Australian Generals

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28542, 22 March 1958, Page 3

Australian Generals

Two Men I Knew. William Bridges and Brudenell White —Founders of the A.I.F. By C. E. W. Bean. Angus and Robertson. 234 pp. Index.

The growth of national sentiment in both Australia and New Zealand has, of course, been a gradual process and commenced long before the grey dawning of April 25, 1915. But the process was heightened particularly during the two World Wars, when so many soldiers served their countries overseas. This account of the lives of two eminent Australian Army generals makes one realise how significant a part soldiers have played in the development of this feeling of nationhood and how thankful the peoples of both Dominions should be for the wisdom and vision of the men whose responsibility it was to lead -and guide during fateful days not so long past. Major-General William Throsby Bridges it was who devised Australia’s “defence scheme” and who established the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in the early days of this century. By nature he was- reserved and shy and shunned publicity. Yet his powerful mind, his great knowledge of military affairs and his ruthless driving force prepared Australia to meet successfully the challenge of 1914 without disrupting the current of ordinary national life. From the outbreak of war he commanded the Ist Australian Division, took it overseas and was killed on Gallipoli in May, 1915. He was never a popular soldier and lacked the ability to display those qualities which would make the ordinary man love and follow him. Yet his conspicuous personal bravery during the landing and in the days following won him the admiration of his troops, and his name and deeds will ever be recalled with respect. &&&& Approximately, two-third« of this book is devoted to the life story of Bridges’s successor, General Cyril Brudenell White, a more picturesque character who after Bridges, influenced the development of the A.I.F. more than any other Great War soldier. After Bridges’s death Brudenell White soon achieved fame as the -first Australian to rise in war time to the rank of full general, and his command of the Australian Division during the evacuation was hailed as a masterpiece of organisation and leadership. In France he enjoyed the confidence of the men of all five Australian divisions, as well as of Field-Marshal Lord Haig. In 1917 he played a major part in securing their unified control under General Birdwood, and recognition of the Australian Corps as a separate entity, not as part and parcel of the English Army, but as Allies with the right to appeal direct to the Com-mander-in-Chief and to their own Australian Government. Between the wars his brilliant organising ability was employed in the reconstruction of both military and civil services. 'Eventually he retired, bought a sheep farm, and became superintendent of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency. In the first great emergency of World War 11, at the age of 63 years, he was recalled to the post of Chief of General Staff. Five months later he was killed in an aeroplane crash near Canberra.

Though White’s character was strikingly different from that Of Bridges—he possessed charm and the ability to inspire men as well as a lofty vision, deep insight, a sense of proportion and an abiding faith in the qualities of the Australian people—these two men were alike in a strong aversion from personal publicity. As a result their personalities and achievements are known only vaguely even to the nation they served. The publishers of this book rightly claim that no-6ne could be better fitted to tell their story than Dr. Bean, who as Australia’s official war correspondent and historian of World War I, lived close to them on active service. Dr. Bean’s unequalled knowledge of the background against which these two men worked and of the great force they created enables him to write authoritatively. New Zealand readers will appreciate keenly his brief but lucid descriptions of the Gallipoli campaign (pages 51 to 74) and of army conditions and problems in France during critical times in 1917 (chapter five). Above all, readers will enjoy this book for its character studies of two great Australians, neither of them militarists in the accepted sense of the term, but citizen-soldiers who even in war fought against the wrohg spirit from which war comes. Though there are references to New Zealand and New Zealanders, no book could underline . more clearly the' similarity of Australian and New Zealand national traditions and outlook. Maps and photographs add considerably to the interest of the text.