‘Sandy’ Pearson passed away this morning at the RSL Village Narrabeen
Major General Cedric Maudsley Ingram “Sandy” Pearson AO, DSO, OBE, MC (24 August 1918 – 7 Nov 2012) was a retired Australian Army officer. He served during WW2 finishing the war as a LtCol and later commanded the Australian Forces during the Vietnam War, (1ATF 1968~69). He was Commandant of the Royal Military College, Duntroon and retired as Chief of Personnel (Army) in 1975
He was born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, and attended Newington College (1932–1936) before graduating from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1940.
He served during WW2 and was well known to 7RAR member as a patron of the 2/7th Battalion Association and has been involved with 7RAR Association for many years.
General Pearson was awarded the Military Cross (MC) and the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and was an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) (OBE) and the Order of Australia (AO)
He was a great leader, well known and will be remembered kindly by a large number of ex servicemen.
Funeral details will be advised when available
His funeral will be held at 11am on the 15th of November 2012, at Newington College, Sydney.
I met ‘Sandy’ Pearson on just one occasion when I returned to Australia after the death of my father (Anthony Gordon Campbell) in 1988. He and Sandy Pearson had been Officer Cadets together at Duntroon and had kept in touch over the years.
My father and Sandy, along with a third Officer Cadet (I do not know his name), were a close knit group of friends who were dubbed (or called themselves?) “The Three Musketeers” because of this closeness and because of their strikingly different heights and personalities – my father was tall and reserved while Sandy was the shortest and, apparently, the toughest and most out-going of the three.
My father was invalided out of Duntroon with TB shortly before he was due to pass out. He talked very little about his time there and I would have liked to have known more. Sadly, with the passing of Sandy Pearson, there will not be many left from that time at Duntroon.
Quentin Campbell
My Father, Bill Candy served as Sandy’s Batman for many years on different occasions during their time in the Army. As a child I remember Sandy and his wife as wonderful people. I spent many an hour in the Pearson’s Duntroon residence playing ping pong upstairs when Sandy was Commandant there. I will always remember Mrs Pearson buying me the Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven album for my birthday, she had bought it for me whilst they were in England on holiday. I was about 13 roughly I guess. I was saddened to learn of their passing.