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 th ...

Henry John Coates, (28 December 1932 – 11 June 2018) was a senior officer in the

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), who ...

who served as

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

from 1990 to 1992. After retiring from the army, he became an author and a visiting fellow at the

Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Au ...

branch of the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

, pursuing aspects of Australia's military history.

Early life

Coates was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia, on 28 December 1932 to George Coates and his wife Gwenyth (née Begg). Educated at

Ipswich Grammar School , motto_translation = Work and Honour , address = Darling Street , city = Ipswich , state = Queensland , postcode = 4305 , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boa ...

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 , establishe ...

, Coates graduated from the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...

into the

Royal Australian Armoured Corps The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) is a corps of the Australian Army which provides the Australian Defence Force's armour capability. Armour combines firepower, mobility, protection and networked situational awareness to generate shock ...

in 1955.Papers of John Coates, 1916–1994
MS 366, Academy Library, UNSW@ADFA

Military career

Coates was granted his first regimental posting in 1956 to the 1st Armoured Regiment. He served with the unit until 1958, when he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and reassigned as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the 10th Light Horse Regiment for a period of two years. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

in 1962, before completing Honours at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1965. He was posted to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and, as a

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

, was deployed to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. He was appointed a

Member 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 1971.Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
21 December 1971, It's an Honour. Gazetted: 16 December 1971, page 7595, position 7 He graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

in 1975. He subsequently became

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of his regiment. Coates was appointed

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

in 1983 and head of the Defence Staff in Washington, D.C., in 1984; he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in 1987 in recognition of his service there.Officer of the Order of Australia
(AO), 26 January 1987, It's an Honour. He was appointed Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Policy) in 1987 and appointed

in 1990; he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1992 in recognition of his service to the Australian Army, particularly in that role.Companion of the Order of Australia
(AC), 26 January 1992, It's an Honour

Retirement

In retirement he wrote a number of books about the Australian Army and Australian military history. These include: *''Suppressing insurgency: an analysis of the Malayan Emergency, 1948–1954'' (1992) *''Review of the Ready Reserve scheme'' (co-authored with Hugh Smith, 1995) *''Bravery above blunder: the 9th Division at Finschhafen, Sattelberg and Sio'' (1999) *''The Australian centenary history of defence'', co-editor (2001) *''An atlas of Australia's wars'', volume 7 of The Australian centenary history of defence (OUP, Melbourne, 2001) *''An atlas of Australia's wars'', 2nd edition, 2006. Coates was a visiting fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at

campus of the

(UNSW@ADFA). Aged 85, Coates died at his

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 ...

home on 11 June 2018.

References

External links

by Heide Smith {{DEFAULTSORT:Coates, John 1932 births 2018 deaths Military personnel from South Australia Australian generals Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian National University alumni Australian National University faculty Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Adelaide Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates University of Western Australia alumni Chiefs of Army (Australia)

Early life

Military career

Retirement

References

Further reading

External links