Henry Wells ( general ) Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wells ( 22 March 1898 – 20 October 1973 ) was a senior officer in the Australian Army . Serving as Chief of the General Staff from 1954 to 1958 , Wells ' career culminated with his appointment as the first Chairman , Chiefs of Staff Committee , a position marking him as the professional head of the Australian Military . He served in this capacity from March 1958 until March 1959 , when he retired from the army . Born in Victoria , Wells began his career in the Australian Army in 1916 when he entered the Royal Military College , Duntroon . Graduating as a lieutenant three years later , he served in a variety of staff and instructional positions before the outbreak of the Second World War . Initially posted to the 7th Division as a staff officer in 1940 , Wells was promoted to lieutenant colonel and made senior liaison officer to I Corps . Serving in Greece and North Africa , he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership at El Alamein . Transferred to the South West Pacific theatre in 1943 as a brigadier , he served in the New Guinea Campaign with the headquarters of II Corps and later in the Borneo campaign with I Corps . Wells was promoted to major general in 1946 and appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff . Following promotion to lieutenant general , he was made Commander - in - Chief , British Commonwealth Forces Korea from 1953 to 1954 , serving during the last days of the war . In retirement , Wells was a director of several companies . Aged 75 , he died in 1973 . Early life and career . Wells was born in the Victorian town of Kyneton on 22 March 1898 , the youngest of seven children to Arthur Wells , a draper , and his wife Elizabeth ( née Carter ) . Educated at Kyneton High School , Wells entered the Royal Military College , Duntroon , in February 1916 , where he was a keen sportsman . Graduating from the college in December 1919 , he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Australian Army , and posted to England for further training . On his return to Australia , Wells was appointed as adjutant and quartermaster of the 8th Light Horse Regiment in 1921 . The following year , he was allocated to the 9th Light Horse Regiment . In February 1926 , Wells was briefly appointed brigade major of the 6th Cavalry Brigade , before becoming an instructor at the Small Arms School , Sydney , during July . On 14 December that year , Wells married Lorna Irene Skippen in a ceremony at St John ' s Church of England , Cessnock ; the couple would later have two sons . During 1927 , Wells was assigned to the Royal Military College , Duntroon as a company commander and promoted to captain that December . Returning to the Small Arms School as an instructor in 1931 , he was dispatched to England and attended the Staff College , Camberley between 1935 and 1936 . Arriving back in Australia , Wells was made adjutant and quartermaster of the 4th / 3rd Battalion , and later brigade major of the 1st Infantry Brigade . During 1938 , he was reposted to Royal Military College , Duntroon as a lecturer on tactics . Second World War . Greece and North Africa . On 15 May 1940 , Wells transferred to the Second Australian Imperial Force for active service during the Second World War . Promoted to major , he was posted to the headquarters of the 7th Division . Wells proceeded with the division to the Middle East , where , on arriving in December , he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and posted as senior liaison officer to I Corps . During this time , the Australian 6th Division and I Corps Headquarters were diverted for service in the Greek Campaign . Wells arrived in Greece on 7 March 1941 , with an advance party of Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey ' s I Corps staff . On 10 April , a plan was formulated to withdraw Greek and Commonwealth troops from their positions in the Verria pass of the Vermion Mountains to the River Aliakmon . To carry this out , Blamey despatched Wells to coordinate the movement of the 12th Greek Division west to its new position . The withdrawal began on 12 April , but the force ' s movement was hampered because of lack of vehicles and the division did not arrive until late evening the following day . During this time , Wells travelled between I Corps Headquarters and the 12th Greek Division , organising and coordinating the division ' s movement , despite frequent air attacks on the roads . On 24 April 1941 , Wells embarked from Greece along with the remainder of the I Corps Headquarters during the British and Commonwealth withdrawal . Commended for his " conspicuous skill , ability and energy " and fostering " mutual confidence and goodwill between the Allied forces " , Wells was recommended for the Distinguished Service Order , but was subsequently appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services in Greece . The announcement of the award was published in a supplement to the " London Gazette " on 30 December 1941 . Then Brigadier Stanley Savige later wrote of Wells during the campaign : " Tireless in his long journeys , helpful in every possible way , and courageous in all circumstances " . For his " gallant and distinguished services " during this time , Wells was additionally Mentioned in Despatches . Following Greece , the headquarters of I Corps returned to Palestine . Wells was made General Staff Officer , 2nd Grade ( GSO2 ) , the deputy chief of staff in charge of planning operations . I Corps was alerted to take part in the Syria - Lebanon Campaign , in spite of the fact that since Blamey had been promoted to Deputy Commander in Chief Middle East Command , the corps lacked a commanding officer . General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson — the British commander in Palestine and Transjordan — believed that I Corps ' loss of transport and signal equipment precluded it from participating in the campaign from the outset . Instead , Wilson attempted to exercise command from the King David Hotel . This proved to be a serious error , as his staff were preoccupied with political and administrative issues , and were too remote from the battlefields to exercise the close command required . Following a series of reverses , I Corps headquarters was sent for on 18 June , and Lieutenant General John Lavarack assumed command that day . The headquarters was confronted by a difficult situation , with almost all reserves committed . Lavarack began regrouping his force , concentrating the 7th Division for a decisive thrust towards Beirut . Hard fighting was required before the campaign was brought to a successful conclusion . Promoted to colonel , Wells became General Staff Officer , 1st Grade ( GSO1 ) , to the 9th Division in November 1941 . As such , he was the 9th Division ' s chief of staff , responsible for the full range of staff activities . On 28 June 1942 , Wells accompanied Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead — Commander of the 9th Division — to Cairo , where they received orders tasking the 9th Division with the defence of Cairo . The pair spent that night and the following day organising plans for the move , before Morshead received further orders on 30 June cancelling his previous instructions and directing the division instead be dispatched to Alexandria ; the move took place on 1 July . Two days later , it was decided that the 24th Infantry Brigade would be sent forward to reinforce the position at El Alamein . The brigade was lacking in equipment , and Wells spent that day arranging equipment for the unit as well as overseeing its preparation ; the brigade moved forward the next day . The divisional headquarters proceeded to El Alamein on 7 July , and was posted to the northern flank of the British front line . The unit then spent the remainder of the month in action against Axis forces in the area . For his " distinguished services " during this period , Wells was Mentioned in Despatches a second time . On 23 October 1942 , the British and Commonwealth forces under Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery launched an offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein . The 9th Division took part in the battle , and was initially tasked with the seizure of a section of the Oxalic Line . Over the proceeding twelve days , the Australians heavily contributed to the assault , with Morshead and his staff coordinating the 9th Division ' s operations ; success was claimed on 4 November . Praised for his " ability of high order " , Wells was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts in training and preparing the division before the battle , in addition to his labours during the engagement . The notification for the decoration was published in a supplement to the " London Gazette " on 11 February 1943 . In late November 1942 , the members of the 9th Division returned to Palestine . In January , the unit embarked from North Africa and sailed home to Australia in preparation for service against the Japanese in the South West Pacific . South West Pacific . Wells arrived back in Australia during February 1943 . On 15 March , Morshead was appointed to command II Corps , and Wells was transferred along with him to the unit ' s headquarters as Brigadier , General Staff . He was promoted to temporary brigadier in April . During this time , the combat forces of the corps undertook training in both jungle and amphibious warfare in preparation for its planned deployment to New Guinea . Wells took an active hand in organising these exercises , before he moved with the corps headquarters to New Guinea during October . The movement of II Corps coincided with the vicious fighting around the Huon Peninsula and Finisterre Range . Wells assisted in the planning and coordination of operations over the subsequent months , which culminated in the seizure of Madang during April 1944 . Wells was awarded his third Mention in Despatches during this time for his " exceptional services in the field " . In April 1944 , II Corps was redesignated as I Corps and returned to Australia , where it established itself on the Atherton Tableland in Queensland . The following month , Wells proceeded to Land Command Headquarters in Sydney , where he attended a conference on staff appointments . He returned to the corps eleven days later . During this period , Wells was once again active in organising the unit ' s training off the Queensland coast , before he was granted a period of leave during August ; he returned to duty on 26 September . On 19 July 1945 , Wells was upgraded to a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his " exceptional ability and outstanding devotion to duty " in conjunction with the " valuable assistance " given throughout the New Guinea campaign to the General Officer Commanding New Guinea Force . During March 1945 , Wells acted as one of the eight pallbearer s for Major General George Alan Vasey at the latter ' s funeral . Vasey had been killed in a plane crash just off the coast of Cairns , while en route to assume command of the 6th Division in New Guinea . That same month , it was decided that I Corps would lead an assault against the island of Borneo . As a consequence , headquarters of I Corps moved to Morotai , where it opened on 24 April . The initial Borneo landings took place on 1 May , with the Australian force in action at Tarakan . Over the proceeding engagements , Wells assisted in the organisation and implementation of the operations in Borneo . As the war drew to a close in September 1945 , Wells returned to Australia and was posted to Army Headquarters in Melbourne . Senior command . In March 1946 , Wells was briefly posted as director of military operations at Army Headquarters , before being promoted to temporary major general and appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff . The following year , he embarked for the United Kingdom where he attended the Imperial Defence College in London . During this time , Wells attended an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace , where he was presented with his Commander of the Order of the British Empire by King George VI . On his return to Australia in 1949 , Wells was made Commandant of the Royal Military College , Duntroon . He served in this position until February 1951 , when he was appointed General Officer Commanding Southern Command with the rank of temporary lieutenant general . In June of that year , Wells acted as one of the ten pallbearers to Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey at his state funeral in Melbourne . Wells was appointed Commander - in - Chief , British Commonwealth Forces Korea , in 1953 . Assuming the role on 11 February , he led the Commonwealth contingent for the next twenty - one months as the Korean War was coming to an end . Like his predecessors in the position , Wells exercised administrative command only , and had no direct control over battlefield operations . Though its incumbents were considered to have performed well , the role garnered little credit for helping facilitate combat success but was a soft target for criticism when operations did not run smoothly . Wells had been sent to Korea with no instructions regarding the withdrawal of troops and — as armistice talks appeared on the verge of success — he was closely involved in liaison with the heads of Commonwealth governments regarding General Mark Clark ' s requests for their commitment to retain forces in the theatre for some period following the end of hostilities . Raised to substantive lieutenant general on 12 April 1954 , Wells was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Queen ' s Birthday Honours that June . He was commended for his " exceptional meritorious service " in Korea , and awarded the United States Legion of Merit in the degree of Commander . Presented with the decoration by General John E . Hull on 19 October , Wells returned to Australia three days later . In December , he was made Chief of the General Staff ; the professional head of the Australian Army . Wells ' appointment coincided with the commitment of Australian forces to the Malayan Emergency , and as such he presided over the deployment of soldiers to the engagement as well as the formation of the first regular brigade group . He was upgraded to a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1956 New Years Honours . On 23 March 1958 , Wells was appointed the first Chairman , Chiefs of Staff Committee ( COSC ) ; the professional head of the Australian Military . The position had previously existed as an extension to the responsibilities of the senior service chief — either the Chief of Naval Staff , Chief of the General Staff or Chief of the Air Staff — but Wells was the first to occupy the position as a separate post . The chairmanship of COSC was created as part of the Australian Government ' s response to a review of the Defence group of departments conducted by Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead in 1957 , which recommended greater centralisation of the armed forces . Although the Chairman was the Government ' s principal military advisor and reported directly to the Minister for Defence , Wells was not promoted and remained at the same rank as the heads of the Navy , Army and Air Force . He was also hampered by being given only a small staff . The role of the Chairman , COSC was not strengthened until 1965 , when Air Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger — who had been appointed to the position in 1961 — was promoted to air chief marshal so that he out - ranked the service heads . Wells served in this capacity until his retirement from the Australian military on 22 March 1959 . Retirement . In retirement , Wells was appointed as a director to several companies , including Broken Hill South Ltd , Metal Manufactures Ltd , Navcot Australia Pty Ltd and Sitmar Line ( Australia ) Pty Ltd . During April 1961 , Wells was appointed honorary colonel of the Royal Victoria Regiment . Described as " somewhat reserved and taciturn " during his life , Wells died at Yarrawonga , Victoria , on 20 October 1973 , and was survived by his wife and their two sons . His funeral service took place with full military honours at Toorak Presbyterian Church , after which he was cremated . In his will , Wells bequeathed a sizable proportion of his estate to Junior Legacy , Melbourne . Wells Road , a street in Duntroon , Australian Capital Territory , is named in his honour .