On 1 July 1940 , Sturdee accepted a demotion to major general in order to become the commander of Second AIF 's newly raised 8th Division , receiving the Second AIF serial number NX35000 . His period in this command was brief . On 13 August 1940 , the Chief of the General Staff , General Sir Brudenell White , was killed in the Canberra air disaster . Sturdee was restored to his rank of lieutenant general and appointed Chief of the General Staff . As such , he was responsible for the training and maintenance of the AIF in the Middle East and the Far East — although not their operational control — and for the administration and training of the Militia
Canberra air disaster
1940 Canberra air disaster
Vernon Sturdee