Geoffrey Raoul Lemprière OBE

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...

 (3 May 1904 – 20 March 1977) was an Australian woolbuyer and soldier.

He was born at Elsternwick

Elsternwick, Victoria

Elsternwick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Glen Eira...

, the eldest son of woolbroker Audley Raoul Lemprière and Adelaide Maude, née Greene. He attended Grange Hill Open Air School in Sandringham

Sandringham, Victoria

Sandringham is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Sandringham had a population of 8693.-History:...

 and Geelong Grammar School

Geelong Grammar School

Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....

 before studying in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 at L'Ecole de Commerce in Neuchâtel. After a period in Europe he returned to Australia and was elected a director of his father's firm, A. R. Lemprière Pty Ltd, when the latter died in 1931. He was based in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 during this period, but returned to Australia when World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 broke out. After twelve months in the Australian Imperial Force

Australian Imperial Force

The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...

 he transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 in July 1941 and was posted to Rabaul

Rabaul

Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...

. During the evacuation of New Britain

New Britain

New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...

 he was captured by the Japanese and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

; he was mentioned in despatches for his conduct as a prisoner of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

.

He resumed his old position after the war, but retired in 1955. After a period on the Australian trade mission to India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, he settled in Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 and became state president of the Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

, serving on its federal executive from 1961 to 1965. Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1969, Lemprière died at Shearwater

Shearwater, Tasmania

Shearwater is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies on the Rubicon Rivulet, just off Bass Strait, 20 km east of Devonport. The town of Port Sorell and Hawley Beach neighbour Shearwater. At the 2006 census, Shearwater had a population of 688. The town grows considerably...

 in 1977. He never married. His brothers William and Peter were also well-known woolbuyers.