployment to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

before being promoted to temporary brigadier (having relinquished the rank in April 1940) and taking over command of the 25th Infantry Brigade in March 1941. He remained in command of the brigade until June 1941 after which he undertook a variety of positions on the staff of Army Headquarters. While holding the rank of temporary brigadier, Baxter-Cox was invested as a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

on 14 June 1945. He was discharged on 14 August 1946, with his final posting being to the headquarters of the 25th Infantry Brigade with the substantive rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and the honorary rank of brigadier.

Later life

Baxter-Cox died on 18 October 1958, aged sixty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter-Cox, Alfred 1898 births 1958 deaths Military personnel from Western Australia Architects from Western Australia Australian brigadiers Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army personnel of World War II People from the Mid West (Western Australia)