Walter Cawthorn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cawthorn in 1946 | |
| Director General Australian Secret Intelligence Service | |
| In office September 1960 – 3 July 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Ralph Harry |
| Succeeded by | Bill Robertson |
| Director General Inter-Services Intelligence | |
| In office January 1948 – June 1948 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Syed Shahid Hamid |
| Deputy Chief of Staff Pakistan Army | |
| In office February 1948 – February 1951 | |
| 6th High Commissioner of Australia to Canada | |
| In office 11 March 1959 – 2 May 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Crocker |
| Succeeded by | David Hay |
| 3rd Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan | |
| In office 24 July 1954 – 14 December 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Leslie Beavis |
| Succeeded by | Robert Furlonger (acting)[1] Roden Cutler |
| Director Joint Intelligence Bureau (Australia) | |
| In office 1952–1954 | |
| Director of Intelligence (India) | |
| In office 1 May 1944 – 2 March 1945 | |
| Director of Military Intelligence (India) | |
| In office 15 August 1941 – 20 November 1942 | |
| In office 21 November 1942 – 30 April 1944 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walter Joseph Cawthorn 11 June 1896 Prahran, Victoria |
| Died | 4 December 1970 (aged 74) Melbourne, Victoria |
| Spouse |
Mary Wyman Varley
(m. 1927; died 1989) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Minnie Elizabeth Cawthorn (sister) Andrew Gillison (father-in-law) |
| Education | Melbourne High School Staff College, Camberley[2] |
| Nickname | Bill |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Australian Army (1915-18; 1952)[3] British Indian Army (1918-47) Pakistan Army (1948-51) |
| Years of service | 1915–52 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands | Australian Secret Intelligence Service Inter-Services Intelligence Director Joint Intelligence Bureau (Australia) Directorate of Military Intelligence (India) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Mentioned in despatches (1918)[4] Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1941)[5] Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (1943)[6] Companion of the Order of the Bath (1946) Knight Bachelor (1958)[7] |
| Service number | 342240 |
Major General Sir Walter Joseph Cawthorn CB CIE CBE (11 June 1896 – 4 December 1970), better known as Bill Cawthorn, and also known as W. J. Cawthorn and Wally Cawthorn,[8][a] was an Australian two-star rank general who also served in the British Indian Army and Pakistan Army. He was a teacher, diplomat, and is considered Australia's greatest spymaster.[9] Recommended by his friend Richard G. Casey, then Governor of Bengal, Cawthorn was sent to Melbourne in 1946 as an Indian representative on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Australia.[10]
After the Partition of British India, Cawthorn was seconded to the Pakistan Army, where he played a key role in founding the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and served as its first Director General from January to June 1948.[11] He was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army from February 1948[12] to February 1951.[13]
While Cawthorn established the ISI, it was Syed Shahid Hamid who was tasked with fully setting up the agency. In a confidential report to the Joint Service Commander's Committee, Cawthorn wrote: "In October 1948, Brigadier Shahid Hamid was assigned the task of building this organization from scratch. Despite significant challenges, such as the lack of experienced personnel and essential records, as well as continued staff shortages, he successfully developed the Directorate into a functional organization. He also gained the trust and cooperation of the Service Intelligence authorities in the United Kingdom. Although much remains to be done, Brigadier Shahid Hamid has achieved far more than seemed possible when he took on the task less than two years ago."[14]
He returned to Australia in 1952 and served as Director Joint Intelligence Bureau (Australia) until 1954. Richard G. Casey, now Australian Minister for External Affairs, sought 'a better outlet for Cawthorn's talents' and selected him for a five-year posting as Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan. During this time, Cawthorn forged strong ties with local political and military leaders. Governor-General Iskandar Ali Mirza once told Casey, 'We have no secrets from Bill Cawthorn.' Casey visited Karachi in 1956 and noted that due to Cawthorn's rapport with 'top Pakistanis, we are much better informed than the much larger diplomatic posts.'[10]
On the night of 27 October 1958, Ayub Khan informed foreign officials, including Cawthorn and U.S. Ambassador Langley, of his military coup against President Iskandar Ali Mirza and his takeover as president. Both reacted sharply to the news, as Cawthorn was a close friend of Iskandar and expressed concerns about his safety.[15][16]
In March 1959, he was appointed High Commissioner of Australia to Canada, and in September 1960, he returned to take the helm of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). His tenure was characterized as 'a period of consolidation and development,' during which he served until his retirement on 3 July 1968.[17]
- ^ Australian Representation Overseas. Vol. 29. Current Notes on International Affairs. 1958.
- ^ Cawthorn, Maj.-Gen. Sir Walter Joseph. The International Who's who. 1962.
- ^ "Timeline: Major General Walter Joseph Cawthorn". Australian War Memorial.
- ^ CAWTHORN, Major-General Sir Walter Joseph. Who's who in Australia. 1968.
- ^ "To be Additional Commanders of the Military Division of the said Most Excellent Order". The London Gazette. 28 March 1941. p. 1865.
- ^ "To be Additional Companions of the said Most Eminent Order". The London Gazette. 2 June 1943. p. 2422.
- ^ "Diplomat dies at 74". The Canberra Times. 7 December 1970.
- ^ Russell, William B. (1959). There Goes a Man: The Biography of Sir Stanley G. Savige. Longmans.
- ^ Fewster, Alan (2024). Intelligencer: The Secret World of Walter Cawthorn Australian Spymaster.
- ^ a b Hohnen, Peter (1993). "Cawthorn, Sir Walter Joseph (1896–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 13. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0522845126.
- ^ Kiessling, Dr. Hein (2016). Faith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-84904-863-7.
- ^ "Maj.-Gen. Cawthorn's New Appointment". Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore). 12 February 1948.
- ^ "Another Pakistani Officer Takes Over". Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore). 14 February 1951.
ANOTHER Pakistani Officer to assume a senior staff appointment in the Pakistan Army is Maj.-Gen. Latif Khan (fourth from right) who has been appointed Deputy Chief of Staff in Karachi. On his left is the outgoing D.C.O.S., Maj.-Gen. Cawthorn
- ^ "Joint Service Commanders' Committee: Inter Services Intelligence Directorate". 25 August 1950.
- ^ We've learnt nothing from history: Pakistan: politics and military power. 2005. p. 15.
- ^ Salim, Ahmad (1997). "Banished with a Prisoner's Escort". Iskander Mirza: Rise and Fall of a President. p. 157.
- ^ "Three ASIS chiefs fell out with the Government". The Canberra Times. 23 July 1989. p. 17.
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