Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"Sir William John Victor Windeyer (1900-1987), soldier and judge, was born on 28 July 1900 at Hunters Hill, Sydney, eldest of four children of Sydney-born parents William Archibald Windeyer, solicitor, and his wife Ruby Millicent née Le Gay Brereton, daughter of John Le Gay Brereton and sister of John and Ernest.  Victor’s family had a strong tradition in the law and public service.  He was the grandson of Sir William Charles Windeyer and Mary Windeyer, and the great-great-grandson of Charles Windeyer.

Educated at Sydney Grammar School, Windeyer is remembered for his enthusiasm for soldiering in the school cadet corps in which he rose to cadet officer.  His keen sense of service caused him to leave school and enlist in the Australian Imperial Force the day after his eighteenth birthday.  He went to training camp but the Armistice was declared before he was sent overseas.  In 1919 he entered the University of Sydney (BA, 1922; LL.B, 1925; MA, 1945).  He won the university medal in history in 1922.

In 1919 Windeyer joined the Sydney University Scouts Citizen Military Forces.  He was a good marksman and horseman.  Commissioned in 1922, he progressed to captain (1924) and major (1929) and on 1 July 1937 was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commanding officer of the renamed (1927) Sydney University Regiment.  As an officer he was reserved and a strict disciplinarian.  Sir Frederick Chilton, in later life a fellow officer and friend, remembered first meeting an erect, stern-looking man.  Windeyer was not popular but was respected by the men and regarded as an excellent leader.

Windeyer took command in 1930 of a platoon in the Old Guard, an organisation not to be confused with the more public and more extreme New Guard.  Its objects—to assist in 'the maintenance of law and order' and to uphold 'the Constitution under which we work and live'—were focused on the politics of J. T. Lang and the activities of the New Guard.  The Old Guard dissolved after Sir Philip Game dismissed Lang in May 1932.

On the declaration of World War II in 1939, Windeyer applied for an appointment in the AIF but was refused on medical grounds.  He persisted, accepting demotion to major to aid his purpose, and succeeded on 1 May 1940.  In August he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and sent to South Australia to raise and command the 2/48th Battalion, the most highly decorated Australian battalion in the war.  It was not usual for a commanding officer to be appointed from another State and Windeyer quickly gained the respect and affection of the South Australians.  He led the unit in the defence of Tobruk, Libya, from April to October 1941, winning the Distinguished Service Order for his inspirational courage and example.  At Tobruk his brother Frank, a captain in the 2/17th Battalion, was mortally wounded..." - READ MORE LINK (adb.anu.edu.au)