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, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Stuart Paul Weir, (29 December 1922 – 3 December 2004) was a senior officer in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, 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 (Austral ...

, seeing service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

, the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He subsequently commanded the

1st Australian Task Force The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, north of Bà Rịa ...

in South Vietnam in 1969–70.

Early life

Born on 29 December 1922 in

Canterbury, Victoria Canterbury is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Canterbury recorded a population of 7,800 at the 2021 cens ...

, the son of a manager of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Weir spent his childhood in Fiji. He was subsequently educated at

Camberwell Grammar School , motto_translation = By our deeds may we be known , established = , type = Independent, single sex, Anglican primary and secondary day school , denomination = Anglican , slogan ...

in Melbourne, Victoria. After joining the Australian Army in 1938 he graduated from the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...

as a lieutenant in the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

in June 1942 at the age of 20.

Military career

Transferring to the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to 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 initia ...

(AIF), Weir subsequently served in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

during the Second World War. Weir married Loloma Green of Richmond in 1944; the daughter of a missionary, Green had also grown up in Fiji and the couple later had a son, Tony. Weir was later awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for his actions as a platoon commander in the 2/3rd Battalion fighting against the Japanese near

Wewak Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city (seat) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak. ...

in February 1945. A

regular The term regular can mean normal or in accordance with rules. It may refer to: People * Moses Regular (born 1971), America football player Arts, entertainment, and media Music * "Regular" (Badfinger song) * Regular tunings of stringed instrum ...

officer, Weir continued to serve in the post-war Interim Army. As a captain he was posted to Army Headquarters before being discharged from the AIF in 1948 following the establishment of the Australian Regular Army. As a major Weir commanded a company of the

1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and since ...

(1 RAR) against Chinese forces in Korea in 1952–53, before holding instructional positions at Duntroon, the Staff College at Queenscliff and the UK

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

. He went on to command 1 RAR during counter-insurgency operations in the

in 1960–61. Promoted to colonel in 1964 he was appointed deputy director of Military Operations and Plans at Army Headquarters in Canberra, a position he held until 1967. From January to August 1969 he served as acting commander of the 1st Division in Sydney, as a brigadier. Weir took over as Commander

(1 ATF) in South Vietnam on 1 September 1969. Believing that 1 ATF's primary role was to find and destroy

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

main force concentrations and bases in the remote areas of the province, he moved away from the population protection operations of his predecessor and returned to earlier tactics which saw attrition of communist forces as paramount. Reflecting his aggressive approach, during his tenure the Australians conducted 21 major operations. These operations proved effective and the Viet Cong were unable to mount a major offensive in Phuoc Tuy Province during this time. Meanwhile, following signs that the main forces had left the province Weir pursued the local forces. By early 1970 the Viet Cong

274th Regiment The 4th "Đồng Nai" Regiment (also known as the ''274 Viet Cong Main Force Regiment'' or ''VC 274th Regiment'' by the US and its allies ) was a regiment of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. The regiment was part of the VC 5th Division and ope ...

in the Hat Dich no longer posed a threat to the task force, while D440 and D445 Provincial Mobile Battalions were reported to have left the province. After nine-months in command Weir handed over to Brigadier William Henderson on 31 May 1970.

Retirement and later life

Shortly after returning to Australia he suffered a heart attack and was medically retired from the Army in 1971. He was later awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typi ...

for his command in Vietnam. Weir subsequently settled in

Buderim, Queensland Buderim ( ) is an urban centre on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It sits on a mountain which overlooks the southern Sunshine Coast communities. In the , the urban area of Buderim had a population of 54,483. The name "Buderim" i ...

, with his wife, and in his later years enjoyed golf, historical research, gardening, painting and writing. He died on 3 December 2004.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Stuart Paul 1922 births 2004 deaths Australian brigadiers Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian military personnel of the Korean War Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Melbourne Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Academics of the Staff College, Camberley People from Canterbury, Victoria