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William Joseph Slim was a soldier, governor-general of Australia and writer. Gazetted a second lieutenant in August 1914, Slim was wounded at Gallipoli in August 1915 and later served in Mesopotamia. With the outbreak of World War 2, Slim served in the Middle East before being appointed commander of the Fourteenth Army in Burma. Slim was governor-general of Australia from 1953 to 1960, a period that covered the royal visit in 1954. Returning to England in 1960, Menzies granted Sir William and Lady Slim Australian pensions and passports. In 1960 Slim received a peerage, taking the title Viscount Slim of Yarralumla and Bishopston. Slim published three books during his time in Australia: Defeat into Victory (1956), Courage and Other Broadcasts (1957) and Unofficial History (1959).

Source

Collins Persse, Michael D. De B. Slim, Sir William Joseph (1891-1970),Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Published in hard copy 2002, accessed online 17 April 2013.