Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Glanville, South Australia, Australia
About Bill McCann
- Lieutenant Colonel William Francis James McCann, (19 April 1892 – 14 December 1957) was an Australian soldier of World War I, a barrister, and a prominent figure in the military and ex-service community of South Australia during the interwar period.
- Born and raised in Adelaide, he worked as a teacher before the war.
- He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as a private in 1914, and rose through the ranks to be commissioned during the Gallipoli campaign of 1915.
- In 1916–1918 he fought on the Western Front in France and Belgium, was wounded twice, and rose to the rank of major.
- For his gallantry during the war, he was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order and twice awarded the Military Cross.
- After the war, he served as commanding officer of the 10th Battalion until its disbandment in 1919. Returning home, McCann became a barrister and formed a legal partnership with Victoria Cross recipient Arthur Blackburn.
- McCann was active in returned servicemen's organisations, as president of the South Australian branch of the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League from 1924 to 1931, and as a state vice-president from 1938 to 1949.
- He was a foundation member of the Legacy Club of Adelaide, looking after the dependents of deceased servicemen.
- His service in the part-time Citizen Military Forces saw him reach the rank of lieutenant colonel and command the 43rd Battalion between 1927 and 1930.
- Appointed as state prices commissioner and deputy Commonwealth prices commissioner from 1938 to 1954; in 1946 an arson attack on his home was linked to his anti–black marketeering work in those roles.
- In recognition of his work with the ex-service community, McCann was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935, and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1956.
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