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 ...

George Furner Langley, (1 May 1891 – 24 August 1971) was an Australian soldier who served in 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 ...

s. He was also an educationist, and the headmaster of a number of high schools in Victoria.

Early life

Langley was born on 1 May 1891 in

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...

. He gained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and teaching qualifications from Melbourne Teachers' College and taught at Williamstown High School, then at the Mansfield Agricultural High School in

Mansfield, Victoria Mansfield is a town in the foothills of the Victorian Alps in the Australian state of Victoria. It is approximately north-east of Melbourne by road. The population of Mansfield was at the 2021 census. Mansfield is the seat of the Mansfi ...

until the outbreak of the First World War.

Military career

First World War

Langley enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the 21st Battalion and was commissioned as a lieutenant on 24 March 1915. After training, the battalion was en route to

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

on 2 September 1915 when the ship on which it was travelling, the ''Southland'', was torpedoed. Langley helped with the evacuation of the ship until he collapsed.Bean, 1941, pp. 807808 He and his battalion eventually landed at Gallipoli and remained there until evacuation in December. After service in the Gallipoli Campaign, Langley was seconded to the Imperial Camel Corps to raise and train the 1st Australian Company, which by December 1916 was one of a number of companies that combined to become the 1st Anzac Battalion. In the latter stages of the

Sinai and Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

, Langley was an officer of the 14th Light Horse Regiment. He was awarded a

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

for "skilful leadership and conspicuous gallantry", and was

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 ...

four times.

Interwar period

On his return to Australia, Langley was appointed headmaster of Mansfield Agricultural High School in 1920. In 1924 he became headmaster of Warrnambool High School, a position he held for sixteen years. In 1940 he was transferred to Bendigo High School. He had remained in the

Australian Army Reserve The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the military reserve force, reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citize ...

as a lieutenant colonel, and in this capacity had commanded various light horse regiments.

Second World War

In September 1940, Langley was made commander of 38th Battalion and then in 1942, was promoted to a temporary

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 ...

. Appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, he oversaw the brigade, largely made up of militia conscripts, during its service in Western Australia and then from August 1943, in Darwin. Unfit for active duty, he eventually retired as an honorary brigadier in March 1944.

Later life

After service in England and the Middle East with the

Australian Red Cross Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...

from 1945 to 1946, Langley returned to teaching. He was the headmaster at Mordialloc High School in 1946 and 1947, and then at Box Hill High School in 1948. From 1949 he was headmaster at

Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex education, single-sex Selective school, academically selective secondary school, secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb ...

for eight years. He was appointed

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 ...

in 1958. The latter stages of his life were spent working on a history of the Australian Camel Corps. Five years after his death on 24 August 1971 in Sydney, his work ''Sand, Sweat and Camels'' was published by his wife.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, George Furner 1891 births 1971 deaths Australian brigadiers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian educational theorists University of Melbourne alumni Military personnel from Melbourne Australian headmasters People from Port Melbourne Melbourne High School