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William James MacAvoy Locke (1894 - 1962)

MAJ GEN William James MacAvoy (Bill) Locke
Born in St Kilda, Victoria (Australia)map
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of
Husband of — married before 1922 [location unknown]
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Died at age 67 in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australiamap
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Profile last modified | Created 6 Aug 2022
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Biography

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Bill Locke is Notable.
Bill Locke is an Anzac who served in World War One.

Major General William Locke MC was a decorated Australian officer in the First World War and a senior officer in the Australian Army during the Second World War and the immediate post-war period. He supervised the transition of many of Australia's mounted units to motorised and armoured formations and finished his military career as Chairman of the Permanent Post-War Planning Committee.

William James MacAvoy 'Bill' Locke was born on 14th August 1894 in St Kilda, Victoria (Australia). He was the son of Samuel James Locke and Bessie MacAvoy. [1] He attended the Jesuit St Patrick's College, East Melbourne.

Bill Locke is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army 1912-1947
Australian Imperial Force; Commonwealth Military Force; Second Australian Imperial Force; Australian Military Force

William entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon on 7th March 1912. Upon graduation on 2nd November 1914 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force and posted to the 13th Australian Infantry Battalion. [2] He embarked aboard HMAT Ulysses A38 on 22nd December 1914 in Melbourne for the Middle East. [3] He landed with the battalion at Gallipoli on 26th April 1915 and served as Staff Captain to the 4th Brigade commander, John Monash, during the Gallipoli campaign. As a Captain, William was Mentioned in Despatches, equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry, on 28th January 1916. [4] From June 1916 until January 1917 he served on the Somme on the Western Front. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC), gazetted in London on 3rd June 1916. [5] A second Mention in Despatches followed, on 13th July 1916. [6] After attending Staff College in England, he was appointed Brigade Major for the 4th Infantry Brigade, a role he filled from March to September 1917. He returned to Australia aboard the Borda, departing England on 26th September and disembarking at Melbourne on 21st November 1917. [2]

William married Violet Rechner before 1922. [7][8]

He spent the interwar period attending Staff College, Camberley, England from 1924 to 1927, before being appointed to the staff of 2nd Military District in Sydney, New South Wales. From 1935 to early 1937, he was in Hobart as General Staff Officer (Lieutenant Colonel) in 6th Military District. He then took up the post of Staff Officer Grade 1 on promotion to Colonel in 3rd Division, in Melbourne. [9]

On 4th July 1941 he was commissioned as a Brigadier in the Second Australian Imperial Force. He served with 2nd Armoured Brigade (1941-42), 2nd Cavalry Division (1942), 2nd Motor Division (1942-43) and 3rd Armoured Division (1943), during which time he was responsible for supervising the transition to motorised and armoured formations. He concluded his military career as Chairman of the Permanent Post-War Planning Committee (1944-46) and with Headquarters Southern Command, retiring from the Army on 17th December 1947, aged 53 years. [7]

Aged 67 years, he passed away on 3rd April 1962 in the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria and was buried in the St Kilda Cemetery. [10]

Sources

  1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #24614/1894
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Australian War Memorial nominal roll: Major William James MacAvoy Locke; accessed 6 Aug 2022
  3. ↑ Australian War Memorial embarkation roll: Lieutenant William James MacAvoy Locke; accessed 6 Aug 2022
  4. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: Mentioned in Despatches; accessed 6 Aug 2022
  5. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: Military Cross; accessed 6 Aug 2022
  6. ↑ War Memorial honours and awards: Mentioned in Despatches; accessed 6 Aug 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: NX198 Brigadier William James MacAvoy Locke; accessed 6 Aug 2022
  8. ↑ daughter's birth record
  9. ↑ The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.: 1860 - 1954) Wed 10 Feb 1937 Page 12 NAVAL AND MILITARY; accessed 9 Aug 2022
  10. ↑ Victoria Death Index #5913/1962

See also





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Categories: Australian Army Generals | Headquarters 4th Infantry Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, World War I | Australian Army Generals, World War II | Royal Military College, Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory | 2nd Armoured Division, Australian Army, World War II | Headquarters 3rd Armoured Division, Australian Army, World War II | 13th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, World War I | Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria | St Kilda, Victoria | Military Cross | Mentioned in Despatches | St Kilda Cemetery, St Kilda East, Victoria | Australia, Notables in the Military | Notables | Anzacs, World War I