Major General Winston Joseph Dugan, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria, (3 September 1876 – 17 August 1951), known as Sir Winston Dugan between 1934 and 1949, was a British

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

and a career

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. He served as

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-general of Aust ...

from 1934 to 1939, then

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of Monarchy of Australia, the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the premier of V ...

until 1949.

Background and education

Dugan was the son of Charles Winston Dugan, of Oxmantown Mall, Birr, County Offaly, Ireland, an inspector of schools. His mother was born Esther Elizabeth Rogers. He attended Lurgan College,

Craigavon Craigavon ( ) is a town in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was a planned settlement, begun in 1965, and named after the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland: James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon. It was intended to be the heart of ...

, Ireland from 1887 to 1889, and

Wimbledon College Wimbledon College is a government-maintained, voluntary-aided, Jesuit Catholic secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 19 in Wimbledon, London. The college was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning for the greate ...

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, London, England. The family name was pronounced as "Duggan". They were originally from

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

and were a branch of the

Soghain The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. The 17th-century scholar Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin. Mac Fhirbhisigh stated that the Cruithin included "the Dál Araidhi ál nAraidi ...

people.

Military career

Dugan was a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

, but transferred to the

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regim ...

as a second lieutenant on 24 January 1900. He left

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

two months later with a detachment sent to reinforce the 2nd battalion of his regiment in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. While in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, he was appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), 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 ...

of his battalion on 28 June 1901, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 November 1901. For his service in the war, he received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with three clasps. He later fought with distinction in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he was wounded and

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six times. He was promoted in July 1916 to the temporary rank of brigadier general and commanded the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division's

184th (2nd South Midland) Brigade The 184th (2nd South Midland) Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army raise for service in both the World War I, First and the World War II, Second World Wars. First World War The brigade was raised as a duplicate of the 145 ...

on the Western Front. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) in 1915 and appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in 1918. In 1929 he was made a

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(CB) and the following year he was promoted to major general. From June 1931 to June 1934 he commanded the

56th (London) Infantry Division The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World Wa ...

, Territorial Army.

Governor of South Australia

In 1934, Dugan was appointed

. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG), retired from the army and moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

with his wife. They became an extremely popular and glamorous vice-regal couple. Sir Winston and Lady Dugan were both excellent public speakers, and travelled widely to bring problems to the attention of the ministers of the day. He gave moral and financial support to numerous good causes and needy individuals. Upon the expiration of his term, there was bipartisan parliamentary support for him to serve a second term, but he had already accepted an appointment to be

Governor of Victoria

Sir Winston and Lady Dugan arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

on 17 July 1939. They continued their active role in community affairs, promoting unemployment reduction and making the ballroom of

Government House, Melbourne Government House is the official residence of the governor of Victoria, currently Margaret Gardner. It is located in Kings Domain, Melbourne, next to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Government House was opened in 1876, on land that had originall ...

available for the

Australian Red Cross Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...

. Dugan had an active role stabilising state politics during the tumultuous 1940s. Upon the disintegration of

Albert Dunstan Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan, KCMG (26 July 1882 – 14 April 1950) was an Australian politician who served as the 33rd premier of Victoria from 1935 to 1943 and from 1943 to 1945 and as the third deputy premier of Victoria for five days in ...

's Country Party government in 1943, he installed the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

leader John Cain as premier. Four days later, Dunstan formed a coalition with the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

. Following the collapse of that ministry in 1945, Dugan dissolved parliament and called a general election for November, which resulted in the balance of power being held by independents. Dugan commissioned Cain to form the ministry of a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

. Dugan's term as governor was extended five times. He was also the Administrator of the Commonwealth on two occasions: from 5 September 1944 to 30 January 1945, between the departure of the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, Lord Gowrie, and the arrival of his successor,

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was a member of the British royal family. He was the third son of King George V and Mary of Teck, Queen Mary, and was a younger brother of kings E ...

; and from 19 January to 11 March 1947, between the departure of the Duke of Gloucester and the appointment of his successor,

William McKell Sir William John McKell, (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 19 ...

. He returned to England in February 1949. On 7 July 1949 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dugan of Victoria, of Lurgan in the County of Armagh.

Personal life

Dugan married Ruby Lilian, daughter of Charles Abbott of Kilcaskan,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, in 1912. There were no children from the marriage. He died at

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London, on 17 August 1951, aged 74. He was buried at All Saints Church, adjacent to the Applewhaite estate, in South Pickenham, Norfolk.

References

External links

Craigavon Historical Society – Lurgan College Register (includes brief biography)
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dugan, Winston Joseph 1876 births 1951 deaths Military personnel from County Offaly Royal Sussex Regiment soldiers Politicians from County Offaly British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army generals of World War I Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers British Army major generals Governors of South Australia Governors of Victoria (Australia) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People educated at Lurgan College Barons created by George VI People from Birr, County Offaly