John Northcott
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| John Northcott | |
|---|---|
| 24 March 1890 – 4 August 1966 (aged 76) | |
 Portrait of VX63396 Lieutenant General John Northcott CB MVO, Chief of General Staff, Australian Military Forces by John Lee. |
|
| Place of birth | Creswick, Victoria |
| Place of death | Wahroonga, New South Wales |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1908-1946 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | 1st Armoured Division II Corps |
| Awards | KCMG, KCVO, CB |
| Other work | Governor of New South Wales |
Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott, KCMG, KCVO, CB, (24 March 1890 – 4 August 1966) was an Australian Army general who served as Chief of the General Staff during World War II, commanded the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, and was Governor of New South Wales.
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[edit] Early life
John Northcott was born on 24 March 1890 at Creswick, Victoria, the eldest son of John Northcott, a storekeeper, and his wife Elizabeth Jane, née Reynolds. He was educated at Dean State School, Grenville College, Ballarat and the University of Melbourne. While at school, he served in the Australian Army Cadets.[1] He was commissioned as second lieutenant in the 9th Light Horse, a Militia unit, on 14 August 1908, and was promoted to lieutenant on 31 October 1910 and captain on 31 July 1911. On 16 November 1912 he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Administrative and Instructional Staff of the Permanent Military Forces, retaining the rank of captain as an honorary rank until he was promoted to that rank on 1 June 1918.[2]
[edit] Great War
He was posted to the 6th Military District (Tasmania) where he was serving when the Great War broke out. His first task was assisting with the raising of units in Tasmania. He joined the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as a lieutenant on 24 August 1914 and was appointed adjutant of the 12th Infantry Battalion which was forming at Anglesea Barracks, Hobart. He was promoted to captain in the AIF on 18 October 1914.[2]
Northcott sailed for Egypt with the 12th Battalion on 20 October 1914. The 12th Battalion was one of the first battalions ashore at Gallipoli on the first ANZAC Day, 25 April 1915. Northcott's part was brief; he was wounded in the chest by a rifle bullet and evacuated to Alexandria and later to England. There he married Winifred Mary Paton, who had travelled to England to join him, at the parish church in Oxted on 14 September 1915.[1]
He returned to Australia on 30 December 1915 and took no further part in the fighting, it being "a rigid rule that no Regular ooficer once invalided to Australia could again go overseas".[3] His AIF appointment was terminated on 30 September 1916 and he was posted to the 5th Military District (Western Australia).[1]
[edit] Between the Wars
Northcott was given the honorary rank of major on 1 January 1919 and the brevet rank on 1 January 1920 but was not made substantive until 1 October 1923.[2]
Northcott attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1924 to 1926. On returning to Australia, he served as staff officer (later director), stores and transport, at Army Headquarters at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne. He was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order on 8 July 1927 for his service during the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York that year to open the Old Parliament House, Canberra.[1] He served on the staff of the 4th and 3rd Divisions. He went back to England as an exchange officer with the British Army], serving on the staff of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division. He attended the Imperial Defence College in 1935, and the Senior Officers' School, Sheerness in 1936, and finally completed an attachment to the Committee of Imperial Defence. He was a defence attaché in the United States and Canada from September 1936 to June 1937.[2]
Northcott was given the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel on 1 July 1935, which was made substantive on 1 January 1936. He was then promoted to the brevet rank of full colonel on 1 July 1937 and substantive rank on 13 October 1939. From 1 September 1939 to 12 October 1939, he was Director of Military Operations and Intelligence.[2]
[edit] Second World War
Northcott was promoted to the local rank of major general on 13 October 1939 when he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff.[2] He accompanied Mr Richard Casey to the Dominions' Conference in London in late 1939 as his military adviser.[1] For his service as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1941.[4]
Northcott became acting Chief of the General Staff (CGS) on 26 January 1940 on the death of Lieutenant General Ernest Ker Squires. In August 1940, his successor, General Sir Brudenell White, died in an air crash and Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee succeeded him. The post of commander of the 8th Division thereby became available but Northcott was excluded from consideration because his knowledge was vital to the new CGS. When the commander of the 9th Division, Major General Henry Wynter fell ill in January 1941, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey asked for Northcott to replace him but he was involved in organizing the 1st Armoured Division and the appointment instead went to Brigadier Leslie Morshead.
Northcott joined Second Australian Imperial Force as a major general on 1 September 1941 and was given the serial number VX63396. He was attached to the British 7th Armoured Division in the Middle East to study armoured warfare, returning to Australia in December 1941 to organize the new 1st Armoured Division.[2] In March 1942, Northcott found out from The Herald that he was to be promoted to command II Corps. "This is what they do to me," was his comment, "just as my first tank is coming down the road".[5] The new post came with a promotion to the temporary rank of lieutenant general on 6 April 1942, which became substantive on 12 December 1945.
However, on 10 September 1942, Northcott was appointed Chief of the General Staff. As Blamey's principal non-operational subordinate, he was responsible for administering and training the army. His job also involved liaison with Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, and he frequently had to represent Blamey in meetings with the Minister for the Army, Mr Frank Forde.
[edit] British Commonwealth Occupation Force
At the end of the war Sturdee was again invited to become CGS. He made it a condition of his acceptance that Northcott be given the appointment of Commander in Chief of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan.[1]
Northcott headed the BCOF from December 1945 until June 1946. As such, he negotiated the Northcott-MacArthur agreement with General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, which governed the terms and conditions under which the BCOF would occupy part of Japan. The BCOF would serve under American command, with American policy being followed. This was probably fortunate for the Japanese people, as the Australian government would have treated them more severely.[6]
Northcott therefore was a highly regarded staff officer but his periods in command of the 1st Armoured Division, II Corps and BCOF were brief and "noted neither for innovation nor conspicuous success. In two of these three appointments he was followed by Horace Robertson who "possessed the ebullience and flair that Northcott lacked".[1]
[edit] Governor of New South Wales
On 1 August 1946, Northcott became the first Australian-born, and one of the longest-serving, Governors of New South Wales. As such, he gave patronage and support to many charitable organizations and to youth, church and citizens' groups. Northcott opened South Sydney Boys High School (now South Sydney High School) in 1950 and had one of the School Houses named after him. He retired in July 1957. General Blamey was unable to secure a knighthood for Northcott for his military service, it being Australian Labor Party policy not to award knighthoods at that time, however he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1950 for his service as Governor and a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1954 for his services with the Royal Tour of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1951 and 1956 he administered the Commonwealth of Australia as acting Governor General. While occupying that office, he held the honorary rank of general. He was awarded honorary degrees by the University of Sydney (D.Litt., 1952), the New South Wales University of Technology (D.Sc., 1956) and the University of New England (D.Litt., 1956). During his term as governor he was honorary colonel of the 1st-15th Royal New South Wales Lancers. Survived by his two daughters, Sir John died on 4 August 1966 in his home at Wahroonga, New South Wales. He was accorded a state funeral with military honours and was cremated with Presbyterian forms.
His papers are in the State Library of New South Wales.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Coates, Henry John (2000). Northcott, Sir John (1890 - 1966). Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 15 pp. 493-494. Melbourne University Press.
- ^ a b c d e f g AMF Gradation List of Officers, 1945
- ^ Rowell, Sydney Fairbairn (1974). Full Circle. Clayton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, pp. 19-20. ISBN 0 522 84058 2.
- ^ Australian Honours Website
- ^ Hopkins, MAJGEN R. N. L. (1978). Australian Armour. Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum, Puckapunyal, pp. 94-95.
- ^ (1995) The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, p. 367. ISBN 0 19 553227 9.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Wakehurst |
Governor of New South Wales 1946–1957 |
Succeeded by Eric Woodward |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee |
Chief of the General Staff 1942–1945 |
Succeeded by Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee |
