John Gardiner Austin
(1871-1956), Brigadier-GeneralSitter in 2 portraits
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1920
NPG x67180
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Garrie Hutchinson
27 January 2017, 00:08
John Gardiner Austin was born at The Farm, St Philip, Barbados. He married an Australian, Margaret Drew Moir (1873-1955), in Australia, and they had one son. Like his brothers, he was a fine cricketer and he captained Barbados in the 1906 Inter Colonial series. John Gardiner Austin ('Ruff') had a distinguished military career in the British army. He trained as an officer at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, where he won the 'Sword of Honour' and 'Silver Bugle', both of which were very prestigious awards and was commissioned in the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1891. During 1899-1900 he served in the Boer War in South Africa, where he was involved in the advance on Kimberley, in operations in the Orange Free State and in Cape Colony. He was transferred to the Army Ordnance Department in 1909 and seconded to Australia as Director of Ordnance Services to the Commonwealth of Australia in time for the outbreak of war in 1914. He sailed with the first Australian Expeditionary Force serving in Gallipoli (where he was one of the first to land and the last to leave) and also served in France, on General Birdwood's staff. He was wounded twice during the war and twice mentioned in Despatches. He was awarded the C.M.G. in 1915, the C.B. in 1920 as well as the Croix de Guerre by the French. He was Director of Army Ordnance Services from 1926 to 1928. He retired as a Brigadier General in 1928 and went to live in Vancouver Island, B.C., where he died. See Wikipedia for colonial administrator of same name (father) and cricketing brother.