Alan Bishop Stretton AO OBE LLB (1922-2012) enlisted in the Australian Army in 1940 as a private and retired as a Major-General in 1978 being one of the few Australian generals to rise from the ranks. His appointments include Chief of Staff, Vietnam, Member of the Australian National Intelligence Committee and Commander of the Australian Battalion Malaya (1960-1963). He is best known for his role as Director- General of the Natural Disasters Organisation during which time he was Commander of Relief Operation in Darwin (1974) after the assault by Cyclone Tracy. Following this, in 1975, Stretton was named Australian of the Year as well as Father of the Year.
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