SCOTT, Francis Peter
| Service Number: | 335011 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) |
| Born: | Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia, 19 January 1929 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Brighton Technical and Caulfield Grammar Schools, Victoria and Royal Military College, Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
| Occupation: | Regular Australian Army Officer |
| Memorials: |
Occupation Force Japan - BCOF Service
| 1 Feb 1949: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) |
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Korean War Service
| 19 Jul 1951: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant, 335011, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) | |
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| 19 Jul 1951: | Involvement 335011 | |
| 19 Jul 1952: | Involvement Completed service - 367 days |
Vietnam War Service
| 8 Oct 1969: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant Colonel, 335011 | ||||||||||
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| 3 Dec 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant Colonel, 335011 | ||||||||||
| 12 Feb 1971: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant Colonel, 335011 | ||||||||||
| 12 Feb 1971: |
Involvement
Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant Colonel, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR),
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Service 1952-1987
After a period at the School of Infantry and being married I served in a number of appointments before attending the Pakistan Army Staff College in Quetta in 1958. Some 15 years later I was promoted Colonel and served as the Australian Services Attaché in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the years 1973-75.
Between these years I assisted in the raising of 4RAR in Woodside in 1963 and then attended the US Army Command and Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas during 1965-66. A period as an instructor at the Australian Staff College, Queenscliff preceded my appointment as CO 3RAR in Woodside in 1969-70.
My second period of operational service was as CO 3RAR in Vietnam in 1971.
I completed my 37 years of service in Army Office, Canberra in February 1983.
Submitted 20 March 2015 by Francis Peter Scott
Brief history 1949-51
After graduating from the Royal Military College Duntroon I was posted to in March 1949 3RAR located in Hiro, Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). I was posted as 4 Platoon commander and the battalion's role was to 'fly the flag', train, provide guards of honour for C in C BCOF and other VIPs and provide guards for British and Canadian Embassies and the Japanese Imperial Palace in Tokyo and guards of the docks in Kure. Training took place in Haramura. There was much inter unit sport to create fitness and morale.
In July 1950 after the North Koreans invaded South Korea, Australia agreed to contribute air, sea and ground forces to the UN response to this aggression and 3RAR was committed instead of preparing for a return home at the end of the year.
I was injured in a grenade training accident in August 1950 and evacuated to Australia the next day and so my time with 4 platoon suddenly ceased and I spent the next twelve months in hospital in Sydney and Melbourne and then 2RAR in Puckapunyal before I was fit and reposted to 3RAR in Korea in July 1951.
I was posted to 3 Pl and spent about two months there until I was transferred to become the IO where I stayed for eight months which included the Battle of Maryang San in October 1951. I spent the last two months as OC Anti-tank Platoon commander ( after a transfer to a platoon at my own request).
I August 1951 I was posted as MMG and Anti-tank instructor at the School of Infantry, Seymour. There I met my future wife and we were married in October 1953.
Submitted 19 March 2015 by Francis Peter Scott
37 years of service in ARA
I attended Brighton Technical School then Caulfield Grammar School before attending the Royal Military College, Duntroon from 1946 to 1948.
Submitted 18 March 2015 by Francis Peter Scott
Biography contributed by VWM Australia
Retired from the Army as a Colonel
MILITARY SERVICE
Francis Peter Scott was born in Caulfield, Victoria on 19th January 1929. Educated at Brighton Technical and Caulfield Grammar Schools, he entered Royal Military College, Duntroon as a Cadet in 1946, graduating in December 1948 as a Lieutenant in the Australian Staff Corps and allotted to the Infantry.
In 1949, he was posted to the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) as 4 Platoon Commander, based in Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). After the Korean War broke out he was injured in a grenade training exercise in August 1950 and evacuated to Australia where he spent the next six months in hospital and six months in 2RAR in Puckapunyal. In July 1951 he rejoined 3RAR on operations in Korea firstly as 3 Platoon Commander and subsequently Intelligence Officer (IO). He was IO during the Battle of Maryang San and was Mentioned-in-Dispatches for his Korean service and in particular his service as IO. He served the last few months of the mandatory 365 days as Anti-Tank Platoon Commander.
Promoted to Captain in 1952, he served as an Instructor at the School of Infantry, Seymour, Adjutant 38th Infantry Battalion, Bendigo and Company Commander 15 & 19 NS Battalions in Puckapunyal prior to attending the Command and Staff College in Quetta, Pakistan in 1958. He had married Gwenda Mae McIntosh on 17 October 1953. On return to Australia he was promoted Major and posted as GSO2 Co-ord at the Australian Staff College, Queenscliff followed by a regimental posting to 4RAR at Woodside. He attended and graduated from the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, USA in 1966 and was then promoted to Lieutenant Colonel to become an Instructor at the Australian Staff College, Queenscliff, Victoria.
In 1969, he assumed command of 3RAR at Woodside, SA and commanded the Battalion for its operational tour of South Vietnam in 1971. For his service he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, US Army Commendation Medal and Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. The following year, he was appointed Military Assistant to the Army Minister (initially Mr Andrew Peacock, MP then Mr Bob Katter, MP).
On promotion to Colonel in 1973, he was appointed Australian Services Attaché to Pakistan and Afghanistan, based in Islamabad and for the next two and a half years travelled extensively throughout both countries. Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 where Peter and his wife Gwenda were holidaying. They were evacuated to the United Kingdom as refugees and subsequently returned to Pakistan to complete his tour there. Upon his return to Australia, he served as Commander 2nd Military District, based in Victoria Barracks Sydney, and then as Deputy Commander of the 3rd Field Force Group in Victoria, in 1979.
Posted to Army Office, Canberra in 1979 he was President of the RMC Selection Board and then Director Personal Operations. He retired as a Colonel in 1983 after 37 years of service. For the next five years he served as the Army representative on the RSL Conditions of Service Committee. While in Canberra he studied at the Canberra School of Art, and later became the President of the Art Society of Canberra.
1990 saw a move to McLaren Vale, SA to join their daughter Deborah and her family living in Hallett Cove and later that year he was inducted into Adelaide Legacy’s South Coast Group, where he served as Chairman in 1995. He was President of Adelaide Legacy in 2000 and 2004. He led the planning team for the National Conference of Legacy Clubs in Adelaide in October 2003 which coincided with their 50th wedding anniversary.
Peter and his wife Gwenda have two children, a daughter who now lives in Canberra, NSW, and a son, who lives overseas. Gwenda passed away on 10 May 2011. Deborah married Robert Davidson and had two children. Sarah married Luke and they have four children and Michael married Tara and they have two daughters.
Colonel Scott retired after completing 37 years of service to the day
Audio
This interview was recorded as part of a combined oral history project conducted by Veterans SA, the Returned & Services League of Australia, the Vietnam Veterans’ Association, the Vietnam Veterans’ Federation, and the University of South Australia (UniSA). The project’s executive director was Lieutenant Colonel Bill Denny AM BM; the interviewer was Dr Nigel Starck (UniSA honorary senior research fellow). The narrative contains personal recollections and is not presented as an official statement of service.
Duration 11hr 52min 54sec. Recorded by Nigel Starck on 31 Jul 2019
Click images to start slideshow.