Sir William Watt Leggatt 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...

, 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....

 (1894–1968) was an Australian soldier, lawyer and politician. He served as commanding officer of the 2/40th Battalion

2/40th Battalion (Australia)

The 2/40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Formed in mid-1940 from personnel recruited from Tasmania, the battalion took part in the fighting against the Japanese on Timor in 1942...

 and later Sparrow Force

Sparrow Force

Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and other British and Australian 8th Division units, during World War II. The force was formed to defend the island of Timor, from invasion by the Empire of Japan...

 during World War II, fighting in Timor against the Japanese invasion in 1942. He was captured by the Japanese and sent to Changi prison

Changi Prison

Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...

 in Singapore. Following the war, he was based in Melbourne in charge of war crimes investigation until 1946. In 1948 he was elected to the Victorian parliament. He died in 1968 and was accorded a state funeral

State funeral

A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...

.