The Military History Society of NSW

Cox as a New South Wales Lancer Sadly, it has come to the Society's attention that the grave of Major General Charles Frederick Cox, one of the most distinguished figures in New South Wales military history, lies in an unkempt and dilapidated condition at Saint Paul's Anglican Church Carlingford Cemetery in Sydney. Surely all interested parties, including the state government, owe it to the memory of this great man to bring about the restoration of his resting place. Photographs depicting the current condition of his gravesite are presented below. Biography (from the Australian Dictionary of Biography) Major General Charles Frederick Cox, CB, CMG, DSO, VD (2 May 1863-20 November 1944) was born in Sydney and entered the colonial railways in 1881. Over the next ten years he developed an interest in the volunteer movement and joined the New South Wales Lancers in 1891, subsequently commissioned as a lieutenant in 1894. He was given command ...

This is the "From the Editor" column of the Spring 2025 Issue of Reconnaissance , the quarterly magazine of the Military History Society of New South Wales Welcome to the Spring 2025 Issue of Reconnaissance . Since we are conscious of how enthusiastically Australians volunteered to defend the Empire on the outbreak of war in 1914, it may come as a surprise that just twenty years earlier there was generally more scepticism in New South Wales when it came to sending locals to fight Imperial battles overseas. Prior to federation, the practice was for Colonies to appoint a senior British Army officer as Commandant of their military forces, usually composed of a small permanent full-time core and a larger part-time volunteer militia. Eventually a potential conflict arose over the primary function of these seconded Commandants. Were they to focus exclusively on the internal defence of the Colony or were they to prepare a type of imperial reserve for dispatch to some remote corn...