Brigadier General William Kinsey Bolton CBE, VD (2 November 1861 – 8 September 1941) was an Australian soldier, politician and a founding member of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA), forerunner of the present Returned and Services League of Australia. Bolton commanded the 8th Battalion early on in the First World War, including during the landing and initial battles of the Gallipoli campaign. Bolton's Ridge on the right flank of Anzac Cove was named after him. He returned to Australia due to ill health in September 1915, was elected the inaugural National President of the RSSILA (1916–19), and served as a Nationalist Senator from Victoria from 1917 to 1923.

William Bolton
Lieutenant Colonel William Bolton c.1917
Senator for Victoria
In office
1 July 1917 – 30 June 1923
Personal details
Born(1861-11-02)2 November 1861
Lostock Gralam, England
Died8 September 1941(1941-09-08) (aged 79)
Brighton, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Political partyNationalist Party of Australia
OccupationSoldier
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceCitizens Military Force
Australian Imperial Force
Years of service1878–1920
RankBrigadier General
Commands8th Battalion (1914–15)
Queenscliff Fort (1914)
70th Regiment (1912–14)
Battles/warsFirst World War
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire
Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration

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