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 Eric Winslow Woodward (21 July 1899 – 29 December 1967) was an Australian military officer and viceroy. Following long service 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), wh ...

, including terms as Deputy Chief of the General Staff and General Officer Commanding Eastern Command, he was appointed as the Governor of New South Wales from 1957 to 1965, thus becoming the first New South Welshman to be governor of the state.

Early life

Woodward was born in

Hay, New South Wales Hay is a town in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales, Australia. It is the administrative centre of Hay Shire local government area and the centre of a prosperous and productive agricultural district on the wide Hay Pla ...

in July 1899, the third son of Victorian-born parents Albert William Woodward, a cattle station manager, and his wife Marie Woodward, née Reid. He and attended

Toowoomba Grammar School , motto_translation = Faithful in All Things , city = Toowoomba , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , denomination = Non-denominational , established = 18 ...

. At school he did well academically, becoming Captain of the swimming team and playing in the First XV Rugby Team. However, due to his family's financial concerns, he was unable to attend university. Therefore, in 1917 he entered 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 ...

. He graduated and was commissioned a lieutenant on 16 December 1920. Woodward first served twelve months with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars of the

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from 1921–1922. Following this service Woodward returned to Australia and, in 1925, he transferred to the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) and qualified as a pilot at No. 1 Flying Training School in

Point Cook, Victoria Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census. Point C ...

. On 7 February 1927, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, he married his cousin Amy Weller. Despite his apparent success as a pilot, he reverted to the army service in 1928. In December 1928, he was promoted to captain and became adjutant and quartermaster of the 19th Light Horse Regiment (1928–1929), and of the 4th Light Horse Regiment (1929–1934) before being posted to the Directorate of Military Training, Melbourne. In January 1937 he was sent to the Staff College, Camberley in England.

Second World War

Following the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1939, Woodward joined the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initia ...

as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General for the 6th Division, and left for the Middle East in April 1940. In the Middle East he gained distinction during the North African campaign from December 1940 to January 1941 and was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 8 July 1941.Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military)
8 July 1941, itsanhonour.gov.au
Citation: ''ARMY – Distinguished service in the Middle East''. He served in the Greece Campaign from March to April 1941 as a lieutenant colonel on General Sir Thomas Blamey's staff and later served in the I Corps in the Syrian campaign. In May 1942 he was posted to the 9th Division. He fought in both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second Battles of El Alamein and 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, ty ...

on 11 February 1943.Distinguished Service Order
, 11 February 1943, itsanhonour.gov.au
Citation: ''ARMY – 6 Division Cavalry Commando''. He was twice mentioned in despatches for his work in the Middle East. Arriving back in Australia in February 1943, in March Woodward was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

and was posted to the headquarters of the Northern Territory Force until December 1943. He then served in various administrative positions until the end of the war. From July 1945 to March 1946 he was appointed deputy adjutant and quartermaster-general, at headquarters on Morotai.

Post-war career

In 1948 Woodward attended the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

and remained in London as Australian Army representative for the High Commission of Australia in London. In December 1949 he was at Army Headquarters in Melbourne and implemented the new National Service scheme, and fought for improvements in soldiers' pay and conditions. In 1950 and 1951 he reported directly to Prime Minister Robert Menzies as head of a special staff which planned counter-measures in the event of the government's attempt to ban the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political parties, Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membersh ...

leading to industrial unrest. On 20 February 1951 he was promoted to temporary

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 ...

and made Deputy Chief of the General Staff. Weary of involvement with bureaucrats, he requested not be put forward as a candidate for

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 ...

. In 1952 he was invested as 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 ...

.Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Military)
5 June 1952, itsanhonour.gov.au Citation: ''ARMY – Postwar Honours List''. Appointed General Officer Commanding Eastern Command in December 1953, he was elevated to the same role his great-grandfather Charles William Wall had held from 1823 to 1825. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1956.Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military)
, 31 May 1956, itsanhonour.gov.au
Citation: ''General Officer Commanding Eastern Command''. Woodward was further promoted as a

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 ...

in December 1953.

Governor of New South Wales

When Sir John Northcott's term as Governor of New South Wales drew to a close, the Premier

Joseph Cahill John Joseph Cahill (21 January 189122 October 1959), also known as Joe Cahill or J. J. Cahill, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, railway worker, trade unionist and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to his death in 1 ...

sought another Australian-born military officer to succeed him and chose Woodward, who assumed office on 1 August 1957. The thirty-first governor of New South Wales, he was the first to have been born in the state. As governor he was invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1958Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
1 January 1958, itsanhonour.gov.au Citation: ''For services to the Commonwealth''. and a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1963.Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
16 April 1963, itsanhonour.gov.au
Citation: ''Governor of New South Wales 1957–65''. For part of his term in office, as the longest-serving governor, he acted as Administrator of the Commonwealth of Australia from 16 June to 30 August 1964 in the absence of the Governor-General of Australia, Lord De L'Isle. In recognition of his service as governor, Woodward was awarded honorary doctorates by various universities, including an honorary Doctor of Science (Hon.DSc) from 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 ...

(1958), an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

(Hon.DLitt) on 29 April 1959 by the

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 ...

and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

(1961). The St. George Greek Orthodox parish in Rose Bay, Sydney was dedicated as a War Memorial by Woodward on 25 November 1962. On 30 June 1961, he officially opened Vaucluse Boys' High School. He laid the foundation for International House, University of New South Wales on 13 February 1965. Woodward retired on 31 July 1965 and he and his wife moved to

Wahroonga Wahroonga is a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. ...

Death and legacy

Woodward died on 29 December 1967 at

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School a ...

, Camperdown and was given a state funeral with full military honours. Lady Woodward survived him, as did their daughter and son, Sir Edward Woodward, who became a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia. He was cremated with his ashes interred at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens,

North Ryde North Ryde is a suburb located in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Ryde is located 15 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City ...

. The Sir Eric Woodward Memorial School for children with intellectual and physical disabilities was established in 1971 and named in his honour. In 1970, the

Public Transport Commission The Public Transport Commission (PTC) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for the provision of rail, bus and ferry services in New South Wales, Australia from October 1972 until June 1980. Upon dissolution, responsi ...

in charge of Sydney Ferries commissioned a new ship for the "Lady class" of ferries. Launched at the New South Wales State Dockyard in Newcastle in 1970, it was named the "Lady Woodward" to commemorate their service in office. The Lady Woodward was sold in 1993 and now operates as a privately owned craft in Tin Can Bay, Queensland.

Honours

Honorary military appointments

Air Force Ensign of Australia (1948–1982)

14 August 1958 – 19 January 1966: Honorary Air Commodore of No. 22 Squadron,

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

Honorary degrees

* In 1958, he was awarded a

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

(honoris causa) (Hon.DSc) by the

. * On 29 April 1959, he was awarded a

(honoris causa) (Hon.DLitt) of the

. * In 1961, he was admitted as an Honorary

(Hon.DLitt) by the University of New England.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Eric 1899 births 1967 deaths Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Australian Army officers Royal Australian Air Force airmen Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian generals Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights of Justice of the Order of St John Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Governors of New South Wales Military personnel from New South Wales People from the Riverina People educated at Toowoomba Grammar School Honorary air commodores of the Royal Australian Air Force 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies