James Ralph Darling CMG OBE (1899 - 1995)

Born 18 Jun 1899 in Tonbridge, Kent, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret Dunlop (Campbell) Darling — married 1935 in Toorak, Victoria, Australia

Died 1 Nov 1995 at age 96 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kenneth Evans [send private message]

Biography

James Darling CMG OBE is Notable.

Sir James Darling CMG OBE was an officer in the Royal Artillery during the latter stages of The Great War, the English-born Australian headmaster of Geelong Grammar School and Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

James Darling CMG OBE was born in Kent, England.

James Ralph Darling was born on 18th June 1899 in Tonbridge, Kent, England, United Kingdom. He was the second child of Englishman, Augustine Darling, a school teacher and head master, and Scottish-born Jane Baird Nimmo. ^[1] He was educated at Castle School preparatory school, Tonbridge, run by his father, then boarded at Highfield School, Liphook, Hampshire (1912-13), and Repton School, Derbyshire (1913-17).

James Darling CMG OBE is a Military Veteran.
Served in the British Army Jul 1918-Oct 1919
Royal Field Artillery

James served as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery in France during the latter stages of The Great War and in occupied Germany during the ealy post-war period, resigning his commission on 21st October 1919. Released from military duties, he read history at Oriel College, Oxford. He taught from 1921 to 1924 at Merchant Taylors' School in Liverpool, before joining the staff of Charterhouse in Surrey.

James Darling CMG OBE migrated from England to Victoria.

James was a school teacher in England, and head master of Geelong Grammar School

He migrated to Victoria, Australia, in 1930 to take up the appointment as headmaster of Geelong Grammar School, serving until his retirement in 1961. He served from 1933 to 1971 on the Council of the University of Melbourne and he was a member of the Universities Commission from 1941 to 1951. He was a founding member of the Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia and was its sixth Chairman. James was next appointed Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), a position he retained until 1967. ^[2]

James married twenty-year-old Margaret Campbell, whom he had met on a return voyage from England the previous year, on 21st August 1935 in Toorak Presbyterian (now Uniting) Church. ^[3]

James was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in he New Year Honours 1953 in 'recognition of service to education' ^[4] and Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1958 in 'recognition of service to education in Victoria'. ^[5] In the New Year Honours 1968, he was created Knight Bachelor as Chairman of the ABC. ^[6]

In retirement Darling often wrote for newspapers, and published his own books. In 1988 he was named on a list of 200 great Australians (of whom only 22 were living, he being the only headmaster on the list). ^[2]

Aged 96 years, he passed away on 1st November 1995 in Windsor, Victoria. ^[2] He was survived by his wife and their three daughters and one son.

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD Birth Index Sep qtr 1899, vol 2a, page 782
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} obituary; accessed 9 Dec 2023
3. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #10052/1935
4. ↑ Australian Honours: OBE; accessed 9 Dec 2023
5. ↑ Australian Honours: CMG; accessed 9 Dec 2023
6. ↑ Australian Honours: Knight Bachelor; accessed 9 Dec 2023

• "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9FL-SLN : 20 May 2019), James R Darling in household of Augustine M Darling, Tonbridge, Kent, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Tunbridge subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWDP-PLB : 28 June 2019), James Ralph Darling in household of Austin Major Darling, Tonbridge, Kent, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

See also

• gronn, Peter. 'Darling, Sir James Ralph (1899–1995)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published online 2019; accessed online 9 Dec 2023.
• Wikipedia: James Ralph Darling; accessed 9 Dec 2023.