Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Cecil Henry Foott (16 January 1876 – 27 June 1942) was a senior

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 ...

officer who served as Chief Engineer of the

Australian Corps The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 1 ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was educated as an engineer and, serving with distinction in senior staff and engineering positions through the First World War, was seven times

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

Early life and career

Cecil Henry Foott was born on 16 January 1876 at

Bourke, New South Wales Bourke is a town in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. The administrative centre and largest town in Bourke Shire, Bourke is approximately north-west of the state capital, Sydney, on the south bank of the Darling River. it is also ...

, the son of a station owner, Thomas Wade Foott and his wife, the poet Mary Hannay (née Black). He was educated at

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

and

Toowoomba Grammar School , motto_translation = Faithful in All Things , city = Toowoomba , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , denomination = Non-denominational , established = ...

, and qualified as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

. In 1895, Foott was commissioned into the Queensland Militia Garrison Artillery as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. The following September he was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Permanent Military Forces, in the Queensland Artillery. In July 1901 he was promoted to captain in the

Royal Australian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's first ...

. In 1902 Foott transferred to the

Royal Australian Engineers The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, be ...

. After a year of training in England in 1908, he became Chief Engineer in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1909. He was promoted to major on 1 August 1909, served as Director of Works from 1910 to 1911 and then as Director of Engineers from 1911–12. In 1912–13 he attended 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 i ...

in England, and was still on duty in the England on the staff of Southern Command when the war broke out.

First World War

Being one of only six staff college graduates in the Army, this made Foott in demand for staff duties and on the outbreak of the First World War Major General

William Bridges William or Bill Bridges may refer to: * William Bridges (author) (1933–2013), American writer and organizational consultant * William Bridges (general) (1861–1915), commander of the Australian Army's First Australian Imperial Force in 1 ...

immediately requested him for the 1st Division staff as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General. This part of the division staff was concerned with personnel administration. Foott joined the staff in Egypt in January 1915. Foott was determined that the men should always be supplied properly, and made a point of letting the officers of the Lines of Communication, living palatially on board the Aragon, know exactly what he thought of them whenever they placed obstacles in his way. He remained in the post for two years. In France he found the logistics far more complex, but much better organised, and increasingly free of shortages, he was able to deliver there a quality of service that he had never been able to achieve at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. On 23 July 1917 Foott became assistant adjutant and quartermaster general of the AIF Depots in the United Kingdom, with the temporary rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. Then on 17 March 1918 he became Chief Engineer of the

. It was his first engineering post since before the war. Foott called conferences of his engineers and tried to build up a sense of esprit amongst the corps. Increasingly, the engineering effort was driven by corps, as the engineers attempted to keep the troops and supplies moving forwards.

Post war

After the war ended, Foott became Deputy Director of Repatriation, working under Lieutenant General Sir John Monash. Foott himself returned to Australia in November 1919. Foott became a colonel and honorary brigadier general in the Staff Corps. He served at first in the Quartermaster General's Branch at Army Headquarters. In 1926 he became Commandant of the 1st Military District in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Then in 1930 he became Commandant of the 3rd Military District and commander of the 4th Division in Victoria. In July 1931, Foott was transferred to the Reserve of Officers. He was placed on the Retired List in February 1936 as an honorary brigadier general. He died on 27 June 1942 and was buried at Berwick Cemetery.

References

External links

Cecil Henry Foott Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foott, Cecil Henry 1876 births 1942 deaths Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley People educated at Brisbane Grammar School People educated at Toowoomba Grammar School Volunteer Defence Corps officers Military personnel from New South Wales Burials in Victoria (Australia)