Service number | NX8 |
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Ranks Held | Brigadier, Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant General, Major, Major General, Temporary Lieutenant General |
Birth Date | 18/09/1889 |
Birth Place | Australia: Victoria, Ballarat |
Death Date | 26/09/1959 |
Death Place | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
Final Rank | Lieutenant General |
Service | Australian Imperial Force |
Units |
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Places | |
Conflicts/Operations |
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Lieutenant General Leslie James Morshead
Leslie Morshead won fame as the defender of Tobruk during the Second World War and is among the most renowned Australian divisional commanders of that war. He was born at Ballarat in Victoria on 18 September 1889 and became a teacher. Joining the AIF in September 1914 as a lieutenant, Morshead was posted to the 2nd Battalion.
By the time he landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 he was a captain; by August, when he fought at Lone Pine, he had been promoted to major. After Gallipoli he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of the 33rd Battalion, which arrived in France in November 1916. Morshead led the battalion successfully through Messines and the Passchendaele campaign of late-1917, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and continued to command through the battles Villers-Bretonneux and Amiens in 1918.
Morshead joined General Monash's staff for the demobilisation of the AIF and returned to Sydney in December 1919. He married Myrtle Woodside in November 1921. Having failed to make a success of a soldier-settlers' block in Queensland, Morshead returned to Sydney to work in shipping, gaining promotions and posts in several Australian cities and in England.
He remained active in the militia, commanding two battalions and reaching the rank of temporary brigadier. In October 1939 he was given command of the 18th Brigade, sailing for Britain in May 1940. The following February Morshead was promoted to major general in command of the 9th Division, then in the Middle East. Reputed to be a tough commander who could be blunt with senior officers, Morshead led his division through the siege of Tobruk where his aggressive defence denied the Germans a breakthrough but earned him the ire of some subordinates concerned at the level of losses.
His success at Tobruk was followed by promotion to lieutenant general and command of the AIF in the Middle East. Morshead, at the risk of alienating his British superiors, argued to keep the 9th Division together in the face of British demands to detach individual brigades. He led the division through the battle of El Alamein, where the 9th Division's contribution was considered vital to the victory. During the battle, he regularly visited both the front and the wounded behind the lines.
Returning to Australia in 1943, Morshead took command of II Corps in October and then in November was elevated to command both New Guinea Force and the Second Australian Army. In May 1944 he was given command of I Corps, leading them through the final battles of the war in Borneo. After the war, he chaired a military court of enquiry into Major General Bennett's departure from Singapore in February 1942.
Morshead refused offers of military and diplomatic posts, as well as the governorship of Queensland, returning instead to the shipping industry as manager of the New South Wales branch of the Orient Line; later he became its Australian general manager. He held a number of other directorships and civil appointments and was involved in right-wing politics before becoming ill with cancer in the mid-1950s. Morshead died in Sydney on 26 September 1959.
Rolls
-
Honours and Awards:
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Major General
-
Honours and Awards:
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Lieutenant General
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Major
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- AIF Headquarters Middle East
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Major General
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- AIF Headquarters Middle East
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Temporary Lieutenant General
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- GOC AMF ME
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Temporary Lieutenant General
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Temporary Lieutenant General
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Brigadier
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 1 Corps
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Temporary Lieutenant General
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Major
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Major
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Major
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Major
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Unit
- 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
-
First World War Embarkation Roll:
- Conflict
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel
Timeline
Date of birth | 18/09/1889 | Ballarat, VIC. |
---|---|---|
Other | 13/09/1914 | Appointed to the 2nd Battalion with the rank of lieutenant. |
Date promoted | 18/10/1914 | Appointed captain. |
Date and unit at appointment (Officers) | 13/09/1914 | Enlisted in the AIF. |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 31/08/1915 | |
Date promoted | 08/06/1915 | Appointed major. |
Other | 25/04/1915 | Landed at Gallipoli. |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 13/08/1915 | |
Other | 01/01/1915 | Second in command, C Company, 2nd Battalion. |
Date of honour or award | 28/01/1916 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date of embarkation | 04/05/1916 | |
Date promoted | 16/04/1916 | Appointed lieutenant colonel and given command of the 33rd Battalion. |
Date of honour or award | 01/06/1917 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date of honour or award | 04/06/1917 | Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 05/03/1917 | |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 30/09/1918 | |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 06/03/1918 | |
Date of recommendation honour or award | 01/09/1918 | |
Date of honour or award | 31/12/1918 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date returned to Australia | 12/1919 | Returned to Sydney. |
Date of honour or award | 24/10/1919 | Mention in Despatches. |
Other units | 14/07/1919 | Assistant Adjutant General, Headquarters AIF Depots UK. |
Date of honour or award | 23/01/1919 | French Legion of Honour - 5th Class Chevalier. |
Other | 15/03/1920 | AIF appointment terminated. |
Date of honour or award | 25/03/1920 | Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. |
Date of honour or award | 01/04/1920 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date and unit at appointment (Officers) | 10/10/1939 | Enlisted in the 2nd AIF and was given command of the 18th Brigade. |
Other | 05/1940 | Sailed for Britain. |
Date promoted | 02/1941 | Promoted to major general in command of the 9th Division. |
Date of honour or award | 01/01/1941 | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Date of honour or award | 06/01/1942 | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. |
Date of honour or award | 24/11/1942 | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. |
Date of honour or award | 30/06/1942 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date of honour or award | 06/1943 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date returned to Australia | 1943 | On returning to Australia he took command of II Corps which he led in New Guinea. |
Date of honour or award | 24/06/1943 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date of honour or award | 23/11/1944 | Polish Virtuti Militari - sixth class. |
Other units | 1944 | Given command of I Corps, leading them through the final battles of the war in Borneo. |
Date of discharge | 21/12/1945 | |
Date of honour or award | 06/03/1947 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date of honour or award | 03/1947 | Mention in Despatches. |
Date of honour or award | 02/01/1948 | Medal of Freedom. |
Date of death | 26/09/1959 | Sydney, NSW. |
Related information
Conflicts
Units
Subjects
- Australian Military Forces
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Distinguished Service Order
- French Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Fifth Class
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Mention in despatches
- Polish Order Virtuti Militari, Sixth class
- United States Medal of Freedom
People
Related Objects
- COMMANDING TOBRUK GARRISON - MAJOR GENERAL MORSHEAD. (NEGATIVE BY G. SILK).
- Australian troops receive an informal visit to their mess by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead ...
- Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead inspects Australian troops.
- Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead inspects Australian troops, parading with fixed bayonets.
- Pain, John Henry Francis, DSO, MC (Major, b.1893 - d.1941)
- Morshead, Sir Leslie James KCB CMG DSO ED (Lieutenant General, b.1889 - d.1959)
- Morshead, Sir Leslie James KCB CMG DSO ED (Lieutenant General, b.1889 - d.1959)
- Major General Leslie Morshead
- Reports regarding personnel, Japanese movements and plans for attack
- Major E T Fulton's home movies of army service in Middle East with the 2/1 Field Regiment AIF and in New Guinea