Edward Smart Lieutenant General Edward Kenneth Smart DSO , MC ( 23 May 1891 – 1961 ) was a career officer in the Australian Army , and subsequently an Australian diplomat . Early years . Ken Smart was born 23 May 1891 in Kew , an inner suburb of Melbourne , Victoria , Australia , and was educated at Melbourne C . E . G . S ( Church of England Grammar School ) . He was commissioned into the Corps of Australian Engineers as a Second Lieutenant on 18 July 1910 . On 1 December 1910 he was promoted to Lieutenant with RAGA ( Royal Australian Garrison Artillery ) , and by 1914 was an officer of the Siege Artillery Brigade ( SAB ) commanded by ( then ) Lt Col Walter Adams Coxen . On 12 June 1915 he married Phyllis E Robertson . World War I . Smart enlisted in the AIF on 21 May 1915 , married on 12 June , and on 17 July the Siege Artillery Brigade embarked upon HMAT Orsova ( A67 ) from Melbourne , arriving England 25 Aug 1915 . He arrived in France on 2 March 1916 , and saw action at Vimy Ridge in May before becoming involved in the Battle of the Somme from June 1916 to March 1917 . In September 1916 , during the course of heavy fighting in which he was wounded , his actions led to him being awarded the Military Cross . The citation reads : On 13 December 1916 he was appointed adjutant of the 36th Heavy Artillery Group ( HAG ) and promoted to the rank of captain . During 1917 he was placed in command of 39th Battery , 10th Aust FAB ( Field Arty Bde ) , 4th Australian Division , and saw action in Messines ( May – June ) , near Nieuport ( July ) and near Dixmude ( October ) . In November 1917 he took a position in HQ 4 Div Artillery as a Brigade - Major Trainee , and in December he was mentioned in despatches . In April 1918 he took a position at HQ Australia Corps near Albert , and in June was promoted to Major ( brevet ) , taking command of 110th Howitzer Battery , 10th Aust Field Arty Bde . Involved in heavy fighting in August and September , he was seriously wounded on 27 September 1918 , and subsequently recommended for the Distinguished Service Order and was again mentioned in despatches . His World War I service resulted in nine entries in the Australian War Memorial ' s Honours and Awards database : Inter - bellum . After discharge from the AIF , he remained in the Army and from 31 May to 1 October 1919 attended Artillery College in England . He returned to Australia and , from 16 February to 10 September 1920 , served as " OC No . 6 Coy RAGA 3 MD " - Officer Commanding No . 6 Company , Royal Australian Garrison Artillery , 3rd Military District ( Victoria ) . He then returned to England until February 1925 where he served in a number of positions : On return to Australia , he served in a number of positions until January 1936 : On 16 January 1936 , he took up the position of Military Liaison Officer in the High Commissioner ' s Office in London , serving there until 25 August 1939 , being promoted to Colonel ( brevet ) in July 1937 . World War II . On return to Australia , and the outbreak of World War II , on 13 October 1939 he was promoted to Major General and appointed " QMG ( 3rd Mil Member ) Mil Board AHQ " - QuarterMaster General , 3rd Military Member of the Military Board , Army HeadQuarters ( Melbourne ) . On 24 October 1940 he was promoted to temporary Lieutenant General and appointed " GOC Southern Comd and Dist Officer Comd 3 MD " - General Officer Commanding , Southern Command , and District Officer Commanding the 3rd Military District ( Victoria ) . In April 1942 he was made substantive Lieutenant General and was appointed Australian Military Representative in Washington D . C . ( i . e . Head of the Australian Military Mission to the USA ) . In August 1942 he was appointed Australian Army Representative in London ; as well as being Head of the Australian Military Mission to the UK , he was Australia ' s representative on the Imperial War Council . He remained in this position until his discharge ( in England ) from the AIF , and retirement from the Australian Armed Forces , on 2 July 1946 . Diplomat . From London he proceeded to San Francisco where he served as Australian Consul - General from 1946 to 1949 , and then to New York , where he continued to serve as Australian Consul - General , from 1946 until his retirement in 1954 . Retirement . He died in 1961 . Personal . He married Phyllis E . Robertson , daughter of Lt Col J Robertson , on 12 June 1915 . They had two children ; a son and a daughter . Smart ' s recreations were walking and motoring , and his club was the Navy , Army and Air Force Club in Melbourne . Honours . Honours awarded to Ken Smart until 1920 : Also , Mentioned in Despatches : 28 December 1917 and 11 July 1919