Major General John Austin Chapman, (15 December 1896 – 19 April 1963) was a professional soldier in the Australian Army. Joining the army in 1913, he served as a junior officer during the First World War and saw action on the Western Front. After the war he was appointed to a number of staff and teaching positions prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Appointed chief of staff, 7th Division, he served during the Syrian Campaign in 1941 before taking up important staff positions in Australia. He retired from the army in 1953 after 41 years of service and died in Sydney in 1963 at the age of 67. Early life John Austin Chapman was born on 15 December 1896 in Braidwood, New South Wales, the son of Austin Chapman, the Braidwood representative on the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He attended Christian Brothers schools in Sydney and Melbourne before entering Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1913. Military career First World War Upon graduation from Duntroon in 1915, Chapman was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Australian Army. Volunteering for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), his first assignment was to 30th Battalion, then being raised in New South Wales and destined for Egypt. The battalion duly embarked for Egypt in November 1915 and would remain there for several months, undertaking guard duties at the Suez Canal. Part of 8th Brigade, which was subordinate to the 5th Division, the battalion was transferred to the Western Front in July 1916 along with the rest of the division. Chapman, now a captain, was wounded due to a gas attack in November, and this necessitated his evacuation to England for treatment. He returned to the battalion in May 1917 as adjutant and served in this capacity until October. Promoted to major, he was attached to the Australian Corps and 5th Division headquarters. During the Hundred Days Offensive, he was acting brigade major of 8th Brigade. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his actions of 28 August 1918, when he carried out a reconnaissance of the front lines under heavy fire. Interwar period Chapman remained in the army after the cessation of hostilities, returning to Australia in June 1919. He married the following October, to Helena Mary de Booten, originally from Chile. The couple would go on to have four children. From 1919 to 1930, Chapman was posted to a