Tom Warren White
Tom Warren White | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 November 1902 Brisbane, Queensland |
| Died | 14 June 1993 (aged 90) |
| Buried | Tamborine Mountain Cemetery, Tamborine Mountain, Queensland |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service | Australian Army |
| Years of service | –1957 |
| Rank | Brigadier |
| Service number | VX20316 |
| Commands | 2/1st Battalion |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
Brigadier Tom Warren White, LVO (28 November 1902 - 14 June 1993) was an Australian soldier who served during the Second World War.
Early life
[edit]Tom was born in Brisbane, Queensland on 28 November 1902,[1] the third son of John Warren White and Elizabeth Matilda Rosa Georgina née Barker. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Australian Army Staff Corps in 1924.[2] He was seconded to the Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) between 1926 and 1927 in India and attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1937 to 1940.[2] Tom was attached to the British War Office in 1939 and served with the British forces in France in 1940.[2]
Second World War
[edit]With Japan's entry into the war in December 1941, the 2/1st Battalion was ordered to return to Australia from the Middle East.[3] White had been appointed as commanding officer. Whilst en route, the battalion was diverted to Ceylon to defend it from a possible Japanese invasion.[3] The invasion never eventuated and the battalion finally arrived home in August 1942.
Later life
[edit]He was appointed the representative of the Australian military mission of the Allied Control Council for Germany, in Berlin in 1945.[2] He was awarded the Legion of Merit (Officer) by the United States for "invaluable assistance in the preparation of plans affecting Australian and combined forces in the South-west Pacific area from 1943 to 1945".[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Temporary Brigadier Tom Warren White". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Australians in Berlin". The West Australian. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ a b "2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Australian in Berlin gets US honour". The Argus. Retrieved 22 December 2020.