John Wilson Crawford

Brigadier John Wilson Crawford, (8 July 1899 – 7 March 1943) served in the Australian Army during the Second World War. Prior to the war, he was a solicitor and an officer in the Citizen Military Forces. Called up to the army following the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, he commanded the 2/17th Battalion during the Siege of Tobruk. From April 1942, he commanded the 11th Brigade and York Force. He was killed in an aircraft crash near Cairns on 7 March 1943.

Early life Crawford was born on 8 July 1899 in Paddington, a suburb of Sydney, to Irish immigrants. He had an interest in the military from an early age, joining his school's cadet unit and later, the Sydney University Scouts. After completing his university education, he qualified as a solicitor. During the Great Depression, he was associated with the Old Guard, a paramilitary group organized in order to prevent a hypothesized socialist revolution. Crawford was group clerk for quota 1 headquarters of the Old Guard's Pacific Highway nucleus. He was also active in the Citizen Military Forces, and by 1933 was in command of the Sydney University Regiment with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Second World War When the Second World War began, Crawford was called up for full-time duty with the Australian Army. After a brief period in command of the 4th Battalion, he volunteered for the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in March 1940. In due course, he was tasked with the establishment of the 2/17th Battalion. The battalion was formed mainly from New South Welshmen and would spend the next six months in training. Crawford was a firm believer in discipline; his nickname of "Cake Eater" was derived from his strict adherence to formal protocols for official social functions. This new formation replaced the 6th Division in the area around Tripoli, with the 2/17th Battalion situated at near Mersa Berga by early March. The Italian forces in Libya's Cyrenaica region had largely been destroyed during Operation Compass. However, the Germans were gradually building up their forces in the area and, on 24 March, Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps attacked the Allied lines. This eventually forced the withdrawal of 9th Division to Tobruk, a critical port city. The following day, it beat off an initial attack by German infantry and armour. Probing attacks followed, and Crawford recognised these as preparatory skirmishing for a heavier attack in the following days. Reorganising his battalion's defences, he was able to respond appropriately when the expected attack commenced on the evening of 13 April. Despite tanks penetrating the battalion's lines, Crawford's control of subsequent counterattacks (supported by artillery and the neighbouring 2/15th Battalion) saw the attack rebuffed.

During his time at Tobruk, Crawford was recommended for the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and was twice mentioned in despatches for his leadership during the period March to July 1941. The battalion, together with the rest of the division, spent the next several months in Palestine and Syria. He was survived by his wife, Gladys Marjory Lyndon Clay, whom he had married in 1928, and his daughter.