William Bridgeford

Sir William Bridgeford
Bridgeford in 1941 shortly after his involvement in the campaign in Greece
Born	28 July 1894 Smeaton, Victoria
Died	21 September 1971(1971-09-21) (aged 77) Kenmore, Queensland
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army
Years of service	1913–53
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	25th Brigade 3rd Armoured Division 3rd Infantry Division British Commonwealth Forces Korea
Battles/wars	First World War Battle of Fromelles Battle of Polygon Wood Battle of the Hindenburg Line Second World War Greek campaign New Guinea Campaign Bougainville campaign Korean War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (4) War Cross (Greece) Legion of Merit (United States)
Other work	Olympics organiser

First World War

Second World War

Lieutenant General Sir William Bridgeford, KBE, CB, MC (28 July 1894 – 21 September 1971) was a senior officer in the Australian Army. He began his military career in 1913 and fought on the Western Front during the First World War, before rising to command the 3rd Infantry Division during the Bougainville campaign in the Second World War. Later he served as the Commander in Chief of British Commonwealth Forces Korea during the Korean War. He retired from the military in 1953 and worked on the organising committee of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, as well as being the director of several companies and treasurer of a returned services organisation.

William Bridgeford was born on 28 July 1894 at Smeaton in Victoria to George Bridgeford, a Scottish-born baker, and his wife Christina Gordon (née Calder). After his formative schooling, he attended Ballarat High School.

In 1913, Bridgeford was accepted into the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Although the course was four years long, he was graduated early in June 1915 with the rest of his class due to Australia's growing commitment to the First World War. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Permanent Military Force, but volunteered for overseas service with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) the following month and was posted to the 29th Infantry Battalion in Egypt. He did not see action with them, for in February 1916 the machine gun sections of the 8th Infantry Brigade, of which the 29th Infantry Battalion was a part, were transferred to the brigade's newly formed 8th Machine Gun Company. In 1918 the 5th Division's machine gun companies became part of the 5th Machine Gun Battalion. Bridgeford served with the 8th Machine Gun Company on the Western Front, where he was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during the Battle of Fromelles and later undertook staff training at brigade and divisional level. In April 1918 he was gassed and subsequently evacuated but he returned to his unit in August and was promoted to temporary major the following month. After the armistice was signed in November 1918, Bridgeford worked as a staff officer before returning to Australia in early 1919.