Walter Adams Coxen
Encyclopedia
Major General
Walter Adams Coxen CB
, CMG
, DSO
(22 June 1870 – 15 December 1949) was an Australian Army
Major General
in World War I
. In April 1930 Coxen was promoted to the position of Chief of General Staff. He retired in 1931.
, England
, on 22 June 1870. Coxen and his family moved to Australia
in 1880. Walter was educated at Brisbane Grammar School
and Toowoomba Grammar School
. He took a job with the Queensland Department of Railways as a clerk and draftsman on 18 August 1887, but was retrenched
in 1892 due to the depression
of the 1890s.
In 1893 Coxen was commissioned into the Queensland Militia Garrison Artillery as a second lieutenant. In June 1895 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Permanent Military Forces, in the Queensland Artillery. In 1897 he was sent to England
to study at the Royal School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness
, concentrating on coast defence and siege artillery, and then went to Aldershot
for training with the Royal Artillery
in 1898.
On returning to Australia in 1899 he was appointed commander of the garrison on Thursday Island, with the rank of captain. In July 1902 he succeeded Major W Bridges as Chief Instructor at the School of Gunnery at Middle Head. In November 1907, Coxen again went to England for ordnance training at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
.
He was promoted to major in 1908, and returned to Australia in February 1910. Coxen served briefly with the coast artillery at Fort Queenscliff
before becoming Inspector of Ordnance and Ammunition at Army Headquarters in Melbourne. In January 1911 he became Director of Artillery. On 14 August 1914, Coxen also became Inspector of Coast Defences with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The 36th Heavy Artillery Group began operations in support of the British XVII Corps in the Arras
sector before moving south to join the British Fourth Army
for the Somme Campaign. The Group then joined I Anzac Corps
Artillery at Pozières
and took part in the Battle of Pozières
in support of the Australian Infantry. For his services, Coxen was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
(DSO) in the 1917 New Year's Honours List.
On 18 January 1917, Coxen replaced Brigadier General T. Hobbs
as commander of the 1st Division
Artillery. On his appointment to the 1st Division, Coxen was promoted to brigadier general. He served in that capacity through the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line
, the Battle of Bullecourt
and the Third Battle of Ypres. On 18 October 1917, Coxen took over as commander of the Australian Corps Artillery and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1918 New Year's Honours. On 16 November 1918, Coxen became Director of Ordnance in the AIF
's Department of Repatriation in London
. He returned to Australia in August 1919 and became Chief of Ordnance, and a member of the Military Board. In the 1919 New Year's Honours, Coxen was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).
In retirement he was director of the council for Victoria
's centenary celebrations in 1934. Coxen died at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg on 15 December 1949 and was cremated with full military honours.
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...
Walter Adams Coxen CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(22 June 1870 – 15 December 1949) 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...
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...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In April 1930 Coxen was promoted to the position of Chief of General Staff. He retired in 1931.
Early life and career
Walter Adams Coxen was born at EghamEgham
Egham is a wealthy suburb in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.-Demographics:Egham town has a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on 22 June 1870. Coxen and his family moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1880. Walter was educated at Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
and Toowoomba Grammar School
Toowoomba Grammar School
Toowoomba Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding grammar school for boys, in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia....
. He took a job with the Queensland Department of Railways as a clerk and draftsman on 18 August 1887, but was retrenched
Retrenchment
Retrenchment is an act of cutting down or reduction, particularly of public expenditure.-Political usage:The word is familiar in this, its most general sense, from the motto of the Gladstonian Liberal party in British politics, "Peace, Retrenchment and Reform."The manifesto for 1906 Liberal...
in 1892 due to the depression
Long Depression
The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, felt most heavily in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing strong economic growth fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution in the decade following the American Civil War. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great...
of the 1890s.
In 1893 Coxen was commissioned into the Queensland Militia Garrison Artillery as a second lieutenant. In June 1895 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Permanent Military Forces, in the Queensland Artillery. In 1897 he was sent to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to study at the Royal School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness
Shoeburyness
Shoeburyness is a town in southeast Essex, England, situated at the mouth of the river Thames Estuary. It is within the borough of Southend-on-Sea, and is situated at the far east of the borough, around east of Southend town centre...
, concentrating on coast defence and siege artillery, and then went to Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
for training with the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in 1898.
On returning to Australia in 1899 he was appointed commander of the garrison on Thursday Island, with the rank of captain. In July 1902 he succeeded Major W Bridges as Chief Instructor at the School of Gunnery at Middle Head. In November 1907, Coxen again went to England for ordnance training at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
.
He was promoted to major in 1908, and returned to Australia in February 1910. Coxen served briefly with the coast artillery at Fort Queenscliff
Fort Queenscliff
Fort Queenscliff, in Victoria, Australia, dates from 1860 when an open battery was constructed on Shortland's Bluff to defend the entrance to Port Phillip. The Fort, which underwent major redevelopment in the late 1870s and 1880s, became the headquarters for an extensive chain of forts around Port...
before becoming Inspector of Ordnance and Ammunition at Army Headquarters in Melbourne. In January 1911 he became Director of Artillery. On 14 August 1914, Coxen also became Inspector of Coast Defences with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
World War I
On 21 May 1915 Coxen was ordered to raise the brigade of siege artillery (SAB) for service in Europe. The brigade was to consist of two batteries, with eight siege guns to be supplied by Britain and 415 officers and other ranks, about half of whom would be permanent force artillery gunners. The brigade, which became known as the 36th Heavy Artillery Group (36 HAG), departed Melbourne on 17 July 1915 and landed in England on 25 August 1915. After a delay due to a short supply of heavy artillery pieces, the 54th Siege Battery was equipped with 8 inch howitzers and the 55th Siege Battery with 9.2 inch howitzers. The batteries moved to France on 26 February and 2 March 1916 respectively.The 36th Heavy Artillery Group began operations in support of the British XVII Corps in the Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
sector before moving south to join the British Fourth Army
British Fourth Army
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.-History:The Fourth...
for the Somme Campaign. The Group then joined I Anzac Corps
I Anzac Corps
The I ANZAC Corps was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I.It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force following the evacuation of Gallipoli...
Artillery at Pozières
Pozières
Pozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...
and took part in the Battle of Pozières
Battle of Pozières
The Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle...
in support of the Australian Infantry. For his services, Coxen was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(DSO) in the 1917 New Year's Honours List.
On 18 January 1917, Coxen replaced Brigadier General T. Hobbs
Talbot Hobbs
Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs KCB, KCMG, VD was an Australian architect and First World War general.-Early life:...
as commander of the 1st Division
1st Division (Australia)
The 1st Division is the main formation of the Australian Army and contains the majority of the army's regular forces. Its headquarters is in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane...
Artillery. On his appointment to the 1st Division, Coxen was promoted to brigadier general. He served in that capacity through the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
, the Battle of Bullecourt
Battle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
and the Third Battle of Ypres. On 18 October 1917, Coxen took over as commander of the Australian Corps Artillery and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1918 New Year's Honours. On 16 November 1918, Coxen became Director of Ordnance in the AIF
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...
's Department of Repatriation in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He returned to Australia in August 1919 and became Chief of Ordnance, and a member of the Military Board. In the 1919 New Year's Honours, Coxen was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).
Post war
In January 1920 he was promoted to full colonel. He became Deputy Quartermaster General in April 1920, Chief of Artillery in May 1921 and Quartermaster General in 1925. In March 1927 he was promoted to major general and finally became Chief of the General Staff in April 1930. Due to a new government policy on retirements, he was retired on 1 October 1931.In retirement he was director of the council for Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
's centenary celebrations in 1934. Coxen died at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg on 15 December 1949 and was cremated with full military honours.