Major General John Gibson Paton, (18 November 1867 – 21 November 1943) was an Australian merchant and army officer who served in 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 ...

Early life and merchant career

Paton was born in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

and joined the New South Wales Military Forces in December 1887 as a second lieutenant in the 4th Infantry. Paton steadily rose through the ranks and at the outbreak of the First World War was appointed to command the Newcastle Defended Port. His first action was as second in command of the

Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of World War I to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guin ...

under

William Holmes William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

. During the operation, Paton captured the German motor launch ''Komet'' which later became .

First World War

Paton joined the Australian Imperial Force on 16 March 1915 as a lieutenant colonel commanding the 25th Battalion, part of the 7th Infantry Brigade, which embarked for Egypt on 2 June 1915 where it trained until it embarked for

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 28 August 1915. Paton took over the 7th Brigade on 15 October 1915 on direct orders from Major General

James Gordon Legge Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge, (15 August 1863 – 18 September 1947) was an Australian Army senior officer who served in the First World War and was the Chief of the General Staff, Australia's highest ranking army officer between 1914 ...

. During the evacuation of Anzac, Paton was placed in command of the Rear Party, and at 0410 on 20 December Paton embarked on the last boat to leave Anzac. Paton arrived in France on 19 March 1916 and commanded several brigades during his tour on the Western Front. On 5 November, while directing an attack on a trench known as "The Maze", Paton was wounded by a German sniper and evacuated to England. On 24 August 1918 following frustration at being passed over for divisional command multiple times, Paton elected to retire and returned to Australia.

Post-war career and retirement

Following the war Paton returned to business as manager of R. Hall & Son, and was vice president of the Newcastle

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

from 1919 to 1920, president from 1920 to 1923, and vice president again from 1929 to 1931. Paton returned to service after the war and commanded the 5th and 1st Brigades, and then the 2nd Division, retiring in 1926 with the rank of major general. He died on 21 November 1943 and was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

References

*Ross Mallett
John Paton
General Officers of the First AIF, adfa.edu.au *E. M. Andrews

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 161–162. {{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, John 1867 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Australian generals Australian merchants Australian military personnel of World War I People from Newcastle, New South Wales Colony of New South Wales people

Early life and merchant career

First World War

Post-war career and retirement

See also

References