Tin containing blossoms and a leaf : Lieutenant General J Monash, AIF

Place Europe: France, Picardie, Somme
Accession Number REL/00803
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Heraldry
Physical description Plant matter, Tin
Maker Unknown
Place made France
Date made c 1918
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Small silver coloured metal tin with a hinged lid containing a dried leaf from a copper beech tree and the remains of several blossoms from a chestnut tree. The tin has a paper label which reads 'Souvenirs from / St Gratien Chateau [underlined] / May/21/1918 / Blossom of a Chestnut Tree / Leaf of a Copper Beech'. The plant matter is wrapped in white paper (a later addition). The tin lid does not fully close.

History / Summary

This plant matter was collected by Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, commanding officer of the Australian Corps, at his headquarters in the St Gratien Chateau in 1918.

Monash was born in Melbourne in 1865 and was educated at Scotch College, where he excelled, before studying arts, engineering and law at Melbourne University. During his time at university he was heavily involved in campus activities and in 1884 joined the university company of the 4th Battalion, Victorian Rifles. Still studying but increasingly drawn to the military, he gained a probationary commission with the North Melbourne Battery of the Metropolitan Brigade of the Garrison Artillery in 1887. In 1897, and now a major, Monash was given command of the Battery and remained with the unit for another decade.

Meanwhile, he and a friend had established a private engineering practice in 1894. Showing early promise the business eventually failed in 1902 leaving him in a dire financial position. Within ten years Monash’s organisational skills and capacity for work saw him repay his debts and amass a small fortune.

During this period Monash’s military acumen was gaining appreciation among his peers. He was made lieutenant colonel commanding the Victorian section of the newly formed Australian Intelligence Corps and, in 1913, was made colonel and given command of the 13th Infantry Brigade.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Monash was given command of the 4th Infantry Brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), landing at Gallipoli on the morning of 26 April 1915. In July he was promoted to brigadier general and in October, for ‘distinguished service in the Field’, was made Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Following the re-organisation of the AIF in Egypt in early 1916 and two temporary postings as divisional commander , Monash moved with the 4th Brigade to France in June. His time in France with the brigade was cut short when he was promoted to major general in mid-July, taking command of the newly arrived 3rd Division in England. Arriving back in France with his new command in late November, the division’s first major battle was not until June 1917 at Messines. The assault was planned in meticulous detail including psychological as well as tactical elements and was hailed as a great success.

A handwritten but unsuccessful recommendation from October 1917 survives for Monash to be made Knight Commander of the order of St Michael and St George due, in part, to his success at Messines. He was however awarded a higher honour, announced in the New Year’s Honours list of 1918, when he was made Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) ‘for valuable services rendered in connection with military operations in the field’. Two of Monash’s greatest battles had still to take place before the honour was formally presented.

Further success followed Messines and in May 1918, Monash was promoted to lieutenant general commanding the Australian Corps. His first battle in this role, at Hamel on 4 July, came to be considered the 'perfect battle’. The Battle of Hamel was a limited attack designed to straighten the Allied line and Monash devised a strategy involving, for the first time, the co-ordinated forces of the infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft. The attack was planned with the same attention to detail for which Monash had become renowned and all key objectives were captured in just over the ninety minutes originally estimated. ‘No fighting operation that the Corps has ever undertaken ’, wrote Monash, ‘has been more brilliantly, cleanly and perfectly carried through, without the slightest hitch’.

The following month, on 8 August, another set piece battle designed around Monash’s strategy was fought at Amiens. An outstanding success, the battle became known as ‘the black day of the German Army’ and marked the beginning of the Hundred Days leading to the end of the war.

Four days after the Battle of Amiens Monash was invested with his KCB and formally knighted by King George V at the Australian Corps headquarters, when he came to inspect the battlefield. The scene was described by Monash: ‘A square of carpet had been arranged in the centre of the piazza and on it stood a small table, a footstool, and a drawn sword. The King then had me name called and I stepped up before him and, at his behest, knelt and received the accolade of knighthood and, when he had bidden me rise, he presented me with the Insignia of a Knight Commander of Bath’. It was the first knighthood bestowed on a commander in the field in nearly two centuries.

Throughout the remainder of the war Monash led the Corps with distinction. In London in 1919, while he was overseeing the repatriation of the AIF troops, the recognition of Monash’s contribution to the war effort continued to grow. In January he was created Knight Grand Cross of St Michael and St George while France awarded him the Legion d’Honneur, Grand Officer. In April, Belgium awarded him the Croix de Guerre and the Order of La Couronne, Grand Officer. In July the United States presented him with the Distinguished Service Medal and the following month he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. During the conduct of the war, Monash was also Mentioned in Despatches on no less than eight occasions.

He was welcomed home in Melbourne by an enthusiastic public on Boxing Day 1919. He returned to business and in 1920 became manager of Victoria's State Electricity Commission. An advocate for returned soldiers, Monash also held a range of high-level positions. His opinions were widely sought and he became a leading figure in Melbourne's Jewish community.

Monash died in Melbourne on 8 October 1931 and was given a state funeral attended by some 250,000 mourners.