Ted Hicks Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Sir
Ted Hicks
Office:Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand
Term Start:1968
Term End:1971
Predecessor:David McNicol
Successor:Dame Annabelle Rankin
Office1:Secretary of the Department of Defence
Term Start1:28 October 1956
Term End1:5 January 1968
Predecessor1:Sir Frederick Shedden
Successor1:Sir Henry Bland
Office2:Secretary of the Department of Air
Term Start2:22 December 1951
Term End2:1956
Predecessor2:Melville Langslow
Successor2:Tich McFarlane
Birth Name:Edwin William Hick
Birth Date:9 June 1910
Birth Place:Elsternwick, Victoria
Death Place:Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Resting Place:Gungahlin Cemetery
Occupation:Public servant
Nationality:Australian
Spouse:Jean MacPherson
(m. 1937–59; her death)
Lois Una Swindon
(m. 1961–84; his death)
Alma Mater:Australian National University

Sir Edwin William "Ted" Hicks (9 June 1910 – 14 May 1984) was a senior Australian public servant and diplomat. He was Secretary of the Department of Defence from 1956 to 1968.

Life and career

Ted Hicks was born in Elsternwick, Melbourne, on 9 June 1910. He was educated at Haileybury College and Melbourne Grammar School.[1] Hicks and his parents together moved to Canberra in 1927 and Hicks studied Commerce at the Canberra University College (now known as the Australian National University).[1]

Hicks was appointed Secretary of the Department of Air in 1951, and his effectiveness there led to his appointment in 1956 as head of the Department of Defence, succeeding Frederick Shedden, who had been in the role for many years, including for the entire duration of World War II.

Hicks announced that he would retire from the Department of Defence in December 1967, to be appointed Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand from early 1968.[2] [3]

Hicks died in the Royal Canberra Hospital on 14 May 1984.[4]

Awards

Hicks was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in May 1956 for his service as Secretary of the Department of Air. In June 1965, while Secretary of Defence, he was honoured as a Knight Bachelor.

Notes and References

  1. News: Canberra has two new knights. 12 June 1965. The Canberra Times. 4 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140204092925/http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/131827978. live.
  2. News: The Age. Allan. Barnes. New head for Defence Dept.. 1. 7 December 1967.
  3. News: Envoy post to Sir Edwin Hicks. 7 December 1967. 1. The Canberra Times.
  4. News: Family notices. 15 May 1984. The Canberra Times. 15.