Obituaries

WA Branch (Whitfords) Peter Thompson, was born in the UK and starting off his young working life in the Postal Service. He found the job onerous and so joining the Army and the Worcestershire Regiment as an Infantryman at age 17. Peter's added hight also ensuring that he was 'right marker' on more than one occasion. Soon after this, his regiment was deployed to the Bahamas as a counter Fidel Castro initiative, and where he served on until 1960. On discharge Peter became a truck driver but he also applied for migration and arriving in Australia a year later. This move led to his enlistment in the RAAF and to a duty with Safety Equipments and a posting to the Parachute Training School (PTS). For the next 10 years of service life and apart from some Support Command home duty, he would spend the the bulk of his time as ground crew on Mirages in Malaysia as a member of No: 3 & 75 Fighter Squadrons, and after some years on return, electing discharge in 1984. At this point Peter returned to driving in the courier business, and on retirement he enjoyed the camaraderie of his Service mates, a beer or two, and a golf game with his RSL Golf Club. He is survived by May and son & daughter Andrew and Shonna.

Whitfords member John Hully was born on the 8th March 1925 at Ealing Middlesex London the second son to Charles Edward and Lillian Maud Hully. After living for a period in Malta he joined the Royal Navy age 18 in1943, taking part in the landings on D Day, and building the vital Mulberry Harbours as part of his contribution to the Operation. After the war John became a clerical officer in Chatham Dockyard and later appointed to the Commonwealth Relations Office in 1948. Posted to Pakistan as Assistant Passport Officer to the British High Commission, he took time out to marry his Australian sweetheart Constance Barker in Albany, before returning to his post until 1953. After RTU UK, John was again posted overseas to Canberra in 1956 for a period of three years, and on return found himself in the Common Market Dept of the Commonwealth Relations Office. Between 1959-1967, encompassing both the Malayan Emergency and Indonesian Confrontation periods, and apart from an interlude back in the UK, he was posted to the British High Commission in Malaya & Singapore in turn and in the latter, assumind the duties of the Second Secretary and Head of the Consular Division as Administration Officer. Also subsequently becoming involved in the administration of Technical Assistance and Colombo Plan Aid in Singapore. Migration to WA and retirement from Government Service next followed by 1968. Once back in civilian life, John mainly worked at the retail and management side of the clothing industry, retiring in 1990. Apart from being a staunch family man, his wife having died earlier on, John enjoyed travel, touring around Australia and membership of the ex Service community, holding down the position of State Secretary for the NMBVA WA Branch for many years. He is survived by sons Nigel and Nicholas and their extended families.

NMBVAA WA Branch (Whitfords) member Max Hagan, enlisted in the army in 1955 as a 17 year old, allotted a Gunner in the Artillery, and in this capacity departing for Malaya and Lin Tang in the State of Perak with 100 (A) Fd Battery RAA some two years later. But from then on however! Max found that the guns were silenced more often than not and he would find himself on foot patrol as Infantry in deep jungle in the regions of the Sungai Plus. On RTA in 1958, he elected discharge and from then on worked at being a truck driver and later on for Australia Post. But once so established. Max re-enlisted as Infantry in the ARES once more, completing a Parachute Course and rising to the rank of Platoon Sergeant in 16RWAR and serving until 1967. Max's main passions were fishing, Four Wheel Driving and his ESO work with his mates, but also caring for an ailing and loving wife in Sylvia and who preceded his own passing by a number of years. Max battled his own onset of cancer bravely, being an example to everyone to the very end, and he expresses his thoughts (see Articles) on his active service In Malaya to his Daughters during this very trying time in the form of an 'open letter' - and with these very thoughts, a fitting testament to Max the man and Digger himself.

Lieutenant-General Sir Tom Daly, who has died in Sydney aged 90, played a key part in the last big Allied operation of the Second World War, the seaborne assault on the heavily-defended oil port of Balikpapan, in Borneo, on July 1 1945.

More than 100 ships landed a force of 31,500 Australians and 2,000 Americans and Dutch supported by Australian and American warships and planes. As part of Australia's 7th Division, Daly and his 2nd/10th Battalion (the Adelaide Rifles) had the vital task of capturing a well-defended ridge which dominated the landing beaches, making it the key to the main town and docks. Before leaving, Daly had been careful to instruct, and take questions from, all ranks over a period of four days.

After a heavy bombardment of the defences from sea and air, the battalion went ashore in three waves. As they moved forward, Daly learned that three of the powerful supports on which he had been counting were no longer in action: there was no further fire from naval guns and field guns, and the tanks were bogged down near the beach. To wait for support would have given the Japanese time to recover from the initial bombardment; to press on, even with practically no reserves, would be to take advantage of Japanese disorganisation.

He decided to go ahead and, after some hours of heavy fighting, the primary objective was achieved. The 2nd/10th lost 13 killed and 30 wounded (including three killed and 14 wounded by American strafing and bombing); 216 Japanese dead were counted.

The citation for Daly's DSO declared that the 2nd/10th's successes were "decisive and were due in no small measure to the courage, initiative and brilliant leadership of the commanding officer".

The son of a bank manager who had been awarded the DSO during the First World War with the 9th Light Horse, Thomas Joseph Daly was born at Ballarat, Victoria, on March 19 1913.

He was educated at St Patrick's College, Sale, and Xavier College, Melbourne, and wanted to be a doctor; but when a university scholarship eluded him, he went to the Royal Military College, Duntroon, from which he graduated in 1934 with the Sword of Honour to become one of the small nucleus of permanent officers in the citizen army.

He was commissioned into the 4th Light Horse and, in 1938, served on the North-West Frontier with the 16th/5th Lancers.

In 1942 Daly earned high praise as brigade major of 18th Brigade at the siege of Tobruk, where he was mentioned in dispatches. After the Australians were withdrawn from North Africa, he became an instructor at the Australian staff college, then fulfilled his promise as senior staff officer of 5th Division in New Guinea.

After the war Daly became an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley, before attending the Joint Services College at Latimer; he then returned to Duntroon as director of military art.

For nine months during the Korean War he was commander of the 28th Commonwealth Brigade, made up of two Australian and two British battalions. The divisional commander, Major-General James Cassells (later Field Marshal Sir James Cassells), considered that Daly had helped to make the 28th the best of his three brigades.

A series of appointments in Australia culminated in his becoming Chief of the General Staff from 1966 to 1971. These were the years of the Vietnam war, and Daly set about applying its lessons to the organisation, mobility and other aspects of the Australian Army. Although he had his setbacks, he was generally considered, along with General Sir John Wilton, foremost among the post-war Australian army chiefs.

Daly had been brought up in the belief that what was good for the army must surely dominate his country's military thinking. He also had a reputation for integrity that served him well during a tangled and somewhat absurd episode in 1971, which led to the downfall of the prime minister, John Gorton.

A newspaper alleged that Daly had complained to Gorton that Malcolm Fraser, the defence minister, had wrongly criticised the Army and its minister; Fraser, he said, had shown "extreme disloyalty".

Both Daly and Gorton subsequently denied that this had happened. But when it became clear that the newspaper's story had been put to Gorton before publication - and that, instead of rejecting it, he had failed to make any comment - Fraser resigned. He accused Gorton of "significant disloyalty". The parliamentary Liberal Party, already worried by the recurring crises of Gorton's reign, met to discuss the issue. They split 33-33 on a motion of confidence, whereupon Gorton honourably gave his casting vote against himself, and stepped down.

While it was not clear what exactly had happened, the politicians were awarded the blame, while Daly was widely believed to have been innocently caught up in the matter. Most considered that it was not in his character to besmirch a minister.

Tom Daly was a slim, handsome man who gave the impression of being married to the army. But the truth was that he had a personal life from which he derived great enjoyment and satisfaction.

In 1946 he married Heather Fitzgerald, with whom he had three daughters. There was no problem with having an all-female household, he contended, as long as daughters were treated as boys. On car trips they sang There's Something About a Soldier and The Quartermaster's Stores.

Their reading included books such as Black Arrow, Huckleberry Finn and The Last of the Mohicans. He took them to watch rugby and cricket (demystifying for them the definitions of long leg and silly mid-on); meanwhile, he also taught them to barrack.

Asked what he would have done if he had had a son, Daly replied crisply: "Strapped his right arm to his side. Australia desperately needs a left-arm bowler."

At the same time, he introduced his daughters to ballet, opera and classical concerts. He enjoyed visiting galleries and buying paintings. Much of his time in retirement was devoted to the council of the Australian War Memorial, of which he was chairman from 1974 to 1982.

Tom Daly was appointed OBE in 1944; CBE in 1953; CB in 1965; and KBE in 1967. He died on January 5, and is survived by his wife and children.