An Australian Staff Officer who served his nation for 54 years from 1912 to 1966. Robert Nimmo was in the second intake to the newly raised Royal Australian Military College Duntroon when it was founded in 1912, and went on to serve in combat and staff roles in the Australian Light Horse Regiment through Gallipoli and the Desert Campaign. Staying in the military during the significant downsizing of the Army and the Great Depression.
He was a cavalry officer at the start of the Second World War. He worked to develop armoured warfare in Australia before operating once more in Staff positions at the Regiment, Division, Corps and Army levels during the Second World War. He would go on to be the commander of the Australian contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, and gained service number 1/1 in Australia’s Interim Army, the precursor to the Modern Australian Army.
Despite serving in both World Wars, his greatest contribution would be the 15 years he would serve as the Military Commander of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, and in doing so would become the longest-serving UN Peacekeeper Commander, and the First Australian to command a UN mission.
Only Death would bring an end to his service and he is the oldest eligible person to be included on the Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour.
This podcast episode is by Ross Manuel from the excellent I Was Only Doing My Job: Australian Military History podcast. This podcast series tells the stories of Australia’s Military History through the individual stories of those who served; where they grew up, what they did, and invariably what happened to them. Ross is working with History Guild to ensure these stories reach a wide audience.
Listen to the podcast
Articles you may also like
The Onna-Musha: Japan’s Fearsome Warrior Women
Reading time: 6 minutes
The Onna-Musha played an important role throughout Japan’s history. Yet, their stories are not well known.
Imperial Overconfidence: The Anglo-Zulu War
For a fine example of overconfidence during the height of British Imperialism, look no further than the Anglo-Zulu War. Fought in the late 19th century after the invasion of Zululand, the British Empire faced a far greater challenge than anticipated, resulting in what has been dubbed one of the bloodiest wars of the period. During […]
The USAAF 49th Fighter Group over Darwin: a forgotten campaign – Video
The prelude to the campaign of the 49th Fighter Group covers some of the darkest days of the Pacific War: the fall of Singapore on 15 February; the bombing of Darwin on 19 February during which the Japanese shot down nine of the ten P-40s of Major Floyd Pell’s 33rd Pursuit Squadron; and the sinking […]
