Nationality Australian Allegiance Australia Service/branch Australian Army | Rank Major General Resting place Box Hill Cemetery Name Frank Norris | |
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Born 25 June 1893 ( 1893-06-25 ) Lilydale, Victoria, Australia Years of service 1914–16; 1923–45; 1948–55 Died May 1, 1984, Camberwell, Melbourne, Australia Books No Memory for Pain: An Autobiography | ||
Alma mater University of Melbourne | ||
Major General Sir Frank Kingsley Norris, (25 June 1893 – 1 May 1984) was an Australian military officer and physician. Norris served in both the First World War and Second World War.
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Early life and education
Norris was born in Lilydale, Victoria to William Perrin Norris, a medical doctor, and his wife Mary Jane née Foulkes. He attended school at the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School.
In 1916 Norris graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Melbourne, becoming a Doctor of Medicine (MD) four years later.
Military service
While studying at university, Norris enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He served in Europe and the Middle East as a medical orderly. He was discharged so that he could complete his studies.
In 1923 Norris joined the Citizen Military Forces (CMF), a forerunner to the Australian Army Reserve.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, Norris transferred from the CMF to the Second Australian Imperial Force. By the end of 1940 he had been posted to the Middle East, spending time in Syria.
While serving in Papua, he became the first senior Australian officer to cross the Owen Stanley Range on foot.
In 1948 Norris was appointed Director-General of Army Medical Services, with the rank of temporary major general.
Honours
In 1941 Norris was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). In 1943 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Norris was made an Officer of the Order of Saint John in January 1952. Later in the same year, Norris was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). In January 1957, Norris became a Commander of the Order of Saint John.
He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1957 for services to medicine.