Thomas Albert Blamey was born at Lake Albert, near Wagga Wagga NSW, on 24 January 1884, the seventh of ten children of Richard and Margaret Blamey. The young Tom Blamey was educated at the Superior Public School and later at Wagga Grammar School. It was at this school that he furthered his interest in the school cadet corps, rising to the position of head cadet. This interest progressed following his appointment as a pupil-teacher to the Lake Albert school in 1899 and later South Wagga Public School.

In 1902 he sat for the NSW Education Department examination for advanced teacher training. Despite his satisfactory results, Blamey was not selected amongst the top candidates. Rather than accept posting to endless country schools in NSW, he looked to the still fledgling state of Western Australia as a means of developing his prospects.He resigned from the NSW Education Department in 1903 and was appointed to an assistant teacher's position at the Fremantle Boys School in July of that year. Blamey later sat, and qualified for the WA Teachers Examination. His interest in the cadet corps did not wane during his three year appointment at the school. He did however at one stage consider foregoing his teaching career to enter the Methodist ministry.

Blamey's career took a different turn when he sat the examination for a commission in the Cadet Instructional Staff of the AMF. He was placed third across Australia. Failing initial selection, Blamey's protestations managed to win him a commission and a transfer to Melbourne as Lieutenant in the Administrative and Instructional Corps. His position as staff officer (cadets) made him responsible for the administration of school cadets throughout the State, a responsibility he pursed with vigor.Blamey married Minnie Millard in 1909. Their first child, Charles, was born in June of the following year. At this stage, Blamey was promoted to the rank of Captain. Following a completive examination in 1911, he was successful in gaining entry to the Staff College in Quetta, India. His two years at the College were busy, stimulating and rewarding. Upon graduation in December 1913, he was attached to various British units in the Simla area before posting to the Wessex Territorial Division in England and eventually the War Office in 1914. During this period, a second son, Thomas, was born.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Blamey was well placed to assist the Australian Government. His work in the intelligence section led to his appointment as General Staff Officer III in the newly formed First Division of the AIF under General W Bridges. Recently promoted to Major, Blamey joined the Division in Egypt in December 1914. He landed on Gallipoli with the Division on 25 April 1915 and was actively involved in combat operations during his stay on the Peninsula. Following recall to Egypt in July to assist in the formation of the Second Division, he returned to the Peninsula as Assistant Adjutant and Quarter Master General of that Division. With the withdrawal from the Peninsula completed, Blamey sailed for France as GSO I of the First Division. His fine administrative skills kept him in this position at Divisional Headquarters until May 1918. He did however act briefly as Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion and later, of the 1st Brigade, in 1916 - 1917. He came to prominence in mid - 1918 when appointed as Corps as Chief of Staff to General J Monash and the Australian Corps. The success in operations of this Corps saw Blamey end the conflict as Brigadier General. He returned to Australia in 1919.

The inter-war years were a mixed blessing for Blamey. On completion of a period as Director of Military Operations, he was first appointed to the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff and eventually in August 1922 as Australian Representative on the Imperial General Staff, London. While still in the United Kingdom, he concurrently held the post of Second Chief of the General Staff.Facing limited prospects of promotion, Blamey resigned from the Army to accept the position of Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria in September 1925. For the next eleven years he remained as senior police officer during a turbulent period in the Force's history. He resigned as Police Commissioner in 1936 amidst political bickering and public condemnation. This step from power saw Blamey removed from the public eye until the latter part of the decade. Although he had resigned as a Staff Officer in 1925, Blamey continued his military service in the militia. As first Commanding Officer of the 10th Infantry Brigade, and later as GOC 3rd Division in 1931, he was able to maintain his presence in the military hierarchy until the end of his term in 1937.Minnie Blamey died in 1935 after a long illness. His eldest son, Charles, had been killed in a RAAF flying accident in 1932. Despite his knighthood, Blamey faced a struggle to retain the pre-eminence won over many years of persistence and service. With the assistance of friends, he began a series of radio talks covering international relations for 3UZ in 1938. Known as 'the sentinel', these talks continued for twelve months until his appointment to the Second AIF.With the prospect of another war looming, the Federal Government, recognising Blamey's organisational ability, appointed him chairman to the Manpower Committee and as controller general of the Recruiting Secretariat in 1938. In April 1939 he married Olga Farnsworth.

Blamey was recalled for full-time military duty by the Menzies United Australia Party Government in September 1939 and appointed GOC of the Sixth Division AIF with the rank of Lieutenant General. In April 1940 he became GOC 1st Australian Army Corps and embarked for service overseas shortly thereafter. Within the year, he held the position of GOC AIF Forces in the Middle East. He took an active role following the placement of Australian Forces in Greece. Sceptical of the military value of this commitment, he nevertheless took command of the Australian, and later briefly, the ANZAC Corps, for the strategic withdrawal from Greece. Blamey was made Deputy Commander in Chief of the British Forces in the Middle East, under General Wavell, in April 1941. In this position, he pursued a vigorous campaign to have the hard-pressed Australian Forces relieved from Tobruk and intervened in the Syrian campaign to hasten its completion. In September 1941, he was promoted to the rank of General.The outbreak of the war with Japan saw Blamey return to Australia in March 1942 as Commander in Chief, Australian Military Forces. This gave him extensive powers to organise the total military effort in relation to the AIF, militia and the voluntary defence units. It brought together his capacity for administration, operational planning and command. With the arrival of American General, Douglas MacArthur, as Commander in Chief of all Allied Forces, SWPA, Blamey assumed command of all Allied Land Forces in April 1942. The alliance was not a comfortable one for either party, more so as MacArthur had the "ear" of John Curtin and his Labor government.At the insistence of MacArthur, with his desire for offensive operations, Blamey assumed command of the New Guinea Force in September 1942. This move saw the successful blocking of Japanese aspirations in New Guinea, however it catapulted Blamey into direct conflict with some of his senior operational commanders, notable Lieutenant-General S Rowell. By 1943 American troop re-organisation had deliberately and effectively dismembered Blamey's Allied Land Forces command. Despite this, he pursued an active period of preparing the AMF for the planned offensive operations at Salamaua, Lae, Finschhafen and Sattelberg. In April 1944 he accompanied Prime Minister Curtin to the UK and US to discuss Australian strategic interests.The re-direction of American troop policy had a direct effect on Australian manpower and usage. Blamey clashed with Curtin and the Secretary of the Department of Defence, F Shedden, over the size and manpower requirements for the AMF. Blamey looked to the operational effectiveness of the AMF in 1944 in New Guinea, around Wewak and on Bougainville and later in 1945 with the operation of Tarakan, Labuan and Balikpapan, to maintain Australia's presence in the lead up to the Japanese surrender.

Blamey had shown throughout his command of Australian forces, firstly in the Middle East and in the SWPA, a strong grasp of the changing nature of modern warfare and the effective use of large scale combined operations. His administrative prowess had served his country well.Despite the accolades and his eminent position as the Australian representative at the official surrender of the Japanese in Tokyo in September 1945, Blamey was relieved of his command in early December of that year. He effectively retired from the Army on the 1 February 1946 and was transferred to the Reserve of Officers List.

For his long and devoted service Blamey was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1941, received the Greek Military Cross in the same year and was mentioned in despatches several times for his work in the Middle East. He later was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (1943), the American Distinguished Service Cross (1943), the Efficiency Decoration and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Oranje Nassau in 1946.

Blamey spent his remaining years involved in various semi-official duties, including the Australian Battle Honours Committee in 1947, private business and writing. He took a keen interest in the establishment of what was later to become the Australian National University. He also was involved with the secretive anti-communist organisation, 'The Association.'

His health failed in early 1950 and he was admitted to the Repatriation General Hospital at Heidelberg, Victoria in June of that year. Persuaded by the Prime Minister R G Menzies to re-enter the Citizen Military Forces General List, Blamey was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal on 8 June 1950. He received his Field Marshal's Baton from the Governor-General, William McKell, in hospital on the 16 September 1950. This made him the first and only Australian to hold that rank.Blamey died on the 27 May 1951 as a result of his long illness. He was accorded a State Funeral and was cremated at Fawkner General cemetery.

Blamey is the subject of three biographies, two by John Hetherington. The first, Blamey: the biography of Field-Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey, was published in 1954. The second,Blamey: controversial soldier was released in 1973. The third,Blamey: the Commander in Chief by David Horner was released in 1998. He has been the subject of numerous books and magazine articles. He is also the subject of two sculptures. The first, by Daphne Mayo, was commissioned by the Memorial in 1948. The second, by Ray Ewers, was completed in 1960.

Melbourne University Press, 1993 Hetherington J, AWM-AGPS, Canberra 1973 Horner D M, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1984