Dallas Brooks

Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks (born August 22, 1896 in Cambridge , United Kingdom , † March 22, 1966 in Melbourne , Australia ) was a British general and governor of the Australian state of Victoria .

Life

After attending Dover College , Brooks joined the Royal Marines in 1914 . During the First World War he was badly wounded at the Battle of Gallipoli . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1918 for his work in the attack on Zeebrugge and Ostend .

In the 1920s Brooks played cricket at the highest level ( first-class cricket ) and was a member of the Royal Navy cricket team . In 1934 he graduated from the Royal Navy Staff College . During World War II , he was deputy head of the Political Warfare Executive propaganda unit . After the war, he was promoted to lieutenant general in 1946 and general in 1948.

He retired from the army a year later and was appointed governor of Victoria. After the Governor General of Australia , Viscount Dunrossil , suddenly died in 1961, he also took over his official duties until a successor was found seven months later. Due to his popularity, his term of office was extended three times. As a Freemason , Brooks served as Grand Master in the United Grand Lodge of Victoria from 1951 to 1963. He died on March 22, 1966 in the Frankston borough of Melbourne of an artery obstruction. Brooks left a wife and daughter.

The Dallas district of Melbourne is named after him today.

Awards

• Mentioned in despatches
• Croix de guerre
• Distinguished Service Order (1918)
• Knight of the Order of St. John
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (1948)
• Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1954)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1963)

literature

• Paul H. De Serville: Brooks, Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas (1896–1966) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966–2012 (English).