Charles Frederick Cox Major General Charles Frederick Cox CB , CMG , DSO , VD ( 2 May 1863 – 20 November 1944 ) was an Australian Army colonel and temporary brigadier general in World War I . He retired in 1930 as an honorary major general . Early life and career . Charles Frederick Cox was born on 2 May 1863 at Pennant Hills , Sydney , NSW . He was a grandson of William Cox . He was educated in Parramatta and became a clerk with the New South Wales Railways traffic audit branch in 1881 . Cox enlisted in the New South Wales Lancers in 1891 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1894 . In 1897 he was chosen to head a detachment of the regiment in the ceremonies for Queen Victoria ' s Diamond Jubilee . Promoted to captain later that year , he travelled to England again in 1899 in command of a squadron of the lancers for training with the British cavalry . The squadron was training alongside the 6th Dragoon Guards ( Carabiniers ) at Aldershot , England , when the Boer War broke out . Cox volunteered himself and his squadron for service in South Africa . Some 70 of his men went to South Africa ; another 31 , for various reasons , did not , and returned to Australia . Cox and his volunteers arrived in Cape Town in December 1899 . The squadron saw only limited action throughout their first tour but did take part in the last major battle of the war , the Battle of Paardeberg on 18 February 1900 . In May 1900 , Cox was attached to the Inniskilling Dragoons , under the command of Major E Allenby . The lancers returned to Australia in December 1900 . Cox was promoted to major and given command of the newly formed 3rd New South Wales Mounted Rifles , with which he returned to South Africa in April 1901 . In June he was made an honorary lieutenant colonel . In the latter half of 1901 Cox ' s regiment joined part of a force led by Colonel Michael Rimington . They covered 1 , 814 miles in 153 days . There was little action apart from the occasional skirmish but these cost the regiment 5 killed and 19 wounded . While the British regulars had doubts about Cox ' s competence in 1899 , by the end of the war in 1902 Cox had earned considerable accolades from Colonel Rimington . From his men he had earned the nickname " Fighting Charlie " . Cox remained with the lancers which became the 1st Light Horse in 1903 . He became the commander in 1906 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 2 April 1908 . In 1911 Cox was transferred to the unattached officer list . World War I . In September 1914 , Cox was appointed command the AIF ' s 6th Light Horse Regiment . The regiment trained in Sydney and Egypt before arriving at Gallipoli for dismounted service on 19 May 1915 . Two days later , Cox was wounded by shrapnel while in his dugout . He was evacuated and did not rejoin his regiment until 1 July . When Brigadier General Chauvel took over the New Zealand and Australian Division on 19 September , Cox became acting commander of the 1st Light Horse Brigade . On 6 December 1915 the appointment became permanent and Cox was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general . He was to hold this post for the duration of the war . The 1st Light Horse Brigade arrived back in Egypt on 28 December 1915 . The brigade was sent to Wadi Natrun , south west of Cairo , to protect the Kataba Canal against the Senussi . On 11 February 1916 , the brigade , less the 3rd Light Horse Regiment , entrained for Minia . They remained there until May , patrolling the area for signs of the Senussi . In May Cox went to England on sick leave . He rejoined his brigade on 26 August 1916 on the Suez Canal front , where they now formed part of Chauvel ' s ANZAC Mounted Division . Cox and his brigade took part in multiple actions during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign , including the Battle of Magdhaba , Battle of Beersheba and captured the town of Jericho . Post war . Cox returned to Australia on 13 March 1919 . In 1920 he was elected to the Senate as a Nationalist representing New South Wales , a seat he held until 1938 . He travelled widely through New South Wales and became well known and popular . As a senator , he took an interest in defence policy , the development of the railway system , and the construction of the new national capital in Canberra . Cox was appointed to command the 4th Light Horse Brigade in 1920 , and then the 1st Cavalry Division in 1921 . In 1923 he was transferred to the retired list with the rank of honorary major general . He died at Croydon on 20 November 1944 and was buried in the Carlingford Cemetery with full military honours . See also . List of Australian Generals References . Charles Frederick Cox Biography at General Officers of the First AIF