Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Henry John Coates, (28 December 1932 – 11 June 2018) was a senior officer 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 ...

who served as

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

from 1990 to 1992. After retiring from the army, he became an author and a visiting fellow at the

Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military academy that provides military and Tertiary education in Australia, academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ...

branch of the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, pursuing aspects of Australia's military history.

Early life

Coates was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia, on 28 December 1932 to George Coates and his wife Gwenyth (née Begg). Educated at

Ipswich Grammar School Ipswich Grammar School is a historic, independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Ipswich, a local government region of Brisbane on the Bremer River in South East Queensland, Australia. The school is situate ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Coates graduated from the

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 ...

into the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in 1955.Papers of John Coates, 1916–1994
MS 366, Academy Library, UNSW@ADFA

Military career

Coates was granted his first regimental posting in 1956 to the 1st Armoured Regiment. He served with the unit until 1958, when he was promoted to

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 ...

and reassigned 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 ...

of the 10th Light Horse Regiment for a period of two years. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

in 1962, before completing Honours at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

in 1965. He was posted to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and, as a

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 ...

, was deployed to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He was appointed a

Member 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 1971.Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
, 21 December 1971, It's an Honour. Gazetted: 16 December 1971, page 7595, position 7 He graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

in 1975. He subsequently became

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of his regiment. Coates was appointed

commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the

in 1983 and head of the Defence Staff 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 ...

, in 1984; he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1987 in recognition of his service there.Officer of the Order of Australia
(AO), 26 January 1987, It's an Honour. He was appointed Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Policy) in 1987 and appointed

in 1990; he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1992 in recognition of his service to the Australian Army, particularly in that role.Companion of the Order of Australia
(AC), 26 January 1992, It's an Honour

Retirement

In retirement he wrote a number of books about the Australian Army and Australian military history. These include: *''Suppressing insurgency: an analysis of the Malayan Emergency, 1948–1954'' (1992) *''Review of the Ready Reserve scheme'' (co-authored with Hugh Smith, 1995) *''Bravery above blunder: the 9th Division at Finschhafen, Sattelberg and Sio'' (1999) *''The Australian centenary history of defence'', co-editor (2001) *''An atlas of Australia's wars'', volume 7 of The Australian centenary history of defence (OUP, Melbourne, 2001) *''An atlas of Australia's wars'', 2nd edition, 2006. Coates was a visiting fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at

campus of the

(UNSW@ADFA). Aged 85, Coates died at his

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

home on 11 June 2018.

References

External links

by Heide Smith , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Coates, John 1932 births 2018 deaths Australian generals Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian National University alumni Academic staff of the Australian National University Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Adelaide Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates University of Western Australia alumni Chiefs of Army (Australia) People educated at Ipswich Grammar School

Early life

Military career

Retirement

References

Further reading

External links