Sydney Herring Brigadier General Sydney Charles Edgar Herring CMG , DSO , VD ( 8 October 1881 – 27 May 1951 ) was an Australian Army colonel and temporary Brigadier General in World War I . He retired in 1946 as an honorary brigadier general . Early life and career . Sydney Charles Edgar Herring was born in Gladesville , a suburb of Sydney on 8 October 1881 . After a public school education he became a real estate agent . Herring was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion on 26 March 1904 and promoted to lieutenant on 1 March 1906 . With the introduction of universal military training in 1911 he became area officer for Drummoyne and was promoted to captain on 4 January 1911 , he transferred to the 21st Infantry on 1 July 1912 . World War I . Herring was appointed to the First Australian Imperial Force on 4 October 1914 with the rank of captain in the 13th Infantry Battalion . The battalion left Sydney on 22 December 1914 for Egypt , where Herring was promoted to major and given command of ' D ' Company on 1 February 1915 . The 13th Battalion landed at Anzac Cove on the evening of 25 April 1915 . Ordered to take his company up to Russell ' s Top and link up with the New Zealanders , Herring and his men climbed the thick scrub opposite Pope ' s Hill . After taking heavy casualties Herring decided to pull back his line a bit . By the end of the action Herring had retreated back into Monash Valley . When the Turks broke through the line into Quinn ' s Post on 29 May 1915 , the temporary post commander , Lieutenant Colonel Pope , ordered Herring to make a counterattack , which he fully expected would be extremely costly . Just as Herring was about to order the charge , there was a sudden burst of enemy fire , which abruptly almost ceased . Herring gave the word and his men charged across the open and made it practically unscathed , their attack having coincided with a Turkish assault further down the line and in a location where the Turkish machine gunners could not fire without hitting their own men . The remaining Turks in the post eventually surrendered . Herring was slightly wounded on 17 May 1915 but remained on duty . On 27 June 1915 , he assumed acting command of the 13th Infantry Battalion after the battalion commander , Major Durrant was evacuated sick . Herring was confirmed as commander on 26 August 1915 . On 15 October 1915 , he was evacuated to Egypt sick , returning to his unit at Anzac on 19 November 1915 . For his services at Anzac , Herring was mentioned in dispatches . On 3 January 1916 , Herring arrived in Alexandria with the 13th Battalion following the evacuation of Anzac . On 21 February 1916 , the battalion was split , half going to form the new 45th Infantry Battalion . Herring took command of the new battalion , while Durrant resumed command of the old . Unfortunately , the new battalions soon had to absorb large numbers of men unwanted by the old battalions and left behind when they moved to France . On 12 March 1916 , he became a temporary lieutenant colonel . He was promoted to the rank on 24 June 1916 . The 45th Battalion departed Alexandria on 2 June 1916 , arriving at Marseilles on 8 June . In August , the battalion was committed to the fighting at Pozieres , losing 448 men on its first tour . For his leadership at Pozieres , Herring was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) . At Messines in June 1917 , the battalion lost 568 men in pillbox fighting on the Oosttaverne Line . Herring , who had ordered repeated attacks on pillboxes that his men could not capture , was again mentioned in dispatches . On 24 September 1917 he became a brevet major in the AMF . On 7 October 1917 , Herring took over command of the 4th Training Group in England . This group was responsible for training the brigade ' s reinforcements . The group was abolished on 8 November 1917 . On 11 February 1918 , Herring took command of the 3rd Training Brigade . On 7 May 1918 , he returned to France where he resumed command of the 45th Battalion . On 26 June 1918 he became commander of the 13th Infantry Brigade and was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general on 30 June 1918 . The brigade played an important part in the final campaign under his leadership . He was mentioned in dispatches for the fourth time and made a Companion of St Michael and St George ( CMG ) on 3 June 1919 . Post war . Herring resumed his career as real estate agent , and ran unsuccessfully for the Senate as a Nationalist in 1924 . He was placed on the retired list in 1946 with the honorary rank of brigadier general . For many years he led the 4th Division in Sydney ' s Anzac Day parades . He died on 27 May 1951 and was cremated with full military honours .