Charles Gairdner

Sir Charles Gairdner (born March 20, 1898 in Batavia , Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta , Indonesia ), † February 22, 1983 in Perth , Australia ) was a British general and governor of Western Australia and Tasmania .

Life

Gairdner grew up in County Galway , Ireland , attended school in Repton and later the Royal Military Academy Woolwich . He was then transferred to an artillery unit on the Western Front in May 1916 . He suffered a wound in his right leg that would not heal for his life. In 1976 the leg finally had to be amputated. After the war he switched to the cavalry and was from 1937 to 1940 with the rank of lieutenant colonel in command of a cavalry regiment ( 10th Royal Hussars ). He then became commander of the 7th Panzer Division and later commanding general of the 6th and 8th Panzer Divisions , which were used in North Africa, India and the Middle East . In March 1945 he was promoted to lieutenant general.

In recognition of his military services, Gairdner was appointed governor of Western Australia in 1951 and remained so until 1963. On September 23 of the same year, he became governor of Tasmania. In February 1969, Gairdner returned to Perth after his tenure ended. He died on February 22, 1983 in the Perth district of Nedlands . The Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth was named after him.

Awards

• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1941)
• Companion of the Order of the Bath (1946)
• Medal of Freedom (1947)
• Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1948)
• Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1954)
• Honorary Doctorate from the University of Western Australia (1956)
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1960)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (1969)

literature

• Peter Boyce: Gairdner, Sir Charles Henry . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966–2012 (English).