Mervyn Brogan

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Sir Mervyn Francis Brogan
Second World War
:
Awards
Mentioned in Despatches

CB (10 January 1915 – 8 March 1994) was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served as Chief of the General Staff
from 1971 to 1973.

A 1935 graduate of the

Canungra in 1954. When he was appointed the Chief of the General Staff in 1971, he was the first occupant of that position to possess a university degree. He presided over the withdrawal of Australian troops from the Vietnam War, the ending of the National Service scheme
, and the consequent reduction of the size of the Army, and sweeping organisational changes.

Early life

Mervyn Francis Brogan was born in

wing commander in Royal Australian Air Force.[2][3] Upon receiving his leaving certificate, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Sydney Technical College;[4] but as part of the Combined Schools team, he played rugby against the Royal Military College, Duntroon, which had moved from Canberra to the Victoria Barracks, Sydney, due to the Great Depression, and decided to go there instead.[5] His application was accepted, and he entered the Royal Military College on 25 February 1932.[6]

In his final year, Brogan was the Corps Sergeant Major, the senior cadet appointment,

Wallabies.[11]

Second World War

When the

GSO2 of Home Forces on 22 December 1941. This became Second Army on 6 April 1942. He was promoted to the temporary rank of major on 1 July 1942; this became substantive on 1 September.[9]

On 8 November 1942, he became Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General (DAQMG) of

GSO1 of the Military Training Branch at Allied Land Forces, South West Pacific Area (LHQ) from 5 January 1944 to 6 November 1944.[9] He represented the ACT in rugby in 1941 and 1944.[18] In 1945, Brogan was sent as an observer with the British Army during the Western Allied invasion of Germany. Soon after he arrived, he came down with malaria, a legacy of his service in New Guinea, to the surprise of the doctors, who were not used to seeing a tropical disease in North West Europe.[19]

Post-war

Brogan remained in Europe until 1947,

Canungra, incorporating lessons from the British Army's experience in the Malayan Emergency.[20]

Brogan served as a brigadier on the staff of the British Army's

Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1970 New Year Honours.[24]

Chief of the General Staff

On 19 May 1971, Brogan reached the pinnacle of his career when he was appointed as the

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his service in that role in the 1972 Birthday Honours.[26] Australian troops were serving in the Vietnam War at that time, but the commitment was winding down. In response to the American Vietnamization policy, the 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was withdrawn in 1970 and not replaced. The last infantry battalion, the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was withdrawn in December 1971, and the 1st Australian Logistic Support Group followed.[27] With the election of the Whitlam government in December 1972, the last troops, the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam were withdrawn.[28]

It fell to Brogan to implement sweeping changes. The Whitlam government swiftly terminated the

Francis Hassett, who would become his successor, to the post.[28]

Brogan's term as CGS ended on 19 November 1973.

Colonel Commandant of the Royal Australian Engineers from 1974 to 1978, and Honorary Colonel of the University of New South Wales Regiment from 1975 to 1980. He died in Sydney on 8 March 1994.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Brogan, Mervyn Francis". Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via World War II Nominal Roll.
  2. ^ a b "Canberra Weddings". The Canberra Times. Vol. 15, no. 4146. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 June 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Brogan, Bernard Alwyn". Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via World War II Nominal Roll.
  4. ^ "Scholarships". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 380. New South Wales, Australia. 4 March 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Happy Families Make for Happy Troops Says General". Daily Telegraph. 9 September 1970. p. 22.
  6. ^ "Royal Military College of Australia". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. 22. Australia. 17 March 1932. p. 371. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Australian Military Forces". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. 73. Australia. 12 December 1935. p. 1934. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary: Top cadet to CGS". The Canberra Times. Vol. 68, no. 21, 518. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 March 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Australian Military Forces 1945, p. 153.
  10. The Daily News
    . Vol. LV, no. 19, 207. Western Australia. 12 October 1936. p. 2. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ a b c Wain, Barry (22 May 1971). "All This and a Sense of Honour Too". The Australian. p. 16.
  12. Hassett, Francis (23 March 1994). "Officer with a Gift for Friendship". The Australian
    .
  13. ^ "Jones, David Samuel". Hall Museum and Heritage Centre. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  14. Sydney Morning Herald
    . 29 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Awards for Gallantry". The Age. No. 27774. Victoria, Australia. 27 April 1944. p. 3. Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "No. 36297". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 23 December 1943. p. 5575.
  17. ^ "No. 36486". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 27 April 1944. p. 1925.
  18. ^ "ARUOBL Honour Board – State Representation" (PDF). Australian Army. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  19. ^ Moss 2017, pp. 214–215.
  20. ^ a b Moss 2017, p. 215.
  21. ^ "No. 43011". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 May 1963. p. 4828.
  22. ^ "No. 43650". The London Gazette. 3 May 1965. p. 4656.
  23. Sydney Morning Herald
    . 18 December 1968. p. 11.
  24. ^ "No. 45000". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 30 December 1969. p. 35.
  25. ^ a b Moss 2017, p. 219.
  26. ^ "No. 45679". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 3 June 1972. p. 6288.
  27. ^ Moss 2017, pp. 220–221.
  28. ^ a b Moss 2017, pp. 222–225.

References

  • Australian Military Forces (1945). The Army List of Officers of the Australian Military Forces. Melbourne: Australian Military Forces.
  • Moss, Tristan (2017). "Post-War Planner: Lieutenant General Sir Mervyn Brogan". In Stockings, Craig; Connor, John (eds.). The Shadow Men: the Leaders Who Shaped the Australian Army from the Veldt to Vietnam. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing. pp. 211–230.
    OCLC 962357904
    .
Military offices
Preceded by
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Daly
 Chief of the General Staff
1971–1973 		Succeeded by
Lieutenant General Frank Hassett
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