Colin Hall Simpson
Encyclopedia
Major General
Colin Hall Simpson, CBE
, MC
, VD
(13 April 1896 – 23 August 1964) was an Australian Army
officer who rose to the rank of major general
as Signal Officer in Chief during the Second World War. He was one of the founders of Amcal, the largest retail pharmacy chain in Australia.
Simpson joined the First Australian Imperial Force
in 1916, and served on the Western Front
in the Battle of Messines
and Battle of Passchendaele. He was twice wounded, and was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross
. After the war he worked as a pharmacist, and rose to the rank of colonel in the Militia
. He transferred to the Australian Corps of Signals
on its formation in 1925.
During the Second World War he participated in the campaigns in Greece
and Syria as Chief Signal officer of I Corps. He returned to Australia in 1942 to become the Australian Army's Signal Officer in Chief. He also became the first Signal Corps officer to reach the rank of major general.
on 13 April 1894, the son of Colin Simpson, a plumber, and his Elizabeth Fulton Simpson, née Jordan. He was educated at St Kilda Primary School, and, from 1911, at Caulfield Grammar School
. While at Caulfield Grammar, Simpson joined the Australian Army Cadets
, rising to the rank of sergeant. After leaving school he became an apprentice pharmacist
. He served with the 49th (Prahran
) Battalion in which he was commissioned as a second lieutenant
on 1 March 1914. He became its assistant adjutant
on 12 April 1915 and was promoted to lieutenant
on 1 July 1915.
(AIF) on 1 May 1916, and posted to the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, part of the 3rd Division, which was then being raised in Australia. He embarked from Port Melbourne
on the transport HMAT Wandilla
on 6 June 1916, arriving in England on 26 July 1916. The 3rd Division trained on the Salisbury Plain
in England, where he was promoted to lieutenant on 13 October 1916, but was transferred to the 3rd Division Signal Company on 16 November 1916. Soon after, the 3rd Division moved to the Western Front
, moving into the line near Armentières
. Simpson was mentioned in despatches on 4 January 1917.
The 3rd Division carried out its first offensive at the Battle of Messines
in June 1917. For his part in the battle, Simpson was awarded the Military Cross
. His citation read:
Simpson participated in the Battle of Passchendale where he was gassed and wounded for the second time. He was evacuated to England on 22 October 1917. While in hospital he applied for nine months' leave to return to Australia and complete his pharmaceutical studies. He had passed the Intermediate Examination before leaving Australia but not the Final Examination. This was granted, and he embarked for home on the transport HMAT Persic on 21 December 1917. He passed the Final Examination, and was registered as a pharmacist on 10 July 1918.
He never returned to the front, and his AIF appointment was terminated on 9 August 1918.
in March 1921. In May, he transferred to the Royal Australian Engineers
and joined the 3rd Division Signals Company. He was promoted to major
on 1 July 1922, and became its commander, with the rank of lieutenant colonel
on 1 September 1922. On 1 January 1925, the signal units were separated from the Engineers to form the Australian Corps of Signals
, and he was transferred to the new corps. He commanded the 39th Infantry Battalion from 1 July 1929 to 30 June 1933, after which he was on the unattached list for two years before resuming command of the 3rd Division Signals Company. On 1 May 1939, he assumed command of the 6th Infantry Brigade
, with the temporary rank of colonel
.
Simpson opened his own chemist shop in Brunswick West in 1918. On 12 August 1919 he married Jean Elizabeth Watson at the Congregational Church in Ascot Vale, Victoria
. Their marriage produced two children, a son who died in infancy and a daughter, Jean Marjorie. One of the witnesses at their wedding ceremony was a fellow Militia officer, Alan Ramsay, who would later marry Jean's sister Edna. In 1937, Simpson banded together with with D. E. Robertson and A. E. Moore to create the Allied Master Chemists of Australia Ltd, today better known as Amcal. The idea was to join together to compete against the growing market power of major retailers. The business grew from 12 members in 1937 to over 100 by 1946. Today Amcal is the largest retail pharmacy chain in Australia.
on 15 October 1939 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was allocated the AIF service number
VX79, and assumed command of the Australian Corps Signals. When the I Corps was formed in April 1940, Lieutenant General
Sir Thomas Blamey
was appointed its commander, and Simpson its Chief Signals Officer, with a promotion to the rank of colonel.
Simpson embarked on the transport Nieuw Holland on 15 September 1940, arriving in Kantara, Egypt on 12 October. He met with his British counterparts, and discussed arrangements for the creation of an AIF Signals School in the Middle East. Some negotiation was required before this proposal was finally accepted. He was disappointed at the standard of training that had been achieved by the I Corps and 6th Division signals units in the Middle East. Nor were reinforcements arriving from Australia any better. Both the standard of training of the units and the establishment of the schools intended to remedy the situation were hampered by a serious shortage of equipment. The 6th Division's list of critical shortfalls—by no means restricted to signals equipment—included 120 telephones and 120 miles (193.1 km) of electrical cable. Not until January 1941—after the 6th Division had been committed to battle in Libya—did the cable become available in Australia. Some units equipped themselves with captured enemy materiel.
Simpson arrived in Greece on 7 March 1941 as part of the I Corps advance party. The Battle of Greece
presented a major challenge for Simpson's signals units, as rugged terrain, enemy action and frequent troop movements conspired to frustrate their efforts to maintain reliable communications. The news that Yugoslavia
had offered to surrender reach Blamey from a BBC
broadcast on 15 April picked up on a receiver built into a kerosene case that Simpson had insisted that he take. Much signals equipment was lost during the fighting, and some had to be destroyed following the order to evacuate Greece. Simpson embarked for Crete on on 25 April. From there he took a flying boat
to Alexandria
. His first priority on arrival was arranging for the lost equipment to be replaced.
The shortage of signals equipment was an important factor in the delay in committing I Corps to the Syria–Lebanon campaign until it became clear that General
Sir Henry Maitland Wilson could not adequately control operations from his headquarters at the King David Hotel
in Jerusalem. Once again, the signallers had to battle with inhospitable terrain. The hills and atmospheric conditions made reception difficult for the radio operations, and those same hills, along with shortages of cable made the linesmen's task no less difficult. He was mentioned in dispatches
, and made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for "maintenance of communications under difficult conditions in the Grecian campaign".
Simpson was promoted to the rank of brigadier
on 11 September 1941, becoming the first officer of the Australian Signal Corps to reach that rank. Simpson was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident on 13 September 1941, resulting in a broken collarbone, rib and finger, severe cuts, and a concussion. He was taken to the 2/1st General Hospital, and was evacuated to Australia on the hospital ship MS Wanganella. He returned to the Middle East by air, arriving back on 20 January 1942.
, where he joined the advance party of I Corps, and met with Dutch East Indies
authorities regarding signals arrangements for the defence of Java from the Japanese
. These were soon well in hand, but the tactical situation deteriorated to the extent that I Corps was ordered to leave Java on 21 February 1942. Simpson departed on the troop ship Orcades, which arrived in Adelaide on 14 March.
Blamey was appointed Commander in Chief of the Australian Military Forces
on 27 March. He instituted a sweeping reorganisation of the Army, replacing officers with men who had experience in the Middle East. Simpson became the Signal Officer in Chief on 6 April, with the rank of major general
, the first Australian Signal Corps officer to reach that rank.
One of Simpson's first tasks was to confer with the Chief Signals Officer at General
Douglas MacArthur
's General Headquarters (GHQ) South West Pacific Area, Brigadier General
Spencer B. Akin. The two established mechanisms to divide responsibility for the theatre's communications between the two armies, which often worked together on the same projects. An important outcome of their first meeting was the creation of the Central Bureau
as a combined signals intelligence organisation. Simpson had been thinking about such an organisation while on the Orcades. Blamey had an appreciation of signals intelligence from his time as Deputy Commander in Chief in the Middle East, and readily gave his support. After a slow start, signals intelligence became an important element of the war in the South West Pacific.
Perhaps Simpson's most ambitious project was the laying of a submarine cable between Cape York
and New Guinea. A cable laying ship, the SS Mernoo, was chartered, and two old cables that ran across the Bass Strait
were lifted and re-laid across the Torres Strait
in October 1943. When the land connections were completed in December 1943, it became possible to send a message all the way from Melbourne to Port Moresby. Simpson, who was on an inspection tour of New Guinea, was on hand for the first message. In November 1944, he visited the front in Holland, Belgium and France, returning to Australia via the United States and Canada.
To man his signals units, Simpson sought to obtain some 4,000 Australian Women's Army Service
(AWAS) personnel. Two special signal training battalions were activated to cater for them, and Simpson inspected the 2nd Signal Training Battalion (AWAS) at Ivanhoe Grammar School
with Lieutenant Colonel Sybil Irving
on 6 July 1942. By 1945, the Signal Corps numbered some 25,000 men and women.
Aware that signals is usually forgotten when the signallers are doing their best work, Simpson attempted to obtain various accolades for his corps. He held ceremonial parades through Melbourne to celebrate VE Day on 10 May 1945, and VP Day on 20 August 1945. He attempted to get the title "Royal" granted in recognition of its wartime service. This occurred on 10 November 1948.
for the Signal Corps in Southern Command from June 1958 to June 1963, and was Colonel Commandant of the corps from September 1959 to December 1960. In 1946 he was appointed director of the Columbia Graphophone Company
(Australia).
Simpson was a keen supporter of the Essendon Football Club
, serving as its vice president from 1947 to 1964. He was awarded a life membership in 1957. He was elected Victorian State President of the Australian Legion of Ex Servicemen and Women in 1948. He resigned in October after a dispute with the State Council over its suspension of two members for being communists, which Simpson opposed. Yet Simpson was no communist sympathiser; far from it. He organised the The Association, a right wing paramilitary organisation headed by Blamey which was established to counter a possible communist coup. The Association disbanded in 1950.
. His pall bearers included Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring
and Major General Alan Ramsay.
Simpson Barracks
was named in his honour in 1986. It is considered the home of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, and contains the Defence Force School of Signals and the Royal Australian Corps of Signals Museum.
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
Colin Hall Simpson, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, VD
Volunteer Decoration
The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was created by Royal Warrant under command of Queen Victoria on 25 July 1892 to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years...
(13 April 1896 – 23 August 1964) was an Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
officer who rose to the rank of major general
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
as Signal Officer in Chief during the Second World War. He was one of the founders of Amcal, the largest retail pharmacy chain in Australia.
Simpson joined the First Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
in 1916, and served on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in the Battle of Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
and Battle of Passchendaele. He was twice wounded, and was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
. After the war he worked as a pharmacist, and rose to the rank of colonel in the Militia
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
. He transferred to the Australian Corps of Signals
Royal Australian Corps of Signals
The Royal Australian Corps of Signals is one of the 'arms' of the Australian Army. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems...
on its formation in 1925.
During the Second World War he participated in the campaigns in Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
and Syria as Chief Signal officer of I Corps. He returned to Australia in 1942 to become the Australian Army's Signal Officer in Chief. He also became the first Signal Corps officer to reach the rank of major general.
Early life
Colin Hall Simpson was born in St Kilda, VictoriaSt Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
on 13 April 1894, the son of Colin Simpson, a plumber, and his Elizabeth Fulton Simpson, née Jordan. He was educated at St Kilda Primary School, and, from 1911, at Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later...
. While at Caulfield Grammar, Simpson joined the Australian Army Cadets
Australian Army Cadets
The Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that is involved with progressive training of youths in military and adventurous activities. The programme has more than 19,000 Army Cadets between the ages of 12½ and 19 based in 236 units around Australia...
, rising to the rank of sergeant. After leaving school he became an apprentice pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
. He served with the 49th (Prahran
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
) Battalion in which he was commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
on 1 March 1914. He became its assistant adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
on 12 April 1915 and was promoted to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 1 July 1915.
First World War
Simpson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the First Australian Imperial ForceFirst Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
(AIF) on 1 May 1916, and posted to the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, part of the 3rd Division, which was then being raised in Australia. He embarked from Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne, Victoria
Port Melbourne is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km southwest of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government areas are the cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, Port Melbourne had a population of 13,293....
on the transport HMAT Wandilla
HMAT Wandilla
The SS Wandilla 7785 tons, was built in 1912 by William Beardmore and Company, Glasgow for the Adelaide Steamship Company.-Design and construction:...
on 6 June 1916, arriving in England on 26 July 1916. The 3rd Division trained on the Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
in England, where he was promoted to lieutenant on 13 October 1916, but was transferred to the 3rd Division Signal Company on 16 November 1916. Soon after, the 3rd Division moved to the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, moving into the line near Armentières
Armentières
Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys....
. Simpson was mentioned in despatches on 4 January 1917.
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
in June 1917. For his part in the battle, Simpson was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
. His citation read:
Simpson participated in the Battle of Passchendale where he was gassed and wounded for the second time. He was evacuated to England on 22 October 1917. While in hospital he applied for nine months' leave to return to Australia and complete his pharmaceutical studies. He had passed the Intermediate Examination before leaving Australia but not the Final Examination. This was granted, and he embarked for home on the transport HMAT Persic on 21 December 1917. He passed the Final Examination, and was registered as a pharmacist on 10 July 1918.
He never returned to the front, and his AIF appointment was terminated on 9 August 1918.
Between the wars
Simpson remained in the Army as a reservist. He was posted to the 2/14th Infantry on 1 October 1918, and was promoted to captain on 16 April 1920. In the post-war reorganisation of the Army, the 2/14th was absorbed into the 14th Infantry Battalion14th Battalion (Australia)
The 14th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised in 1914 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service in World War I, the battalion served at Gallipoli initially before being sent to France where it served in the trenches along the Western Front until...
in March 1921. In May, he transferred to the Royal Australian Engineers
Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers is a corps of the Australian Army . The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Staff Cadets, Armoured and Artillery Corps...
and joined the 3rd Division Signals Company. He was promoted to major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
on 1 July 1922, and became its commander, with the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
on 1 September 1922. On 1 January 1925, the signal units were separated from the Engineers to form the Australian Corps of Signals
Royal Australian Corps of Signals
The Royal Australian Corps of Signals is one of the 'arms' of the Australian Army. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems...
, and he was transferred to the new corps. He commanded the 39th Infantry Battalion from 1 July 1929 to 30 June 1933, after which he was on the unattached list for two years before resuming command of the 3rd Division Signals Company. On 1 May 1939, he assumed command of the 6th Infantry Brigade
6th Brigade (Australia)
The 6th Brigade is an Australian Army brigade. First formed during the First World War as an infantry unit of the Australian Imperial Force, the brigade served at Gallipoli and in France and Belgium on the Western Front...
, with the temporary rank of colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
.
Simpson opened his own chemist shop in Brunswick West in 1918. On 12 August 1919 he married Jean Elizabeth Watson at the Congregational Church in Ascot Vale, Victoria
Ascot Vale, Victoria
Ascot Vale is a suburb 7 km north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley. At the 2006 Census, Ascot Vale had a population of 12,398....
. Their marriage produced two children, a son who died in infancy and a daughter, Jean Marjorie. One of the witnesses at their wedding ceremony was a fellow Militia officer, Alan Ramsay, who would later marry Jean's sister Edna. In 1937, Simpson banded together with with D. E. Robertson and A. E. Moore to create the Allied Master Chemists of Australia Ltd, today better known as Amcal. The idea was to join together to compete against the growing market power of major retailers. The business grew from 12 members in 1937 to over 100 by 1946. Today Amcal is the largest retail pharmacy chain in Australia.
Middle East
Simpson joined the Second Australian Imperial ForceSecond Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
on 15 October 1939 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was allocated the AIF service number
Service number
A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian term as well...
VX79, and assumed command of the Australian Corps Signals. When the I Corps was formed in April 1940, Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
was appointed its commander, and Simpson its Chief Signals Officer, with a promotion to the rank of colonel.
Simpson embarked on the transport Nieuw Holland on 15 September 1940, arriving in Kantara, Egypt on 12 October. He met with his British counterparts, and discussed arrangements for the creation of an AIF Signals School in the Middle East. Some negotiation was required before this proposal was finally accepted. He was disappointed at the standard of training that had been achieved by the I Corps and 6th Division signals units in the Middle East. Nor were reinforcements arriving from Australia any better. Both the standard of training of the units and the establishment of the schools intended to remedy the situation were hampered by a serious shortage of equipment. The 6th Division's list of critical shortfalls—by no means restricted to signals equipment—included 120 telephones and 120 miles (193.1 km) of electrical cable. Not until January 1941—after the 6th Division had been committed to battle in Libya—did the cable become available in Australia. Some units equipped themselves with captured enemy materiel.
Simpson arrived in Greece on 7 March 1941 as part of the I Corps advance party. The Battle of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
presented a major challenge for Simpson's signals units, as rugged terrain, enemy action and frequent troop movements conspired to frustrate their efforts to maintain reliable communications. The news that Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
had offered to surrender reach Blamey from a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
broadcast on 15 April picked up on a receiver built into a kerosene case that Simpson had insisted that he take. Much signals equipment was lost during the fighting, and some had to be destroyed following the order to evacuate Greece. Simpson embarked for Crete on on 25 April. From there he took a flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. His first priority on arrival was arranging for the lost equipment to be replaced.
The shortage of signals equipment was an important factor in the delay in committing I Corps to the Syria–Lebanon campaign until it became clear that General
General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....
Sir Henry Maitland Wilson could not adequately control operations from his headquarters at the King David Hotel
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem, Israel. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally quarried pink limestone and was founded by Ezra Mosseri, a wealthy Egyptian Jewish Banker. To this day the hotel remains one of the most prominent and prestigious hotels in Israel, and...
in Jerusalem. Once again, the signallers had to battle with inhospitable terrain. The hills and atmospheric conditions made reception difficult for the radio operations, and those same hills, along with shortages of cable made the linesmen's task no less difficult. He was mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
, and made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for "maintenance of communications under difficult conditions in the Grecian campaign".
Simpson was promoted to the rank of brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
on 11 September 1941, becoming the first officer of the Australian Signal Corps to reach that rank. Simpson was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident on 13 September 1941, resulting in a broken collarbone, rib and finger, severe cuts, and a concussion. He was taken to the 2/1st General Hospital, and was evacuated to Australia on the hospital ship MS Wanganella. He returned to the Middle East by air, arriving back on 20 January 1942.
South West Pacific
Within days, Simpson was heading east again, taking a flying boat to BataviaBatavia
Batavia is the Latin name for the land of the Batavians during Roman times. This was roughly the area around the city of Nijmegen, Netherlands, within the Roman Empire. The remainder of this land is nowadays known as Betuwe. During the Renaissance, Dutch historians tried to promote these Batavians...
, where he joined the advance party of I Corps, and met with Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
authorities regarding signals arrangements for the defence of Java from the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
. These were soon well in hand, but the tactical situation deteriorated to the extent that I Corps was ordered to leave Java on 21 February 1942. Simpson departed on the troop ship Orcades, which arrived in Adelaide on 14 March.
Blamey was appointed Commander in Chief of the Australian Military Forces
Australian Military Forces
The Australian Military Forces was the official name of the Army of Australia from 1916 to 1980. This encompassed both the "regular army", and the forces, variously known during this period as the Militia, the Citizen Military Forces and the Australian Citizen Military Force .Initially this...
on 27 March. He instituted a sweeping reorganisation of the Army, replacing officers with men who had experience in the Middle East. Simpson became the Signal Officer in Chief on 6 April, with the rank of major general
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
, the first Australian Signal Corps officer to reach that rank.
One of Simpson's first tasks was to confer with the Chief Signals Officer at General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
's General Headquarters (GHQ) South West Pacific Area, Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Spencer B. Akin. The two established mechanisms to divide responsibility for the theatre's communications between the two armies, which often worked together on the same projects. An important outcome of their first meeting was the creation of the Central Bureau
Central Bureau
The Central Bureau was one of two Allied Sigint organisations in the South West Pacific area during World War II. Central Bureau was attached to the HQ of the Allied Commander of the South West Pacific area, Douglas MacArthur. The other unit was the joint RAN/USN Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne ,...
as a combined signals intelligence organisation. Simpson had been thinking about such an organisation while on the Orcades. Blamey had an appreciation of signals intelligence from his time as Deputy Commander in Chief in the Middle East, and readily gave his support. After a slow start, signals intelligence became an important element of the war in the South West Pacific.
Perhaps Simpson's most ambitious project was the laying of a submarine cable between Cape York
Cape York
Cape York may refer to:* Cape York , a cape at the north-west coast of Greenland, in northern Baffin Bay* Cape York meteorite, meteorite found in 1894 near Cape York, Greenland...
and New Guinea. A cable laying ship, the SS Mernoo, was chartered, and two old cables that ran across the Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
were lifted and re-laid across the Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
in October 1943. When the land connections were completed in December 1943, it became possible to send a message all the way from Melbourne to Port Moresby. Simpson, who was on an inspection tour of New Guinea, was on hand for the first message. In November 1944, he visited the front in Holland, Belgium and France, returning to Australia via the United States and Canada.
To man his signals units, Simpson sought to obtain some 4,000 Australian Women's Army Service
Australian Women's Army Service
The Australian Women's Army Service or "AWAS" was a women's service established on 13 August 1941 to "release men from certain military duties for employment in fighting units".-Formation / Structure:...
(AWAS) personnel. Two special signal training battalions were activated to cater for them, and Simpson inspected the 2nd Signal Training Battalion (AWAS) at Ivanhoe Grammar School
Ivanhoe Grammar School
Ivanhoe Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, day school, located in Ivanhoe and Mernda , both located in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
with Lieutenant Colonel Sybil Irving
Sybil Irving
Sybil Howy Irving MBE was the founder and controller of the Australian Women's Army Service during World War II. She served in this position from 1941 to 1946 and was active in charity and social organisations until she was aged 74.-Social work:Irving was born on 25 February 1897 at Victoria...
on 6 July 1942. By 1945, the Signal Corps numbered some 25,000 men and women.
Aware that signals is usually forgotten when the signallers are doing their best work, Simpson attempted to obtain various accolades for his corps. He held ceremonial parades through Melbourne to celebrate VE Day on 10 May 1945, and VP Day on 20 August 1945. He attempted to get the title "Royal" granted in recognition of its wartime service. This occurred on 10 November 1948.
Later life
Simpson handed over the position of Signal Officer in Chief to Brigadier A. D. Malloy on 23 May 1946. He was placed on the retired list with the honorary rank of major general on 19 December 1946. He served as Colonel CommandantColonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels...
for the Signal Corps in Southern Command from June 1958 to June 1963, and was Colonel Commandant of the corps from September 1959 to December 1960. In 1946 he was appointed director of the Columbia Graphophone Company
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
(Australia).
Simpson was a keen supporter of the Essendon Football Club
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, serving as its vice president from 1947 to 1964. He was awarded a life membership in 1957. He was elected Victorian State President of the Australian Legion of Ex Servicemen and Women in 1948. He resigned in October after a dispute with the State Council over its suspension of two members for being communists, which Simpson opposed. Yet Simpson was no communist sympathiser; far from it. He organised the The Association, a right wing paramilitary organisation headed by Blamey which was established to counter a possible communist coup. The Association disbanded in 1950.
Death and legacy
Simpson died of cancer in Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital on 23 August 1964. He was survived by his wife and daughter. He was buried in St Kilda General Cemetery after a funeral service at St Cuthbert's Church in Brighton, VictoriaBrighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
. His pall bearers included Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...
and Major General Alan Ramsay.
Simpson Barracks
Simpson Barracks
Simpson Barracks is an Australian Army facility in the suburb of Macleod in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Simpson Barracks is home to the DFSS , Financial Services Unit, Defence Force School of Music, Land Warfare Centre and the headquarters of 4th Brigade...
was named in his honour in 1986. It is considered the home of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, and contains the Defence Force School of Signals and the Royal Australian Corps of Signals Museum.