Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Charles Frederick Cox, (2 May 1863 – 20 November 1944) was an
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal 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 (CA), wh ...
officer and politician. He retired in 1923 as an honorary major general.
Early life
Charles Frederick Cox was born on 2 May 1863 at
Pennant Hills, New South Wales
Pennant Hills is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Pennant Hills is located 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsb ...
.
He was a grandson of William Cox. He was educated in
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
and became a clerk with the New South Wales Railways traffic audit branch in 1881.
Cox enlisted in the New South Wales Lancers in 1891 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1894. In 1897 he was chosen to head a detachment of the regiment in the ceremonies for
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
's
Diamond Jubilee
A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...
.
He married Minnie Elizabeth Gibbons on 7 March 1894. Promoted to captain in 1897, he travelled to England again in 1899 in command of a squadron of the lancers for training with the British cavalry.
Boer War
The squadron was training alongside the
6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) at
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
, England, when the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
broke out. Cox volunteered himself and his squadron for service in South Africa.
Some 70 of his men went to South Africa; another 31, for various reasons, did not, and returned to Australia. Cox and his volunteers arrived in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
in December 1899 and were the first colonial volunteers to arrive in Cape Town.
The squadron saw only limited action throughout their first tour, but did take part in the last major battle of the war, the
Battle of Paardeberg
The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley.
Lord Methuen a ...
, on 18 February 1900. In May 1900, Cox was attached to the
Inniskilling Dragoons
The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the ...
, under the command of Major
Edmund Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
.
The lancers returned to Australia in December 1900.
Cox was promoted to major and given command of the newly formed 3rd New South Wales Mounted Rifles, with which he returned to South Africa in April 1901.
In June he was made an honorary lieutenant colonel.
In the latter half of 1901, Cox's regiment joined part of a force led by Colonel
Michael Rimington
Lieutenant General Sir Michael Frederic Rimington, (23 May 1858 – 19 December 1928) was a British Army officer who commanded cavalry forces in the Second Boer War and First World War. After early service with the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, ...
.
They covered 1,814 miles in 153 days. There was little action apart from the occasional skirmish, but these cost the regiment 5 killed and 19 wounded.
While the British regulars had doubts about Cox's competence in 1899, by the end of the war in 1902 Cox had earned considerable accolades from Colonel Rimington. From his men he had earned the nickname "Fighting Charlie".
For his service during the war, he was appointed a Companion of the
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
(CB) in the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902, and received the decoration from the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
during a large
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
parade of colonial troops in London on 1 July 1902.
Cox remained with the lancers, which became the 1st Light Horse in 1903. He became the commander in 1906 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 2 April 1908. In 1911 Cox was transferred to the unattached officer list.
First World War
In September 1914, Cox was appointed to command the
AIF's 6th Light Horse Regiment.
The regiment trained in Sydney and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
before arriving at
Gallipoli for dismounted service on 19 May 1915. Two days later, Cox was wounded by shrapnel
while in his dugout. He was evacuated and did not rejoin his regiment until 1 July.
When Brigadier General
Chauvel took over the
New Zealand and Australian Division
The New Zealand and Australian Division was a composite army division raised for service in the First World War under the command of Major General Alexander Godley. Consisting of several mounted and standard infantry brigades from both New Zea ...
on 19 September, Cox became acting commander of the
1st Light Horse Brigade
The 1st Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time militia formation in the early 1900s in ...
.
On 6 December 1915 the appointment became permanent and Cox was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general.
He held this post for the duration of the war.
The 1st Light Horse Brigade arrived back in Egypt on 28 December 1915. The brigade was sent to Wadi Natrun, south west of
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, to protect the
Kataba Canal against the
Senussi. On 11 February 1916, the brigade, less the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, entrained for Minia. They remained there until May, patrolling the area for signs of the Senussi.
In May Cox went to England on sick leave.
He rejoined his brigade on 26 August 1916 on the
Suez Canal front, where they now formed part of Chauvel's
ANZAC Mounted Division. Cox and his brigade took part in multiple actions during the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign, including the
Battle of Magdhaba
The Battle of Magdhaba took place on 23 December 1916 during the Defence of Egypt section of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War.The Battles Nomenclature Committee assigned 'Affair' to those engagements between forces small ...
,
Battle of Beersheba and captured the town of
Jericho.
Post-war
Cox returned to Australia on 13 March 1919.
In 1920 he was elected to the
Senate as a
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
representing New South Wales, a seat he held until 1938. He travelled widely through New South Wales and became well known and popular. As a senator, he took an interest in defence policy, the development of the railway system, and the construction of the new national capital in
Canberra.
Cox was appointed to command the 4th Light Horse Brigade in 1920, and then the 1st Cavalry Division in 1921. In 1923 he was transferred to the retired list with the rank of honorary major general.
He died at Croydon on 20 November 1944 and was buried in the
Carlingford Cemetery with full military honours.
References
External links
Gallipoli evacuation order issued by Cox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Charles Frederick
1863 births
1944 deaths
Military personnel from Sydney
Australian generals
Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War
Australian military personnel of World War I
Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath
Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales
Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia
20th-century Australian politicians
Burials in South East England