Charles Lloyd (Australian general)

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Charles Lloyd
A black and white photograph of the upper body and head of a middle-aged Caucasian man. He is wearing the uniform of an Australian Army officer, has short dark hair and a small neatly cropped moustache on his upper lip.
Major General Charles Lloyd in 1945
Nickname(s)"Gaffer"
Born2 February 1899
South Fremantle, Western Australia
Died31 May 1956(1956-05-31) (aged 57)
Hollywood, Western Australia
Buried
Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth
AllegianceAustralia
Service / branchAustralian Army
Years of service1918-1946
RankMajor General
Service numberVX4
Battles / wars
Awards
Mentioned in Despatches
(3)

Second World War, during which he held senior staff and administrative positions in the Middle East, the Netherlands East Indies, Papua and Australia. Later he worked as a newspaper executive, as chief of several United Nations
agencies, and in private enterprise. Lloyd died in 1956.

Early life

Charles Lloyd was born on 2 February 1899 at South Fremantle, Western Australia, the second and only surviving child of Thomas Edward Lloyd, a postmaster, and his wife Edith, née Lock. His parents separated in 1901 and two years later his father committed suicide. He was subsequently raised by his mother, who worked as a telephone attendant at Coolgardie, and then in Fremantle from 1909. Lloyd was educated at Beaconsfield, Fremantle Boys' Central and Perth Modern schools.[1]

Military career

Entering the

First World War.[2][3] Lloyd was nicknamed "Gaffer" by the other cadets due to his serious demeanor,[1] and Gavin Long considered him among the "ablest" of the group of officers that joined the Staff Corps at that time.[4] He was appointed as a lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force upon completing his training at Duntroon and embarked from Sydney in January 1919, being sent to the United Kingdom and later posted to France.[3] Returning to the Permanent Military Force as the AIF was demobilised, he later completed his training serving with the British Army in England and India in 1919–20.[1]

Lloyd married Sybil Drummond in Melbourne on 31 December 1921.

battery and brigade level in the 2nd and 3rd Military Districts.[3] Later he attended Staff College, Camberley, in the United Kingdom during 1932–33.[2] Next he was appointed brigade major of the 4th Divisional Artillery in Melbourne in 1934, and was promoted to major in 1937.[1][3] He was posted to the Directorate of Artillery at Army Headquarters in Melbourne from 1938 to 1939.[2]

Following the outbreak of the

Western Desert, where they were to finalise their training and prepare to join the British advance through Libya.[6] The landing of German forces around Tripoli in April forced the British and Commonwealth armies into withdrawal from Benghazi as the Afrika Korps arrived to reinforce the Italians in North Africa. The Axis forces subsequently began to advance west towards the strategic port of Tobruk. During the Siege of Tobruk which followed, Lloyd saw action between April and October 1941, until the Australian units were relieved by British forces.[1][2][7] Following the evacuation of the 9th Division from Tobruk by sea, Lloyd then served as chief liaison officer at AIF Headquarters, Middle East.[1]

Departing the Middle East in late January 1942, Lloyd was promoted to

Australian government.[9]

Following the Netherlands East Indies campaign, Lloyd returned to Australia in April 1942 and reverted to the rank of brigadier.[1] He was subsequently appointed Director of Staff Duties at Land Headquarters (LHQ) in July.[2] In September he was briefly posted to I Corps in Papua as Brigadier General Staff under Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Rowell.[1] In February 1943, Lloyd was promoted again to major general and appointed Adjutant General at LHQ by the Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Thomas Blamey, remaining in this position until 1946.[1][2] Blamey had reportedly been "dissatisfied" with the performance of the previous Adjutant General, Major General Victor Stantke, and appointed Lloyd to rejuvenate the office.[13][14]

Leaving the full-time army, he transferred to the inactive

mentioned in despatches three times (1941–42).[1]

Later life

In 1946, Lloyd became a senior executive of the Argus & Australasian newspaper, before unsuccessfully seeking Liberal Party pre-selection for a seat in Federal parliament the same year. In 1948, he was appointed as a member of the government committee that reported on the administration of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan.[1] His later work included postings as chief of the United Nations Refugee Organisation in Australia and New Zealand (1948–51), and Chief of Mission of the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency (1951–53).[15] On return to Australia he took up a position as vice-chairman of Navcot (Aust.) Pty Ltd, a private enterprise which was involved in shipping refugees from Europe as part of the post-war immigration program.[1] Whilst visiting relatives in Western Australia, Lloyd died, aged just 57, of jaundice in the Repatriation General Hospital, in Hollywood, Perth, on 31 May 1956 and was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, daughter and two sons.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Clark 2000.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Dennis et al 2008, p. 325.
  3. ^ a b c d e NAA: B883, VX4, Lloyd, Charles Edward Maurice. National Archives of Australia. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  4. ^ Long 1952, p. 85.
  5. ^ a b c "Biography of Major General Charles Edward Maurice Lloyd (1899−1956), Australia". generals.dk.
  6. ^ Thompson 2010, p. 112.
  7. ^ Maughan 1966, p. 7.
  8. ^ Horner 1982, p. 176.
  9. ^ a b Grey 1999, p. 168.
  10. ^ Dennis et al 2008, pp. 325–326.
  11. ^ Horner 1978, p. 42.
  12. ^ Horner 1982, pp. 155 and 163–64.
  13. ^ Charlton 1983, p. 24.
  14. ^ Horner 1978, pp. 171 & 270.
  15. ^ a b Dennis et al 2008, p. 326.
  16. ^ Wilmot 1993, p. 113.
  17. ^ "No. 35396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 December 1941. p. 7325.

References

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