George Wootten Major General Sir George Frederick Wootten KBE , CB , DSO & Bar , ED ( 1 May 1893 – 31 March 1970 ) , was an Australian soldier , public servant , right wing political activist and solicitor . He rose to the rank of temporary Major General during World War II . Wootten earned the respect of his soldiers and superiors ; General Douglas MacArthur described him as " the best soldier in the Australian Army who had it in him to reach the highest position " . He was famous , in part , for his heavy build ; he had given up smoking in 1930 , and by 1941 — even though he was 175 cm ( 5 ft 9 in ) tall — he weighed 127 kg ( 20 st ) . Early life . Wootten was born on 1 May 1893 in Marrickvill , Sydney , Australia . He was the seventh child of English , London - born migrant parents , William Frederick Wootten ( a carpenter and later a civil engineer ) and Louisa Wootten , née Old . George Wootten attended Fort Street Model School in Sydney . He entered the Royal Military College , Duntroon , in 1911 , and graduated in August 1914 as a Lieutenant . World War I . Wootten ' s graduation coincided with the outbreak of World War I . He was posted to the 1st Battalion , went ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 , and was promoted to captain in May that year . He was a major by December . Wootten later served on the Western Front . He was Brigade Major with the 11th Brigade , then with the 9th Brigade ( under Brigadier General Charles Rosenthal ) . Wootten was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in October 1917 for staff work . He was then appointed to the staff of the 5th Division . In October 1918 , he was appointed to the staff of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig , commander of British Empire forces in France . He was mentioned in despatches four times . Following the end of hostilities , Wootten was sent to the Staff College , Camberley , England , in March 1919 . Civilian life between the wars . He married Muriel Frances Anna Bisgood , a nurse , at St Joseph ' s Catholic Church , Roehampton , London on 3 January 1920 . Wootten was posted back went to Australia that same year . He resigned his commission in 1923 , and moved back to London , where he worked as manager of a clothing factory . Wootten returned to New South Wales in 1926 and became an articled clerk at West Wyalong . He was also recruited by a secret , quasi - official militia organisation , the Old Guard , which had been formed by the conservative Australian government of the day , in response to its fears about the supposed subversive activities of left wing organisations . Wootten was admitted as a solicitor in July 1930 , by which time he had four children . In 1931 he became an organiser for the Old Guard in Sydney . Wootten joined the Citizen Military Forces ( CMF ; the army reserve corps ) and on 1 July 1937 — as a lieutenant colonel — was appointed commander of the 21st Light Horse Regiment . World War II . Following the outbreak of World War II , On 13 October 1939 , Wootten was seconded to the AIF , and from 24 October 1939 until 9 February 1940 , he commanded the 2 / 2nd Infantry Battalion . He then acting commander of the 16th Infantry Brigade until 20 May 1940 . I Corps was attached to the British Middle East Command , and when an AIF Reinforcement Depot was set up in Palestine , in late 1940 , Wootten was promoted to temporary brigadier and made its commander . Wootten was promoted to brigadier , and from 1 February 1941 , he commanded the 18th Infantry Brigade ( 7th Division ) , on active service in the North African campaign , including the Siege of Tobruk . Following the outbreak of war with Japan , the 7th Division returned to Australia and the 18th Brigade saw action on the Kokoda Track , and was part of the historic victory over Japanese forces at Milne Bay . This was followed by the fierce and costly fighting at Buna and Sanananda . On 15 March 1943 , Wootten was promoted to temporary major general and became General Officer Commanding , 9th Australian Infantry Division . Between September that year and January 1944 he led the 9th Division in the Battle of Lae and the Huon Peninsula campaign . After a year of leave , consolidation , and re - training in Australia , the 9th took part in the Borneo campaign , including Operation Oboe Six , the amphibious landings at Brunei and Labuan . Wootten ' s nephew , Driver Evans , was a POW in Borneo who took part in one of the Sandakan death marches , and was killed at Ranau . Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945 , Wootten commanded the British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit , overseeing the recuperation and repatriation of Allied prisoners , surrendered Japanese personnel , and the transition back to civilian rule . Wootten returned to Sydney on on 22 September , and transferred to the Reserve of Officers on 14 October . However , he was soon appointed to a military court of inquiry into Maj . Gen . Gordon Bennett ' s departure from Singapore in 1942 . In 1945 - 58 , Wootten chaired the Repatriation Commission , in Melbourne . He commanded the 3rd Division ( CMF ) , in 1947 - 50 and was the CMF member of the Military Board in 1948 - 50 . After retiring from the commission in 1958 , he returned to Sydney . Wootten died at the Repatriation General Hospital , Concord in 1970 . Honours . In recognition of his wartime service , Wootten was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath , Commander of the Order of the British Empire , and Companion of the Distinguished Service Order , with bar . He was also awarded the US Distinguished Service Cross and Mentioned in Despatches four times . He was elevated to a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( KBE ) in 1958 . A 1956 portrait of Wootten by Sir William Dargie is held at the Australian War Memorial , Canberra .