Alan Stretton

Major General Alan Bishop Stretton, AO, CBE (30 September 1922 – 26 October 2012) was a senior Australian Army officer. He came to public prominence through his work in charge of cleanup efforts at Darwin in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day 1974.[1] As head of the National Disasters Organisation he managed the evacuation of 35,000 people in six days, including loading a jumbo jet with 673 passengers,[2] then a record for the most people aloft in the one aircraft.

For other uses, see Alan M. Stretton.

Alan Bishop Stretton
Born(1922-09-30)30 September 1922
Melbourne, Victoria
Died26 October 2012(2012-10-26) (aged 90)
Batemans Bay, New South Wales
AllegianceAustralia
Service/branchAustralian Army
Years of service1940–1978
RankMajor General
Commands held2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1961–63)
Battles/warsSecond World War
Korean War
Vietnam War
AwardsOfficer of the Order of Australia
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order (Vietnam)
Bronze Star Medal (United States)

Early years

Stretton was born on 30 September 1922 in Melbourne, Victoria.[3] He was educated at Caulfield Grammar School[4] and Scotch College, Melbourne.[5] After graduating from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, he began his military career serving with the 2/9th Battalion during the Second World War.[6][7]

Military career

Stretton served in the army from 1940 to 1978. In the Second World War he served as a platoon commander in the 2/9th Battalion.[5]

In 1946 and 1947 he played 16 games of Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League with St Kilda, after arriving at the club from Duntroon.[8]

In the Korean War he served in the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment from 1954 to 1955. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire on 13 December 1955.[9] In Malaya he served as the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1961–63). On 12 June 1965 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[10] He served three tours during the Vietnam War, in 1962, 1966 and 1967. He was Director of administrative planning at headquarters (1966–69), and from 1969 to 1970 he was chief of staff of the Australian forces. On 8 January 1971 was advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his service in Vietnam.[11] In 1970 the South Vietnamese government awarded him the Distinguished Service Order and in 1973 the US awarded him the Bronze Star Medal.[5][12]

During his time in Malaya and Vietnam, without attending a lecture, he studied by correspondence from the jungle and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland in 1966. He was admitted as a barrister in the New South Wales and High Courts in 1969.[5][12]

Stretton was promoted brigadier in 1971 and from 1972 to 1974 was deputy director (military) of the Joint Intelligence Organisation and member of the National Intelligence Committee.[5][12]

Cyclone Tracy and post-military

Stretton was jointly named the 1975 Australian of the Year,[13] with Sir John Cornforth.

He wrote "The Furious Days: The Relief of Darwin" (1976) and "Soldier in the Storm" (1978), retiring from public life in 1978. He practiced law in Canberra until aged in his 1970s.[5]

In 1999, in only his second visit to the city of Darwin since Cyclone Tracy, he presented his insignia as Officer of the Order of Australia, and his award as Australian of the Year, to the people of Darwin.

In 2003 he publicly criticised the Australian Government's policy of involvement with the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, in an open letter in which he stated: "The alleged connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'ida is ludicrous."[14]

He died on 26 October 2012 at Batemans Bay Hospital in New South Wales, aged 90.[1][15]

List of honours
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)9 June 1975[16][17]
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)8 January 1971[5][12][11][17]
Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE)12 June 1965[5][12][10]
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)13 December 1955[5][12][9]
Pacific Star[17]
War Medal 1939–1945[17]
Australia Service Medal 1939–45[17]
United Nations Korea Medal[17]
Vietnam Medal[5][12][17]
Centenary Medal1 January 2001[18]
Defence Force Service Medal with four claspsFor 35–39 years service[17]
National Medal with 2 RosettesFor a total of 35 years service[19][20][21][17]
Australian Defence Medal2006
Vietnam Campaign Medal(South Vietnam)[5][12][17]

See also

Notes
  1. "Cyclone Tracy recovery leader Stretton dies". ABC News. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  2. "Advertising". The Canberra Times. 71 (22, 127). 16 November 1995. p. 8 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE CANBERRA TIMES). Retrieved 7 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. STRETTON, Alan Bishop, Who's Who in Australasia and the Far East, Melrose Press, 1989, p.531
  4. "His Hobby— Alan Stretton with his fantail pigeons at the exhibition of hobbies held at the Caulfield Grammar School yesterday", The Argus, Tuesday, 9 December 1930, p.5.
  5. "Obituaries". Scotch College, Melbourne.
  6. Wallace Crouch (31 December 1974) Darwin's Dictator for a week, The Sydney Morning Herald, p.4
  7. Dickens 2005, p. x.
  8. Gossip from League Clubs, The Argus (Melbourne), 10 May 1946, p.15.
    Alan Stretton, who will play at centre half-back for St Kilda, gained valuable experience at Royal Military College at Duntroon. He is 6ft lin and weighs 14st 10lb.
  9. It's an Honour – Member of the Order of the British Empire – 13 December 1955
    Citation: ARMY – Infantry – Distinguished service in Korea
  10. It's an Honour – Officer of the Order of the British Empire – 12 June 1965
    Citation: ARMY – Staff Corps – Postwar Honours List
  11. It's an Honour – Commander of the Order of the British Empire – 8 January 1971
    Citation: ARMY – Staff Corps – Vietnam.
  12. Damien Murphy (31 October 2012). "Military man became Darwin's hero". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  13. Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 978-1-74196-809-5.
  14. "Evidence weak, so leave young Australians out of it". 7 February 2003.
  15. John Thistleton (29 October 2012) Vale Major-General Alan Stretton, The Canberra Times
  16. It's an Honour – Officer of the Order of Australia – 9 June 1975
    Citation: AO (MILITARY DIVISION) QB 1975. CBE 1971. OBE QB 1965. MBE 1955
  17. Gwendolene E. Pratt (1987) Portrait of Alan B. Stretton AO OBE LLB, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
  18. It's an Honour – Centenary Medal – 1 January 2001
    Citation: For service to the community including restoration of Darwin post-Cyclone Tracy
  19. It's an Honour – National Medal – 14 July 1977
    Citation: The National Medal is awarded for diligent long service to the community in hazardous circumstances, including in times of emergency and national disaster, in direct protection of life and property.
  20. It's an Honour – National Medal, 1st Clasp – 14 July 1977
    Citation: The National Medal is awarded for diligent long service to the community in hazardous circumstances, including in times of emergency and national disaster, in direct protection of life and property.
  21. It's an Honour – National Medal, 2nd Clasp – 27 January 1978
    Citation: The National Medal is awarded for diligent long service to the community in hazardous circumstances, including in times of emergency and national disaster, in direct protection of life and property.

References
  • Dickens, Gordon (2005). Never Late: The 2/9th Australian Infantry Battalion 1939–1945. Loftus, NSW: Australian Military History Publications. ISBN 1-876439-47-5.
Awards
Preceded by
Sir Bernard Heinze		 Australian of the Year Award
1975
Served alongside: Sir John Cornforth		 Succeeded by
Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop
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