February 17, 2014
by Jim Bond
The recently retired Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Forces, Bishop Len Eacott, AM, has been appointed locum Bishop to the Western Downs Region of the Anglican Brisbane Diocese.
One of his first duties in his new position will be to officiate at the 8:00am Lenten Eucharist at St Philip’s Anglican Church in Yarraman on Sunday, March 16.
Toowoomba-born Len Eacott gained an early taste for army life through the Army Cadet Unit (ACU) and the Citizen Military Forces (CMF – now known as the Army Reserve).
He received many awards in the ACU, reaching the rank of Cadet Under Officer.
The ACU now presents an annual award in his honour, the Len Eacott Award, to the Most Successful Cadet Junior Officer.
In the CMF, Len enlisted in 25 Battalion and did National Service. He was commissioned as a General Service Officer in 1972.
He began theological studies in 1980 and received a BA in Religious Studies from Queensland University and a Graduate Diploma in religious education from Adelaide University.
He was ordained a priest in 1983 and served in a number of parishes including St Andrew’s, Indooroopilly; St Luke’s, Toowoomba; and St Augustine’s, Oakey.
Upon his ordination, he transferred to the Australian Army Chaplaincy Unit.
Len served in Army Reserve in 7 Brigade, 7 Signals Regiment and 1 Aviation Regiment.
In the Australian Regular Army he also served in 3 Brigade Townsville, with United Nations forces in Cambodia, and at the Land Warfare Centre at Canungra.
He was appointed Senior Chaplain 1 Div Deployable Joint Forces HQ. In this capacity served with International Forces in East Timor before being appointed Command Chaplain Land Command at the Victoria Barracks in Sydney.
In 2002, he was appointed Archdeacon Australian Army and subsequently Principal Chaplain Army and was based in Canberra.
