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 in Ireland, attended school in Repton and later the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Then he was transferred in May 1916 an artillery unit to the Western Front. He suffered a wound on his right leg, which should not heal all his life. 1976 had to be amputated the leg eventually. After the war he joined the cavalry and was from 1937-40 with the rank of lieutenant colonel commander of a cavalry regiment ( 10th Royal Hussars ). He was then commander of the 7th Armoured Division and later commanding general of the 6th and 8th Panzer Division, 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 merits Gairdner was appointed in 1951 to the Governor of Western Australia and remained so until 1963. On 23 September of the same year, he was Governor of Tasmania. In February 1969 Gairdner returned to end his tenure back to Perth. He died on 22 February 1983 in the district of Nedlands Perther. According to him, the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital was named in Perth.
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 )