53 Facts About James Cannan

Later, James Cannan led his battalion into action again on the Western Front at the Battle of Pozieres and Battle of Mouquet Farm.

James Cannan commanded the 11th Infantry Brigade at the Battle of Messines, the Battle of Broodseinde, and during the Hundred Days Offensive.

Between the wars James Cannan worked at Insurance Office of Australia, becoming the manager of its Sydney office in 1932.

James Cannan remained active in the Militia until he was placed on the unattached list in 1925.

James Cannan retired in 1946 as a major general, and was the last surviving Australian general of the First World War before his death in 1976.

James Harold Cannan was born in Townsville, Queensland on 29 August 1882, the sixth child of John Kearsey Cannan, a Brisbane bank manager and his wife Elizabeth Christian nee Hodgson.

James Cannan was employed by a firm of hardware merchants, and later worked for seven years for New Zealand Insurance.

James Cannan was chief agent at the Queensland branch of the Patriotic Assurance Company and then from 1910 was the state manager of the Insurance Office of Australia.

James Cannan was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 1st Queensland Regiment on 27 March 1903.

James Cannan transferred to the 9th Infantry Regiment on 1 July 1903.

James Cannan was promoted to captain on 24 September 1907 and major on 14 August 1911.

James Cannan took command of the battalion and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 9 May 1914.

James Cannan joined the Australian Imperial Force on 23 September 1914 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and assumed command of the 15th Battalion.

James Cannan, was one of the original officers of this battalion, the Queensland and Tasmanian battalion in Colonel John Monash's 4th Infantry Brigade.

James Cannan was sent with half of his battalion to fill the gap between the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades.

The 15th Infantry Battalion was switched to Quinn's Post, one of the most exposed parts of the Anzac perimeter, with James Cannan becoming post commander.

James Cannan became ill and was evacuated from Anzac on 4 October 1915, and transferred to hospitals on Lemnos and Malta, before being sent to the 3rd London General Hospital in England.

For "distinguished service in the field during operations in the Dardanelles", James Cannan was mentioned in despatches and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 5 November 1915.

James Cannan resumed command of the 15th Battalion in Egypt on 21 January 1916.

James Cannan led his battalion into action again at the Battle of Pozieres and Battle of Mouquet Farm.

James Cannan's men captured their objectives, and indeed went beyond them in some places.

However, the Suffolk Regiment on his flank was mown down by German machine gun fire and James Cannan was compelled to withdraw part of his force to a more defensible position.

On 30 August 1916, James Cannan was appointed to command the 11th Infantry Brigade by Major General John Monash, now commander of the 3rd Division.

James Cannan returned to France with the 11th Infantry Brigade in November 1916, and led it in the Battle of Messines in June 1917 and the Battle of Broodseinde in October 1917.

James Cannan commanded a battalion in Gallipoli, Egypt and France until September 1916.

James Cannan had held a brigade command throughout the offensive period of 1917 taking part in the battle of Messines June 1917.

The great difficulties in establishing and maintaining communications rendered the action at Bony a matter of personal leadership and in this General James Cannan proved himself the right man in the right place.

James Cannan studied insurance practice in London under the Army Education Scheme for two months before embarking for Australia on HMAT Ancises on 22 August 1919.

James Cannan arrived back in Australia on 17 October 1919 and his appointment to the AIF was terminated on 13 December 1919.

James Cannan had been made a brevet colonel in the Militia on 24 September 1917 but he was entitled to keep his AIF rank of brigadier general as an honorary rank.

James Cannan returned to his old job at Insurance Office of Australia.

James Cannan became manager of the Sydney office in 1932 and presided over the Insurance Institute of New South Wales from 1936 to 1937.

James Cannan was president of the Queensland branch of the Returned Soldiers' and Sailors' Imperial League of Australia from 1920 to 1921, and became the first president of the Brisbane branch of Legacy Australia in 1928.

James Cannan then commanded the 11th Mixed Brigade from 1 May 1921 to 30 April 1925, when he was transferred to the unattached list.

James Cannan was aide de camp to the Governor General from 1 April 1920 to 21 March 1923 and honorary colonel of the 47th Infantry Battalion from 19 June 1930.

On 27 May 1940, after over fifteen years on the unattached list, James Cannan was appointed Inspector General of Administration at the Department of Defence Coordination.

On 7 July 1940, James Cannan was promoted to temporary major general and took over command of the 2nd Division in succession to Major General Iven Mackay, who had been appointed to command the 6th Division.

On 24 October 1940, James Cannan became Quartermaster General and a member of the Military Board.

James Cannan offered to resign in 1942 so that his post could be given to a regular officer, but General Sir Thomas Blamey refused to countenance it, and James Cannan remained Quartermaster General until 31 December 1945.

However, in the 1942 reorganisation, the Military Board was abolished and James Cannan now reported to the Lieutenant General Administration, Lieutenant General Henry Wynter, instead.

James Cannan volunteered for the Second Australian Imperial Force and was allotted the serial number VX89075 on 2 September 1942.

James Cannan had to work long hours and use all of his skills both as a soldier and a businessman.

James Cannan had to attempt to keep ahead of the plans at General Headquarters in order to ensure that the required logistical support would be there on time.

James Cannan was responsible for rationing the American forces in Australia until the American Quartermaster Corps felt capable of taking over the function in 1943.

When requirements to support the British Pacific Fleet were piled on top of American demands and an increasing tight Army manpower situation, James Cannan protested the "lavishness and extravagance which characterised US demands whilst the Australian services' demands were being subjected to rigid scrutiny and economies", citing examples, and urged that economies be made on goods and services supplied to Allied countries.

James Cannan travelled widely in the combat areas to see conditions at first hand.

James Cannan visited New Guinea between 19 October and 21 December 1943 and in February and March 1944.

In October 1944, James Cannan travelled with General Blamey to visit General Douglas MacArthur in Hollandia in order to prepare for Philippines campaign.

James Cannan visited New Britain, Lae, Hollandia, Bougainville and Aitape in February 1945 to help plan the final campaigns and Hollandia, Morotai, Labuan and Darwin in August 1945.

James Cannan relinquished his appointment as Quartermaster General on 31 December 1945 and retired as a major general the next day.

James Cannan remained an honorary colonel until 8 June 1953.

James Cannan was Director of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in the South West Pacific from 1946 to 1947, of the Queensland division of the Australian Red Cross from 1950 to 1951, and of the Services Canteens Trust from 1948 to 1957.

James Cannan became the last of Australia's Great War generals to pass away, and was cremated with full military honours.