Ken Eather
| Kenneth William Eather | |
|---|---|
Major General K. W. Eather
|
|
| Nickname(s) | "Ken" "28 days" "February" "Phar Lap" |
| Born |
6 July 1901 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Died | 9 May 1993 (aged 91) Mosman, New South Wales |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1923–1946 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Service number | NX3 |
| Commands held |
11th Division 25th Infantry Brigade 16th Infantry Brigade 2/1st Infantry Battalion 3rd Infantry Battalion 56th Infantry Battalion |
| Battles/wars |
Second World War |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Efficiency Decoration Mentioned in Despatches (2) Distinguished Service Cross (United States) |
| Other work | State President, New South Wales Primary Producers Association Director, Water Research Foundation of Australia |
Second World War
Major General Kenneth William Eather, CB, CBE, DSO, ED (6 July 1901 – 9 May 1993) was a senior Australian Army officer who served during the Second World War. Eather led a battalion in the Battle of Bardia, a brigade on the Kokoda Track campaign and a division in the New Britain campaign. He was the last Australian officer to be promoted to the rank of major general during the Second World War, and when he died in 1993 he was Australia's last surviving general of that war.
Kenneth William Eather was born in Sydney, New South Wales on 6 July 1901, the eldest and only son and the first of three children of William Eather, a property manager, and his wife Isabella Theresa née Lees. William managed a plantation in Papua for a time and as a boy Ken lived in Port Moresby. Ken was educated at Abbotsholme College in Wahroonga, New South Wales, am elite boarding school that also attended by future prime ministers Harold Holt and William McMahon. While at school he served in the Australian Army Cadets, in which he was commissioned in 1919. He left school at the age of 14 and became a dental mechanic, establishing a successful private practice. In 1923 he married Adeline Mabel Lewis. Their marriage produced two children: a daughter, Elsie Isobel, and a son, who was also named Ken.
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