A Bit of History for a Change - ANZAC!

Later this month it's Anzac Day - this is the equivalent for Australia and New Zealand of Remembrance Sunday. We visited the crypt of the Shrine of Remembrance in Brisbane where the dawn ceremony will take place on 25th April and were entertained by the curator, an ex-Army chappie who originally hailed from Hereford. One of the curiosities that we discussed related to the yellow crest (seen on this street signpost) which recognises the fact that the person named (in this case William Birdwood) was a war hero. We are staying just round the corner from Gellibrand Street - and I spotted that this also has a yellow crest on it.

A young Gellibrand.

John Gellibrand was from a prominent Tasmanian family, he was sent to Sandhurst and passed out top of the class. Joining the South Lancashire Regiment he served in the Boer War moving on to be a captain in the Manchester Regiment. He left the army to be a farmer back in Tasmania but at the outbreak of WW1 he offered his services, served gallantly in lots of battles and towards the end of the war ended up as a Major General, one of the four senior commanders of the Australian forces in Europe. Some of the first world war generals faced criticism after the war for poor decision making which led to unnecessary loss of life, however Gellibrand seems to have come out of things quite well and was clearly a sensible  clever chap - he went back to Tassie and grew apples for the rest of his life.

An older Monash.

More first world war history! And this is the biography that I find most fascinating. Sir John Monash, according to that impeccable source of information Wikipedia (!), is considered one of the best Allied generals of the First World War and the most famous commander in Australian military history. He led battalions and brigades at Gallipoli, Amiens, etc., etc. and, despite not being a professionally trained officer, reached the heights in terms of the chains of command. His influence was widely recognised and he has given his name to four towns, a hospital, a university and a motorway. He was awarded the French and Belgian Croix de Guerre,  the British KCOB and KCMG, the US DSM and countless other medals but he didn't receive an Australian award. The fact that he came from Germany and was Jewish seems to have had something to do with this. Nevertheless he is still a highly respected historical figure and there are ongoing moves to have his contribution respectively recognised by the Australian Government.

Going back to the picture at the top of the page - William Birdwood was yet another distinguished army officer who led the Australian and New Zealand forces at Gallipoli. It was the best street sign picture I could find so he got the nod!