Obituary--Major General R L Hughes CBE DSO: 17 September 1920-2 February 2003.

`We did what we had to do'. It was difficult to get Major General Ronald Hughes to say much more about his military life.

His distinguished service began with his entry to the Royal Military College, Duntroon on 1 March 1937. Officially it ended on his retirement from the Australian Regular Army in 1977 but he spent the twenty-six years that followed helping individuals and organizations that valued his military experience.

His young brother Jim; also a retired Major General, described Ron's principal attributes as integrity, loyalty, self-discipline and a gift for teamwork. Those of us who served under his command would add `tolerance'. He valued the points of view of his subordinates. He listened, made a decision and then saw a task through with the minimum of drama. On active service the lives of his soldiers were of primary concern to him.

As an infantry officer he had wide-ranging experiences during the Second World War in regimental, staff, and training positions. He was a platoon commander with the Darwin Mobile Force (Permanent Army) during 1940. In 1943 he took part, as Liaison Officer in an amphibious landing at Nassau Bay, New Guinea with United States forces. By 1944 he was a company commander in the 2/3rd Infantry Battalion in New Guinea and in 1945 he was involved in another amphibious landing at Tarakan in Borneo with the 26`h Australian Infantry Brigade. On the cessation of hostilities he went to Tokyo with the Australian Military Mission to plan the occupation of Japan.

Post war he commanded the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) at Puckapunyal, Victoria. The Battalion at this point was training officers and soldiers for the war in Korea, a demanding task. Ron's wife Joan contributed greatly by her support for the families of the soldiers and in organising comfort parcels for the soldiers in Korea.

In July 1952 Ron became the Commanding Officer of 3RAR in Korea and for his leadership in that theatre he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He was in Korea during a static phase of the war and he recognised the value of active patrolling but he was also aware of its dangers. He was concerned about several orders from higher command to patrol and `capture a prisoner'. `An operation to be avoided if possible' was his later comment. He was too loyal to say more.

In 1967/68 he commanded with distinction the First Australian Task Force in South Vietnam and he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for this service. Napoleon held that `the first qualification (of a leader) is to possess a cool head'. Brigadier Hughes amply demonstrated that he could keep a cool head in South Vietnam, most particularly during the Tet Offensive in 1968. He was always aware of the dangers of operating in minefields and during the action of two of his battalions in the Long Hai Hills, he successfully resisted the pressure from higher command to speed up the movement of the infantry and mine-clearing engineers.

His subsequent Army service after the Vietnam War included commanding the Ist Division which meant that over the span. of his military, career he had commanded a platoon, a company, a battalion, a brigade (Task Force) and a division. In addition to his command experiences he had an excellent record as a staff officer.

After retirement he chaired the RSL National Appeals Tribunal, the RSL Committee for the Ageing and he was a Trustee of the Changi Chapel. Major General Peter Phillips, National President of the RSL, sees him as having been `a mentor to four RSL National Presidents'. He was active in the United Service Institution and the Military History Society of Australia. He travelled right round Australia with Joan for six months with a caravan. He visited Gallipoli and Palestine where his father had fought as a Light Horseman in World War I. He was a dedicated gardener, tennis player and above all a devoted family man.

Perhaps his finest characteristic was the ability he had to get on exceptionally well with his colleagues. He will be remembered as a man who cared for others, a quiet gentleman, a good soldier and a close friend of many people.