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 ...

Sir Thomas Joseph Daly, (19 March 1913 – 5 January 2004) was a senior

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 ...

officer, whose career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the General Staff (1966–1971).

Early life

Born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, Victoria, on 19 March 1913, Daly originally planned to become a doctor; however, having failed to gain entry into the university course of his choice, he entered 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 ...

in 1930.Lieutenant General Thomas Joseph Daly, KBE, CB, DSO
Australian War Memorial

Service history

Daly graduated as top cadet and in 1934 and was commissioned into the 4th Light Horse Regiment. He went on to serve with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

on India's North-West Frontier in 1938.

Second World War

Daly was appointed adjutant of the 2/10th Battalion on being seconded to the Second Australian Imperial Force in 1939. He served in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

as Brigade Major of the 18th Brigade, fighting at

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

and in the Western Desert. Daly attended staff school in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. He was then appointed senior staff officer to the Militia's 5th Division which saw service in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. By 1945, Daly was in command of the 2/10th Battalion, leading it in the invasion of Balikpapan in Borneo; he was 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 ...

, and appointed an

Officer 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 ...

Senior command

After the war, Daly's military service continued with staff appointments and a period as an instructor at the

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 married Heather Fitzgerald in 1946 and in 1948 went to England to attend the Joint Services Staff College (UK). A posting to Duntroon followed and in June 1952 Daly took command of the 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade – a formation comprising two British and two Australian battalions – then fighting in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. Daly was the first Australian to hold this command, and was appointed a

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 ...

, and awarded the

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 ...

from the United States of America for his command of the unit during the Korean War. Daly was promoted to major general in 1959, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1965. Promoted to

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 ...

in 1966, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff and knighted as a

Knight 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 ...

the following year.

References

External links

Photo at the Australian War Memorial

Timeline of Daly's career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Thomas Joseph 1913 births 2004 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (state) Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Australian generals Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian military personnel of the Korean War Australian Army personnel of World War II Officers of the Legion of Merit People from Ballarat Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Chiefs of Army (Australia)