Warren Melville Anderson Major - General Warren Melville Anderson CBE DSO ( 31 August 1894 – 10 February 1973 ) was a general officer in the Australian Army , who served in both World Wars . Biography . The eldest son of Marsham Ambrose Anderson , he was educated at the Royal Military College , Duntroon , and was commissioned as a lieutenant on 3 November 1914 in B Squadron , 6th Light Horse Regiment . World War I . Anderson and his squadron sailed from Sydney on board HMAT ( A29 ) " Suevic " on 21 December 1914 , and arrived in Egypt on 1 February 1915 . After serving as infantry in the Gallipoli Campaign between May and December 1915 , the Light Horsemen were stationed in Egypt as part of the ANZAC Mounted Division . They played an important role in the advance into Palestine , taking part in several major actions up until the Armistice of 30 October 1918 . In the course of the war Anderson was advanced to the acting - rank of captain and then major , serving as Brigade Major in the 3rd Light Horse Brigade , part of the Australian Mounted Division . Anderson received two Mentions in Despatches ( in January 1918 and January 1919 ) , and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the 1919 New Years Honours List . Inter - war years . From February 1920 Anderson served as a General Staff Officer , 3rd grade ( GSO3 ) in the 6th Military District , receiving promotion to captain on 30 September , and subsequently serving as a staff officer in the 1st Cavalry Division from May 1921 , and then in the 2nd Division from August 1922 . Between December 1922 and December 1924 he served as the Brigade Major of the 1st Infantry Brigade , before attending the Staff College , Quetta until February 1927 . He then served in the Inspector General ' s Branch until May 1928 , then as a General Staff Officer in charge of Training , based at Army Headquarters until January 1932 . He served as Brigade Major in the 3rd Cavalry Brigade between February and August 1932 , finally receiving promotion to the rank of major on 1 September 1932 . He then served as a temporary staff officer in the 2nd Cavalry Division , before becoming Brigade Major in the 5th and then the 6th Cavalry Brigades . In November 1936 Anderson was appointed to the staff of the 1st Cavalry Division , and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 3 July 1938 . World War II . Between March 1939 and January 1940 Anderson served on exchange in the Meerut district of India , returning to Australia in 8 January 1940 to join the staff of the 4th Division . In April 1940 he was appointed Director of Staff Duties , with the rank of temporary colonel . On 1 July 1941 he was promoted to colonel and transferred to the Australian Armoured Corps , part of the Second Australian Imperial Force , serving as Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster - General of the 1st Armoured Division until January 1942 . After a brief term as Director of Military Training in early 1942 , he returned to staff duties with the rank of brigadier , serving with III Corps until June 1943 , Second Army until August 1943 , then at the Advanced Land HQ at St Lucia , Queensland , until January 1944 . Anderson was on the staff of the Northern Territory Force until August 1944 , with two brief periods as Acting - GOC in February / March and August . From September 1944 until the end of the war in August 1945 he was attached as Brigadier in charge of Administration to the Eighth United States Army . Post - war . Anderson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( Military Division ) in November 1946 , and from 1947 he served as Adjutant - General of the Australian Military Forces and Second Member of the Military Board until he retired with the rank of major general in 1951 . Personal life . Anderson married Violet Clark in 1928 . He died at his home in Darling Point , New South Wales in 10 February 1973 .