Major General John Austin Chapman, (15 December 1896 – 19 April 1963) was a professional soldier in the

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 ...

. Joining the army in 1913, he served as a junior officer during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and saw action on the Western Front. After the war he was appointed to a number of staff and teaching positions prior to the outbreak of the

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 ...

. Appointed chief of staff, 7th Division, he served during the Syrian Campaign in 1941 before taking up important staff positions in Australia. He retired from the army in 1953 after 41 years of service and died in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1963 at the age of 67.

Early life

John Austin Chapman was born on 15 December 1896 in

Braidwood, New South Wales Braidwood is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan–Palerang Regional Council. It is located on the Kings Highway, Australia, Kings Highway linking Canberra with Batemans Bay. It is approximately 200 kil ...

, the son of

Austin Chapman Sir Austin Chapman (10 July 186412 January 1926) was an Australian politician who served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1901 until his death in 1926. He held ministerial office in the governments of A ...

, the Braidwood representative on the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

. He attended Christian Brothers schools in

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

before entering

Royal Military College, Duntroon The Royal Military College, Duntroon, also known simply as Duntroon, is the Australian Army's Officer (armed forces), officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, Duntroon in Canberra, Australian Capi ...

in 1913.Thompson, 1993, p. 403

Military career

First World War

Upon graduation from Duntroon in 1915, Chapman was commissioned as a

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 ...

in the

. Volunteering for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), his first assignment was to 30th Battalion, then being raised in New South Wales and destined for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The battalion duly embarked for Egypt in November 1915 and would remain there for several months, undertaking guard duties at the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

. Part of 8th Brigade, which was subordinate to the

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *5th Division (Australia) * 5th Division (People's Republic of China) * 5th Division (Colombia) * Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) * 5th Light Cavalry Division (France) * 5th ...

, the battalion was transferred to the Western Front in July 1916 along with the rest of the division. Chapman, now a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, was wounded due to a gas attack in November, and this necessitated his evacuation to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for treatment. He returned to the battalion in May 1917 as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

and served in this capacity until October. Promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, he was attached to the

Australian Corps The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 1 ...

and 5th Division headquarters. During the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

, he was acting brigade major of 8th Brigade. He was later awarded the

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 ...

(DSO) for his actions of 28 August 1918, when he carried out a reconnaissance of the front lines under heavy fire.

Interwar period

Chapman remained in the army after the cessation of hostilities, returning to Australia in June 1919. He married the following October, to Helena Mary de Booten, originally from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. The couple would go on to have four children. From 1919 to 1930, Chapman was posted to a series of staff appointments. He attended Staff College at

Camberley Camberley is a town in north-west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. It is in the Surrey Heath, Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire. Known originally as "Cambridge Tow ...

in England from 1930 to 1933. Back in Australia, he was then chief instructor at the Small Arms School in Randwick, Sydney from 1934 to 1938 before returning to Camberley in November with his wife to take up an instructor position, the first soldier from a British Dominion to do so.

Second World War

Still in England when the

broke out in September 1939, he was posted to the British

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowlan ...

as a staff officer but returned to Australia in January 1940, having been promoted to lieutenant colonel in November 1939. Based in Melbourne, he was responsible for training at army headquarters before transferring to the reformed AIF in April 1940. Promoted to

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 ...

in April 1940, he was chief of staff to Major General

John Lavarack Lieutenant General Sir John Dudley Lavarack, (19 December 1885 – 4 December 1957) was an Australian Army officer who was Governor of Queensland from 1 October 1946 to 4 December 1957, the first Australian-born governor of that state. Early l ...

, the commander of 7th Division, until August 1941.Long, 1953, p. 341 Commencing on 8 June 1941, the division participated in the two-month-long Syrian Campaign against the

Vichy French Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against G ...

during which Chapman earned a recommendation for a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to his DSO. This was duly gazetted and awarded in 1944. After the conclusion of the Syrian campaign, Chapman was promoted to 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 ...

in August and became responsible for the AIF Base Area in the Middle East. He later returned to Australia as deputy adjutant and Quartermaster General, based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Promoted to major general in September 1942, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of the General Staff in October 1944. He served in this capacity until March 1946.

Postwar career

From May 1946, Chapman was based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as the army representative on the Australian Joint Service Mission to the United States. After completing his four-year term in the United States (and being awarded a

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

), he had a spell as General Officer Commanding, Central Command before commencing his final post of Quartermaster General and member of the military board in February 1951. He was honoured with an appointment as

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in June 1952.

Later life

Chapman retired in December 1953 after 41 years of service in the army. He died of cancer at his home in

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

on 19 April 1963, survived by two sons and a daughter. His wife had predeceased him in 1961. He was buried with military honours in Northern Suburbs cemetery, Sydney.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, John 1896 births 1963 deaths Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army personnel of World War II Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from Sydney Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Deaths from cancer in New South Wales