Reginald George Pollard

Infobox Military Person
name=Sir Reginald George Pollard


caption=
lived=20 January 1903 - Death date and age|1978|3|9|1903|1|20|df=yes
placeofbirth=Bathurst, New South Wales
placeofdeath=Wyrallah, New South Wales
allegiance=Australian Army
rank=Lieutenant General
unit=
family=
nickname=Reg
enteredservice=March, 1925
currentlyresides=
serviceyears=1925-1963
battles=World War II
Korean War
laterwork=Australian Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II (1970 Royal Visit)
awards=Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Knight Commander of the British Empire
Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Mention in Despatches
Lieutenant General Sir Reginald George Pollard KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO (20 January 1903 – 9 March 1978), Australian soldier, was Chief of the General Staff of the Australian Army from 1960 to 1963.

Early life

Pollard was born at Bathurst, New South Wales, third son of Albert Edgar Pollard, an accountant from England, and his Australian-born wife Thalia Rebecca, nee McLean. He was educated at the local primary and high schools and entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, in 1921; he graduated in 1924 with The Sword of Honour for “exemplary conduct and performance of duties”. His first posting was to the 51st Infantry Brigade in March 1925, and he was appointed Adjutant/Quartermaster of the 17th Battalion (CMF) in July.

He married Daisy Ethel Potter, typist, at St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Strathfield, Sydney, on 31st October 1925. In September 1927 Lieutenant Pollard left for India on attachment and for training with the British Army. Returning to Sydney in November 1928, he was appointed Adjutant/Quartermaster of two more CMF units before receiving a staff posting in October 1936 to Army Headquarters, Melbourne. In November 1938 he was posted to England to attend the Staff College, Camberley, for what was expected to be a two-year course. Due to the outbreak of World War II he graduated early, in September 1939, and was posted as Assistant Military Liaison Officer at the Australian High Commission, London.

World War II

Transferred to the Australian Imperial Force on 21st June 1940, Pollard was promoted to Major. He was appointed Brigade Major, 25th Brigade, but in March 1941, on it’s arrival in the Middle East, he was detached to Headquarters, 7th Division, in Libya. In June/July 1941 he commanded the 2nd/31st Battalion during the Syrian campaign and was mentioned in dispatches. Promoted Lieutenant Colonel in August, he raised and commended the A.I.F. Junior Staff School.

Pollard was promoted Temporary Colonel in March 1942 and posted to the A.I.F.’s Staff in Ceylon. Returning to Australia in August, he was posted to the 6th Division in Papua as General Staff Officer Grade One (September to November), then temporarily with the 7th Division. During operations at Gona and Sanananda he set a standard of excellence in his work, which his commander Major General G. A. Vasey [q.v.] declared, “will long be remembered in the Division”; for his work Pollard was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. [LondonGazette|issue=36297|date=21 December 1943|startpage=5574|supp=yes|accessdaymonth=25 July|accessyear=2008]

In January 1943 he flew to Queensland and trained with the 6th Division until December before being posted as Chief Instructor of the Senior Wing of the Staff School (Australia), Duntroon. He was appointed Deputy Director of Military Operations and Plans at Allied Land Forces Headquarters in February 1945.

Post World War II

From February 1946, Pollard commended the Recruit Training Centre at Greta, New South Wales, and in August was sent to England to study air support for land operations. He returned to Australia in February 1947 to instruct at the Royal Australian Air Force School of Air Support at Laverton, Victoria (redesignated in March 1948: School of Land/Air Warfare).

In January 1949 he was posted as Director of Personnel Administration at A.H.Q., responsible for instituting a new national scheme of compulsory military service. After attending the 1951 course at the Imperial Defense College in London in January 1952 he became Director of Military Operations and Plans, and Chairman of the Joint Planning Committee. That same year he accompanied the Minister for External Affairs (R.G. (Baron) Casey [q.v.13] ) to Honolulu for the inaugural meeting of the Australia New Zealand United States (ANZUS) Council. He also accompanied the Prime Minister to the 1952 Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London, as the Australian Military Adviser. He was promoted temporary Brigadier in March 1953.

From July-November 1953 he commanded the Australian Army Component of the British Commonwealth Forces, Korea, following which he was appointed Deputy Adjutant General at A.H.Q. He was promoted Major General in September 1954 and appointed Quartermaster General and Third Military Member of the Military Board. In 1955 he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, [LondonGazette|issue=40498|date=3 June 1955|startpage=3298|supp=yes|accessdaymonth=25 July|accessyear=2008] and in 1959 the Companion of the Order of the Bath. [LondonGazette|issue=41728|date=5 June 1959|startpage=3735|supp=yes|accessdaymonth=25 July|accessyear=2008]

On July 1 1960 he became Chief of the General Staff and for his services to the Army was awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1961. [LondonGazette|issue=42371|date=2 June 1961|startpage=4180|supp=yes|accessdaymonth=25 July|accessyear=2008] His term in office coincided with the implementation of a major reorganization of the Army’s Field Force based on the ‘pentropic’ division, although he was personally ambivalent about this innovation.

Retirement

Sir Reginald retired on 20th January 1963 and devoted his time to gardening and raising cattle on a small farm he named “Aroona” at Wesburn, Victoria (until 1974), and then on a property at Wyrallah, New South Wales, which he named “Duntroon”. In July 1965 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Australian Regiment (redesignated Colonel Commandant, 1968-71), and several times visited troops in Vietnam. He was appointed Australian Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II for the Royal Visit in 1970. The Queen personally awarded him the Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for his services to Her Majesty during the Royal Tour. [LondonGazette|issue=45110|date=29 May 1970|startpage=6040|accessdaymonth=25 July|accessyear=2008]

Sir Reginald, who was survived by his wife Lady Daisy and two sons, died on 9th March 1978 at Wyrallah, New South Wales and was cremated with full military honours.

References

External links

* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160020b.htm Official ADF biography] .