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. In ...

Sir Frederick Oliver Chilton, (23 July 1905 – 1 October 2007) was a senior officer in the

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 ...

and a public servant.

Early life

Born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 23 July 1905 and educated at North Sydney High School, Chilton studied law at

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, joining the

Sydney University Regiment Sydney University Regiment (SUR) is an officer-training regiment of the Australian Army Reserve. Its predecessor, the University Volunteer Rifle Corps, was raised in 1900 as a unit of the colonial New South Wales Defence Force. During the 20th ...

, which produced a number of notable army leaders.''Volume I – To Benghazi''
, Australia's Official Histories – Second World War, Australian War Memorial, retrieved 2008-10-27. He was the officer commanding D Company with the 2/2nd Infantry Battalion of the 6th Division in the first

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

and

Greek campaign The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

Military career

In the Libyan campaign, Chilton was described as an exceptionally careful planner who liked to leave nothing to chance. In May 1941 Chilton was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO), which cited his "conspicuous gallantry, coolness and initiative". During the Greek campaign, New Zealand General

Bernard Freyberg Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952. Freyb ...

praised Chilton as a fine man for his calm attitude during the campaign.''Volume II – Greece, Crete and Syria''
, Australia's Official Histories – Second World War, Australian War Memorial, retrieved 2008-10-27. From 1943 to 1945, Chilton, with the rank of brigadier, commanded the 18th Australian Infantry Brigade in Buna, the

Ramu Valley The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea. Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...

and later in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. In the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

, Chilton was described as modest and self-effacing but with a keen sense of duty; Chilton had already proved himself a resolute leader and careful planner.''Volume VI – The New Guinea Offensives''
, Ch.26, ''Kankiryo Saddle, Jan–Feb 1944'', Australia's Official Histories – Second World War, Australian War Memorial, retrieved 2008-10-27. Chilton was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his DSO in March 1945. At the end of hostilities he was military governor of the Celebes (now Sulawesi) and accepted the Japanese surrender from General Fusataro Teshima.Obituary, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 2007

Public servant

At war's end, Chilton joined the Joint Intelligence Service and helped map out Australia's Cold War strategy that led to the formation of

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North and S ...

and ASIS. He is credited with helping crack a Russian spy ring attempting to operate in Australia. In 1948, Chilton was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Department of Defence and two years later was promoted to the position of chairman of the Repatriation Commission, the forerunner of the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Chilton said that the time when he led the Repatriation Commission was "perhaps the most useful, productive and satisfying years of my working life, and they gave full scope to whatever leadership qualities I may have possessed". He was appointed an

Officer 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 o ...

in 1957, and was promoted to

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 o ...

in 1963. In 1969, the year before he retired, he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

.London Gazette, 14 June 1969
/ref>

Personal life and death

Chilton, who never married and rarely spoke of his military life, died on 1 October 2007 at age 102. He was remembered as the last surviving commanding officer of the 2/2nd Infantry Battalion. He was farewelled in Sydney by a handful of surviving soldiers from the 2/2nd Battalion, who reflected on their experiences serving under a man they described as "inspirational and genuine". Former sergeant Carl Parrott said: "He was an excellent man. He wasn't highfalutin; he was just a good bloke. There are some commanding officers I wouldn't walk five miles for, but I'd go miles and miles for him."Obituary, The Australian, 9 October 2007 In 2012, a street in the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

suburb of Casey was named Chilton Street in Chilton's honour.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chilton, Frederick Oliver 1905 births 2007 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australian brigadiers Australian centenarians Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Men centenarians People educated at North Sydney Boys High School Secretaries of the Australian Government Veterans' Affairs Department University of Sydney alumni