Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir Edric Montague Bastyan, (5 April 1903 – 6 October 1980) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, who became Governor of South Australia from 4 April 1961 until 1 June 1968 then

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

from 2 December 1968 until 30 November 1973. He was the last British person to be governor of either state.

Military career

After studies at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Bastyan was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

on 30 August 1923, and promoted to

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 ...

on 30 August 1925. He was promoted to captain in the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...

on 4 April 1935 and attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1936 to 1937, transferring to the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1937, and seeing service in Palestine from 1938 to 1939. Bastyan was promoted to major on 30 August 1940. From November 1939 to June 1941, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Bastyan served as a GSO II in Palestine with the Royal Irish Fusiliers and was mentioned in despatches in March 1941. He served as assistant quarter-master general in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

from July 1941 to May 1942, subsequently as deputy director of the Higher Commander's Course from May to October of that year. Bastyan was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in September 1942, by which time he was a temporary lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to temporary

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

the following month and confirmed as a war substantive lieutenant colonel in November 1942. Bastyan served as a temporary brigadier (quartermaster) from then until January 1944, when he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in August 1944. In December 1944, Bastyan was appointed an acting

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 ...

(Administration, Allied Land Forces, South East Asia). He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in July 1945, and confirmed as temporary major general in October 1946. He was promoted to substantive major-general on 26 January 1948, with seniority from 13 April 1946. After the war, Bastyan became Chief of Staff at

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

in October 1946 (which involved looking after the

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

for the

Berlin airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

between 1946 and 1948). He went on to be Chief of Staff at Eastern Command in July 1949, Director of Staff Duties at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in November 1950 and General Officer Commanding

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

in October 1952. After that he became Deputy Adjutant-General at the War Office in March 1955 and then Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong in June 1957. He retired from the British Army in June 1960 and was appointed Governor of South Australia on 4 April 1961.

Vice-Regal career

On two occasions during his period as governor in South Australia, the elections did not result in a clear majority. In both 1962 and 1968, rather than make a precipitate decision to select the premier from the party with the largest minority (and more than 50% of the votes), he bided time and waited for

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

to meet. In both cases, the quick decision would have turned out to be wrong, and the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

selected the premier from the other party. In 1962, this allowed the

Liberal and Country League Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

Playford government to continue rather than the Labor Party led by

Frank Walsh Francis Henry Walsh (6 July 1897 – 18 May 1968) was the 34th Premier of South Australia from 10 March 1965 to 1 June 1967, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. Early life One of eight children, Walsh was b ...

. In 1968, the Labor government of

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

lost to the

led by

Steele Hall Raymond Steele Hall (born 30 November 1928) is a former Australian politician who served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970. He also served in the federal Parliament as a senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977 and ...

. Bastyan's term in office in Tasmania was relatively uneventful, though he did have to deal, after the 1969 State election, with a deadlocked

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

where both the ALP and Liberals had the same number of seats. The matter was resolved by

Kevin Lyons Kevin Orchard Lyons (7 February 1923 – 24 May 2000) was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin (later renamed Braddon). Biography Early life Born in 1923 in Hobart, he was th ...

, the lone representative of the tiny Centre Party entering into a coalition with the Liberals.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastyan, Edric 1903 births 1980 deaths British Army generals of World War II British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Companions of the Order of the Bath Governors of South Australia Governors of Tasmania Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People from Seaforth, Merseyside Royal Irish Fusiliers officers Sherwood Foresters officers West Yorkshire Regiment officers British Army lieutenant generals Military personnel from Merseyside