Leonard Sidney Eacott AM (born 14 June 1947[4]) is a retired Australian Anglican bishop, army chaplain and military officer, who served as Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force from 2007 to 2012.
Len Eacott | |
|---|---|
| Bishop to the Australian Defence Force | |
| Church | Anglican Church of Australia |
| In office | 29 June 2007[1] – 31 December 2012[2][3] |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1983 |
| Consecration | 29 June 2007[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 June 1947 |
| Nationality | Australia |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Spouse | Sandy[1] |
| Children | 3 (1 deceased)[1] |
| Alma mater | St Francis' Theological College University of Queensland University of South Australia[1] |
Early life, parish ministry and military career
editEacott was born in Toowoomba[4] and grew up in regional Queensland.[5]
Eacott enlisted in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps of the Citizens Military Forces in November 1966, and from 1968 to 1972 fulfilled a national service commitment.[4] In early 1972, Eacott was commissioned as a General Service Officer (Royal Australian Infantry) in the Army Reserve, serving with 25 Battalion, the Royal Queensland Regiment and the Queensland University Regiment.[4][1] He was also employed as a soil conservation field officer by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries until commencing training for Anglican ministry in 1980.
Eacott is a graduate of St Francis' Theological College and the University of Queensland and initially served in rural and city parish ministry[5] and part-time army chaplaincy with the Army Reserve in Southern Queensland before transferring to full-time chaplaincy with the Royal Australian Army Chaplains' Department.[1]
As part of his military service as a chaplain, Eacott served as Anglican chaplain to the 3rd Brigade, Townsville, deployed in 1993 with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia,[5] the Land Warfare Centre, Canungra.[1] From 1996 to 1999 he served as senior chaplain to 1 Division at the Deployable Joint Force Headquarters at Enoggera.[4] In 1999-2000 Eacott served as Senior Chaplain to the International Force East Timor under Major General Peter Cosgrove,[5] during which time he was involved with the exhumation and reburial of bodies suspected as being victims of crimes against humanity and established and maintained a burial register.[6] He also served as Senior Chaplain to the Logistic Support Force and Command Chaplain to Land Headquarters in Sydney.[1] On 1 March 2002, Eacott was collated as archdeacon to the Australian Army and on 18 November 2002 was appointed as principal chaplain to the Australian Army (Director General of Chaplaincy - Army), a position which he held until 21 January 2007.[1] He retired from the Australian Regular Army on 15 June 2007.
Episcopal ministry
editIn May 2007, Eacott was appointed by the Primate of the Anglican Church and Chief of the Defence Force as Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, replacing Bishop Tom Frame.[5] He was consecrated as bishop and installed on 29 June 2007.[1]
Eacott retired on 31 December 2012 after reaching the retirement age of 65 years and was succeeded by Bishop Ian Lambert.[7]
Publications
edit- Eacott, Leonard Sidney (1979). Practical Aspects of Planning and Implementing Strip Cropping Systems on Very Low Gradient Land (Report). Division of Land Utilisation Report 79/4, Queensland Department of Primary Industries.
- Eacott, Leonard Sidney (1992). "World War 1: A Testing Time for Australian Christianity" (PDF). Australian Defence Force Journal. 95 (July/August 1992). Department of Defence: 53–57. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- Eacott, Leonard Sidney (2009). "Chapter 11: Ministry in War and Peace". In Hale, Stephen; Curnow, Andrew (eds.). Facing the future : bishops imagine a different church (1st ed.). Brunswick, Victoria: Acorn Press. ISBN 9780908284900.
Awards and personal life
editEacott is married to Sandy and has three children, one of whom died from cancer in 1995.[1]
Eacott was awarded the Reserve Force Decoration in 1987.[8] Eacott was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (Military Division) in the 2007 Australia Day Honours for "exceptional service and outstanding devotion to duty as Principal Chaplain - Army and Head of Corps, Royal Australian Army Chaplains' Department".[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Defence Anglican Leadership". Defence Anglicans. Anglican Church of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ "Defence Anglican Leadership". Defence Anglicans. Anglican Church of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Rose, Peter (2012). "Tribute to our Retiring Bishop". Defence Anglicans. Anglican Church of Australia. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Election banner : Chaplain L S Eacott, UNTAC". Australian War Memorial. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Church appoints new defence force bishop". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ Patterson, Eric, ed. (2014). Military chaplains in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond : advisement and leader engagement in highly religious environments. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 2. ISBN 9781442235403.
- ^ Bunn, Anthony (9 April 2013). "Bandiana Bishop felt calling to lead ADF". The Border Mail. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ "Special Information: Australian Army - Recommendations for the Award of Reserve Force Decoration; Recommendation for the Award of Reserve Force Medal". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. GN19. Australia. 9 September 1987. p. 1128. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ "Principal Chaplain Leonard Sidney EACOTT". Australian Honours Search Facility. Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
