Allan Joseph Boase | |
|---|---|
 Brigadier Allan Boase in Syria, January 1942 | |
| Born | (1894-02-19)19 February 1894 |
| Died | 1 January 1964(1964-01-01) (aged 69) |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Service years | 1911–1951 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Service number | NX366 |
| Commands | Southern Command (1949–51) Western Command (1945–46) 11th Division (1943–45) AIF Ceylon (1942) 16th Brigade (1941–42) Command and Staff School (1939–40) |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Lieutenant GeneralAllan Joseph Boase,CBE (19 February 1894 – 1 January 1964) was a soldier in theAustralian Army, who served in theFirst World War and was a general during theSecond World War.
Allan Joseph Boase was born on 19 February 1894 atGympie, inQueensland, to Charles and Harriet Boase. An English immigrant, his father was a journalist. One of four sons, Allan Boase was educated atBrisbane Grammar School and in 1911 entered theRoyal Military College, Duntroon, in theFederal Capital Territory, from which he was commissioned in 1914 as part of the first class of cadets who were graduated early due to the outbreak of theFirst World War.[1][2]
Joining the9th Battalion,Australian Imperial Force, in August 1914, he was shipped to Egypt the following month after the outbreak of the First World War. He was amongst the troops landed atGallipoli on 25 April 1915, and together with hisplatoon, fought his way to Lone Pine. Wounded the following day, Boase was evacuated, only rejoining his unit in September. Following the withdrawal of the allied forces from Gallipoli, he was posted to the12th Battalion,[2] and his unit was posted to theWestern Front in June 1916. Promoted tomajor at the end of the year, Boase performed staff duties for the remainder of the war[1] within the headquarters of a number ofbrigades and the5th Division.[2]
During the inter-war years, Boase went toEngland to attend theStaff College, Camberley 1924 to 1925. Upon his return to Australia, he served in a number of staff positions as well as undertaking a military exchange position in India.
Shortly after the outbreak of theSecond World War in September 1939, he was promoted tocolonel.[3] After serving as Commandant of the Command and Staff School inSydney from November 1939 to April 1940, he was seconded to theSecond Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) as quartermaster general of the7th Division. Dispatched with the division to theMiddle East in late 1940, he was promoted to temporarybrigadier in late November[3] and made responsible for the Base and Lines of Communication Units aroundGaza,[4] where the 2nd AIF had established its base. Boase was made aCommander of the Order of the British Empire in 1942.[1][5]
After spending around eight months in command of16th Brigade, Boase was transferred toCeylon, as General Officer Commanding (GOC), AIF Ceylon in March 1942. After six months in this role, he returned to Australia as amajor general[3] to the General Staff,First Army, based atToowoomba, Queensland. The following year, he was placed in command of the11th Division, then inNew Guinea.[6][3] He led them through theFinisterre Range campaign until April 1945. He saw out the final months of the war as GOC, Western Command, in Perth.[1][7]
After the war, Boase was theAustralian Army and defence representative in London until a temporary promotion tolieutenant general in March 1949.[3] His final military posting was as GOC, Southern Command, based inMelbourne. He retired in 1951, remaining in Melbourne with his wife, Williamina, whom he had married in 1922. He died on 1 January 1964 of a coronary occlusion, survived by his wife and two children. His son, Neil, reached the rank ofcommodore in theRoyal Australian Navy.[1]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Major GeneralCyril Clowes | General Officer Commanding11th Division 1943–1945 | Succeeded by Major GeneralAlan Ramsay |
