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 a ...

John Gibson Paton, (18 November 1867 – 21 November 1943) was an Australian merchant and army officer who served 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 ...

Early life and merchant career

Paton was born in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

and joined the New South Wales Military Forces in December 1887 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 ...

in the 4th Infantry. Paton steadily rose through the ranks and at the outbreak of the First World War was appointed to command the Newcastle Defended Port. His first action was as second in command of the

Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of World War I to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guin ...

under

William Holmes William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

. During the operation, Paton captured the German motor launch ''Komet'' which later became .

First World War

Paton joined the Australian Imperial Force on 16 March 1915 as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

commanding the 25th Battalion, part of the 7th Infantry Brigade, which embarked for Egypt on 2 June 1915 where it trained until it embarked for

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 28 August 1915. Paton took over the 7th Brigade on 15 October 1915 on direct orders from Major General

James Gordon Legge Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge, (15 August 1863 – 18 September 1947) was an Australian Army senior officer who served in the First World War and was the Chief of the General Staff, Australia's highest ranking army officer between 1914 ...

. During the evacuation of Anzac, Paton was placed in command of the Rear Party, and at 0410 on 20 December Paton embarked on the last boat to leave Anzac. Paton arrived in France on 19 March 1916 and commanded several brigades during his tour on the Western Front. On 5 November, while directing an attack on a trench known as "The Maze", Paton was wounded by a German sniper and evacuated to England. On 24 August 1918 following frustration at being passed over for divisional command multiple times, Paton elected to retire and returned to Australia.

Post-war career and retirement

Following the war Paton returned to business as manager of R. Hall & Son, and was vice president of the Newcastle

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

from 1919 to 1920, president from 1920 to 1923, and vice president again from 1929 to 1931. Paton returned to service after the war and commanded the 5th and 1st Brigades, and then the 2nd Division, retiring in 1926 with the rank of major general. He died on 21 November 1943 and was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

References

*Ross Mallett
John Paton
General Officers of the First AIF, adfa.edu.au *E. M. Andrews

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 161–162. {{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, John 1867 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Australian generals Australian merchants Australian military personnel of World War I People from Newcastle, New South Wales

Early life and merchant career

First World War

Post-war career and retirement

See also

References