Horace Clowes Brinsmead OBE MC (1883 - 1934)

Biography

Horace 'Horrie' Clowes Brinsmead was born on 2nd February 1883 in Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom. He was the son of Edgar Brinsmead, a piano-manufacturer, and his wife Annie Bayley. ^[1]

At the age of 20, he migrated to Australia and initially settled on land in North Queensland, but later moved to Tonga where he operated a plantation until returning to Australia when the First World War broke out. Horrie was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 29th December 1914 and was posted to the 24th Infantry Battalion, 8th Brigade, ^[2] which embarked for Egypt on 26th June 1915 aboard HMAT Ceramic A40; ^[3] and reached Gallipoli in September. He served at Lone Pine until the evacuation and commanded the last party to leave the sector. The 24th Battalion deployed to the 'killing fields' of the Western Front in March 1916 and Horrie was promoted to Captain two months later. The battalion took part in its first major offensives around Pozières and Mouquet Farm in July and August 1916. ^[4] On 27th July, he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for gallantry at Pozières. ^[5]

On the same day he suffered a severe leg wound and was evacuated to hospital in England. Nine months later, following a great deal of rehabilitation, he transferred to the administrative staff at Australian Flying Corps (AFC) Headquarters, London. Horrie served as a senior staff officer in the AFC training wing from April 1917 until early 1919, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1919 he was attached to the Foreign Office for special duty with the military section of the British delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June ^[6] and in November was sent to Germany with the Disarmament Control Board. He returned to Australia 24th January 1920 and was demobilised in May. ^[2] For his war service Horrie was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

On 8th December 1920 Horrie married Ivy McDonald at the Presbyterian Ladies’ College, East Melbourne. ^[7]

He was the country’s first Controller of Civil Aviation. In this role he made an invaluable contribution to the development of the aviation industry in Australia. Horrie was inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014. ^[8]

Aged 51 years, he passed away on 11th March 1934 in the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria. ^[9] He was survived by his wife, and their son and two daughters.

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD Birth Index Mar qtr 1883, vol 1a, page 724
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Australian War Memorial nominal roll: Lieutenant Colonel Horace Clowes Brinsmead; accessed 13 Oct 2022
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial embarkation roll: Second Lieutenant Horace Clowes Brinsmead; accessed 4 Feb 2024
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 24th Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 13 Oct 2022
5. ↑ Australian Honours: MC; accessed 13 Oct 2022
6. ↑ Australian Honours: OBE; accessed 13 Oct 2022
7. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #12882/1920
8. ↑ Australian Aviation Hall of Fame; accessed 12 Oct 2022
9. ↑ Victoria Death Index #3214/1934

See also

• Wikipedia: Horace Brinsmead; accessed 13 Oct 2022.