Edmund Drake-Brockman

Who was Edmund Drake-Brockman?

Major General Edmund Alfred Drake-Brockman CB, CMG, DSO was a distinguished Australian soldier, statesman, and judge who served in both World War I and II.

Born in Busselton, Western Australia, Drake-Brockman was the son of surveyor Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman and heroine Grace Vernon Bussell and brother of Deborah Vernon Hackett. He was a 1902 graduate of the Guildford Grammar School.

He joined the Army as a volunteer in 1903 and combined this with a career as a barrister and solicitor. Following the outbreak of World War I, he volunteered for overseas service and was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for his services as a major at Gallipoli during 1915 while assigned to the 11th Battalion. Later in the war, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commanded another Western Australian infantry battalion, the 16th, serving on the Western Front. In 1918, he was promoted to brigadier general and commanded the 4th Brigade.

After the war he was elected to the Australian Senate in 1919 as a Nationalist Party of Australia representative, Drake-Brockman served in the Senate until 1926. He then worked as federal judge.