Henry Douglas Wynter | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant General Henry Wynter | |
| Born | 5 June 1886 Gin Gin, Queensland |
| Died | 7 February 1945 (aged 58) Heidelberg, Victoria |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/ | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1907–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Service number | QX6150 |
| Commands | Eastern Command (1941–42) 2nd Military District (1941–42) 9th Division (1940–41) AIF in the United Kingdom (1940) Northern Command (1939–40) 1st Military District (1939–40) Army Command and Staff College (1938–39) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (4) |
Lieutenant General Henry Douglas Wynter, CB, CMG, DSO (6 June 1886 – 7 February 1945) was an Australian Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general during the Second World War. Official Historian Gavin Long described him as "perhaps the clearest and most profound thinker the Australian Army of his generation had produced."[1]
Wynter joined the Australian Army as a reservist in 1907 before becoming a regular officer in 1911. On duty in Queensland when the Great War broke out in 1914, he joined the 11th Infantry Brigade in 1916 as its brigade major. He served on a series of staff posts on the Western Front. After the war attended the Staff College, Camberley and Imperial Defence College.
Wynter's public criticism of the government's Singapore strategy led to his being reduced in rank and sent to Queensland. In 1938 he assumed command of the Army Command and Staff College. In 1940 he accepted a reduction in rank to become the Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster General of I Corps. Wynter embarked for the Middle East in May 1940 with the advance party of I Corps but the convoy he was travelling with was diverted to the United Kingdom. He was appointed to command the AIF there, with a key role in the defence of southern England. In October 1940 his force became the nucleus of a new 9th Division, which he was appointed to command. Ill-health forced him to return to Australia, where he became Lieutenant General Administration.