Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George, who has been twice mentioned in despatches, is the younger son of Mr. W. F. Wootten of Pymble and late of Mosman. He was born at Marrickville 21 years ago, and was  educated at Fort Street (where he passed the junior and law matriculation examinations) and at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. He entered Duntroon in its inaugural year, and  at the outbreak of the war graduated and was posted to the 1st Battalion as lieutenant and machinegun officer. While at Duntroon Captain Wootten was a prominent player in the  back division of the first fifteen. He also excelled at swimming, and played cricket with the second eleven. Generals Birdwood and Hamilton have both mentioned Captain Wootten in their despatches, and he was promoted to captain and made adjutant of his battalion in May last. Of all the Duntroon graduates attached to the first four infantry brigades Captain  Wootten is now the only one left on duty, all the others having been killed, wounded or invalided.

Australian Army Major General. A combat veteran of World Wars I and II, he rose in rank to command the 9th and 3rd Australian Infantry Divisions. Known for his robust build, he was highly respected by his subordinates and superiors. The 7th child of English immigrant parents, his father worked as a carpenter and later a civil engineer. He received his education at Fort Street Model School in Sydney, Australia and in 1911 he entered the Royal Military College at Duntroon, Australia, graduating as a lieutenant in August 1914. With the outbreak of World War I at the same time, he was sent to the Mideast in April 1915 and saw combat action at Gallipoli, in Turkey and was promoted to the rank of major by the end of that year. He was then assigned to the Western Front in Europe where he served with the 9th and 11th Australian Brigades. In October 1917 he was assigned to the staff of the Australian 5th Division and a year later he became part of the staff of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commander of British Empire forces in France. In March 1919, following the end of World War I, he attended the Staff College at Camberley, England and returned to Australia in 1920. In 1923 he resigned his commission and returned to London, England and became the manager of a clothing factory. Three years later he returned to West Wyalong, New South Wales, Australia and became a clerk. By 1930 he became associated with the Old Guard, an Australian anti-communist organization and in 1931 he joined the Citizens Military Forces (an Army Reserve Corps) and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel by July 1937 and commanded the 21st Light Horse Regiment. When World War II broke out, he volunteered for the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, serving in command positions. In late 1940 he was promoted to the rank of temporary brigadier general and placed in command of the 18th Infantry Brigade and was sent to North Africa where he participated in the Siege of Tobruk in Libya (April to November 1941). Following Japan's entry into World War II in December 1941, he was assigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations, where his forces were engaged in combat action at Battle of Milne Bay in Papua, New Guinea (August to September 1942), the Battle of Buna-Gona in New Guinea (November 1942 to January 1943), the Salamaua-Lae campaign in New Guinea (April to September 1943), the Huon Peninsula campaign in New Guinea (September 1943 to March 1944), the Borneo campaign (May to August 1945), and Operation Oboe Six in North Borneo (June to August 1945). In March 1943 he was promoted to the rank of temporary major general and became commander of the 9th Australian Infantry Division. While serving in the Pacific Theater, General Douglas MacArthur described him as "the best soldier in the Australian Army who had it in him to reach the highest position." Following the Japanese surrender in September 1945, he temporarily commanded the British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit and returned to Australia and was appointed to a military court of inquiry that investigated Australian Major General Gordon Bennett's departure from Singapore in 1942, during the Japanese offensive there. From 1945 to 1958 he chaired the Repatriation Commission in Melbourne, Australia and during that time (1947 to 1950) he commanded the 3rd Australian Infantry Division. Following his retirement in 1958, with 33 years of total military service, he was awarded a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and returned to Sydney. During his wartime service, he received a Companion of the Order of the Bath, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order with bar, a US Distinguished Service Cross, and was mentioned in dispatches (whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy) on four separate occasions during World War I. He died at the age of 76.

Bio by: William Bjornstad