James Gordon Legge

James Gordon Legge
Official portrait of Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge
Born	15 August 1863 Hackney, London, England
Died	18 September 1947(1947-09-18) (aged 84) Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army
Years of service	1885–1924
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Chief of the General Staff (1914–15, 1917–20) 2nd Division (1915–17) Australian Imperial Force (1915) 1st Division (1915)
Battles/wars	Second Boer War First World War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Mentioned in Despatches Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Danilo I (Montenegro)
Relations	Stanley Ferguson Legge (son)
Other work	Farmer

Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge CB, CMG (15 August 1863 – 18 September 1947) was an Australian Army senior officer who served in the First World War and was the Chief of the General Staff, Australia's highest ranking army officer between 1914 and 1915 and again between 1917 and 1920. His son, Stanley Ferguson Legge, reached the rank of major general.

James Gordon Legge was born in Hackney, London, England on 15 August 1863, the eldest of eight sons. The family migrated to Australia in 1878. He was educated at Cranleigh School in Surrey, England, and Sydney Grammar School. Legge graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts in 1884, Master of Arts in 1887 and a Bachelor of Law in 1890.

Legge taught at Sydney Boys High School from 1886 to 1890 when he stood down to practice law, being admitted to the bar in New South Wales on 6 March 1891.

Legge was commissioned as a lieutenant into the 3rd New South Wales Infantry Regiment in 1885 but resigned the next year. In October 1887 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 1st New South Wales Regiment. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1892. In 1894 he was commissioned as a captain in the New South Wales permanent force. He immediately departed for a tour of duty with the British Army in India, serving a month with the 5th Dragoon Guards and three months with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.