Major Archer Paterson Denness MC, (26 December 1914 – 12 September 1997) was an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

who served during the Second World War and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Personal life

Denness was born 26 December 1914 in

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

.O'Neill 1985, pp. 636–637. He married Jessie Elma Brown on 23 November 1946 at

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Australia Census, 2021 Cens ...

. She was born 12 August 1916, Gunnedah or

Coonabarabran, New South Wales Coonabarabran () is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West (New South Wales), Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, the town h ...

and was an Army Nurse during the Second World War. The couple had three children, (Helen, Ian and Janice), and 11 grandchildren. Archer died in

Temora, New South Wales Temora () is a town in the north-east of the Riverina area of New South Wales, south-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the the population of Temora was 4,016. Temora was named by John Donald McCansh. In September 1880 he told the Warwick ...

on 12 September 1997, and Jessie on 13 April 2006.

Military career

Following the outbreak of the Second World War Denness 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 ...

in 1940, listing his pre-service occupation as a butcher. In 1941, after undertaking officer training, he was commissioned with the rank of lieutenant and assigned to the 2/32nd Battalion, of the 9th Division, serving with them during the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

and then later in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

after they were brought back to fight against the Japanese. In 1944 he received a

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for his service while deployed. Following the end of the war, Denness transferred to the 66th Battalion and deployed to Japan as part of the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian, and New Zealander military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its pe ...

, where he commanded the battalion's 'B' Company, carrying out a number of operations including a search raid on the village of Kinoe where Denness' company discovered a contraband smuggling vessel. In 1948, however, he returned to Australia and after being discharged on 26 May, he was placed on the Reserve of Officers list. Following the outbreak of the

, Denness returned to the active list and was assigned to the

3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is the armoured infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade (Armoured Amphibious). 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen ...

. While in command of 'C' Company he took part in the Battle of Yongju in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, for which he was later awarded the Military Cross.Australians In Korea Decorated

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

, Wednesday, 11 April 1951, p.3. Retrieved 30 August 2009. In July 1951, Denness briefly commanded 3RAR between the departure of Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Ferguson and the arrival of the new commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel

Frank Hassett General Sir Francis George Hassett, (11 April 1918 – 11 June 2008) was an Australian general who rose to the position of Chief of the Defence Force Staff, the professional head of the Australian Defence Force, serving in this capacity from N ...

.Butler, Argent and Shelton 2002, p. 123. He retired in 1960.

Military Cross citation

DENNESS, Archer Patterson, Captain (2/400335),
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, 1950

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denness, Archer Paterson 1914 births 1997 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian military personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Perth, Western Australia Australian Army officers