John Gellibrand KCB DSO (1872 - 1945)

Born 5 Dec 1872 in Lleintwardeine, Tasmania (Australia)

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Helene (Bruel) Gellibrand — married 29 Jul 1894 in All Saints' Parish Church, Ilkley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Died 3 Jun 1945 at age 72 in Murrindindi, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Jack Gellibrand KCB DSO is Notable.

Major General Sir Jack Gellibrand KCB DSO & Bar was a senior Australian Army officer in the First World War, Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police, and a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Tasmanian Division of Denison for the Nationalist Party.

formative years

John Gellibrand, or Jack as he was known to his family, was born on 5th December 1872 at Leintwarden, near Ouse, Tasmania (Australia), the sixth child and third son of Thomas Gellibrand, a grazier, landowner and local politician and his wife Isabella née Brown.^[1] He was just 21 months of age when his father passed away on 9th September 1874. In February 1876, his mother took her seven children to live in England, sailing on the clipper Sobroan. En route, she met the ship's surgeon, Dr Edward Ling. Romance blossomed and they were married in Saxmundham, Suffolk, where his family lived, on 28th December. The step-father would pass away just four years later.

the military life is calling

After a visit to Tasmania with his mother and sister Annie in 1891, Jack returned to England to study for the entrance exam to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He passed the entrance exam, topping the list of candidates. He graduated at the top of his class of 1887 on 18th October 1893, and was awarded the General Proficiency Sword for gaining the highest aggregate marks in the final exams. The high bench-mark had been set, upon which he would deliver all his life.

As Lieutenant Gellibrand and with a secure income, he married Elizabeth "Elsie" Bruel on 27th July 1894, in All Saints Parish Church, Ilkley, Yorkshire West Riding. They had met whilst both their families were based in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany three years earlier.^[2]

two armies, three wars, four continents

Jack Gellibrand KCB DSO is an Anzac who served in World War One.

MAJGEN Sir Jack Gellibrand KCB DSO was Wounded in Action at Gallipoli during The Great War.

Gellibrand served in both the British Army (1892-1912) and fledgling Australian Army (1914-22). He saw action in the Second Boer War, participating in the Relief of Ladysmith (British Army), and The Great or First World War, both at Gallipoli and the Western Front (Australian Army). Between the wars, he graduated from the Staff College, Camberley, in December 1907 and was stationed in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from 1908-12. Fearing poor promotion opportunities he resigned his commission and returned to Tasmania with his family to 'apple farm'.

A two-year hiatus ended when the First World War broke out. Gelliband immediately offfered his services and was 'snapped up' for the Australian 1st Division's General Staff. Staff college graduates like Gellibrand were scarce in Australia; only six Australian Army officers had graduated from staff colleges. He held military commands of 12th Australian Infantry Battalion (1915-16)^[3], 6th Australian Infantry Brigade (1916-17)^[4], 12th Australian Infantry Brigade (1917-18)^[5] and 3rd Australian Division (1918-22).^[6]

In June 1940, during the Second World War, Gelibrand was appointed commandant of the Victorian Volunteer Defence Corps, a position he retained until ill-health forced retirement.

just desserts

Gellibrand's contributions were so integral to Australia's defence that all rewards are justified:

• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) 1919^[7]
• Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) 1917^[8]
• Distinguished Service Order & Bar (DSO & Bar) 1916^[9] and 1917^[10]
• Mentioned in Despatches (MiD), seven times!
• Queen’s South Africa Medal (Boer War)
• 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal (First World War)
• Australia Service Medal 1939-1945 (Second World War)
• King George V Silver Jubilee Medal 1935
• King George VI Coronation Medal 1937
• Croix d'Officier de la Légion d'honneur (France) 1919^[11]
• Croix de Guerre with Palm (France) 1919^[12]
• Distinguished Service Medal (United States) 1919^[13]

other public services

When unable to continue military service at the high level he had always set for himself, he accepted other public service appointments: Public Service Commissioner in Tasmania (1919), Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police (1920-22) and elected Member of the Australian House of Representatives (1925-28).^[14] Even into the late 1930s, Gellibrand was consulted by Prime Ministers Joseph Lyons and Robert Menzies about defence matters. He campaigned for an increase in the size of the Australian Army, and, after the outbreak of the Second World War, successfully lobbied the Menzies government to appoint Major General Sir Thomas Blamey as Commander in Chief of the Army.

Concerned about the plight of fellow ex-servicemen, whose businesses were often failing, Gellibrand banded together with like-minded individuals to form the Hobart Remembrance Club in 1919. This organisation aimed to support ex-servicemen by providing employment and support for their businesses. The Hobart Club inspired the formation of Legacy Australia in Melbourne, which over time became a national movement, expanding its scope to the care of ex-servicemen's widows and their families. The Hobart Club joined Legacy in 1940.

Jack became President of the Tasmanian Boy’s Scouts Association in June 1923.^[15]

In 1929 he was also Southern Chairman of the Red Cross Society.

personal space as well!

It may seem hard to believe but in that incredibly full schedule, Gellibrand had time for himself. He loved farming and would retire to his farm whenever he could. One occasion in which the 'farming bug' took over was in 1912 as his Ceylon posting was completed. Without clear signs of career progression, he resigned his commission, and returned to Tasmania with his family. He hoped to be able to take over one of his family's properties, but none were willing to sell out to him, so he bought an apple orchard at Risdon, near Hobart, and settled into life as a farmer. Another opportunity raised its head when he failed to be returned in the 1928 federal election. Simple solution: return to farming at Greenhills and purchase a foreclosed 214-hectare (530-acre) property near Smithton, Tasmania, called Garth. In 1936, he purchased a new property, Balaclava, at Murrindindi, Victoria, not far from Yea, where his son Tom had a farm, and made his home there, selling the properties in Tasmania.

Having lived a full life of sacrificial service to his country and fellow man, Sir John Gellibrand passed away as a result of a cerebral haemorrhage on 3rd June 1945 at Balaclava; aged just 72 years. He was buried in Yea Cemetery with full military honours.^[16] John was survived by his wife of almost 51 years and children. Elsie passed away four years later and is buried with her husband in Yea Cemetery.

Gellibrand had two older brothers, Tom and Walter; three sisters, Annie, Lina and Mary; and a younger brother, Blake. Blake was a Commander in the Royal Navy.

Sources

1. ↑ Tasmania Birth Index #932657/1872
2. ↑ UK FreeBMD Marriage Index Sep qtr 1894, vol 9a, page 239
3. ↑ Australian_War_Memorial_Unit_record: 12th Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 4 Jun 2018
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 6th Australian Infantry Brigade; accessed 4 Jun 2018
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 12th Australian Infantry Brigade; accessed 4 Jun 2018
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll; accessed 4 Jun 2018
7. ↑ London Gazette 6 Jun 1919: KCB
8. ↑ London Gazette 1 Jun 1917: CB
9. ↑ London Gazette 2 May 1916: DSO
10. ↑ London Gazette 15 jun 1917: 2nd DSO
11. ↑ London gazette 28 Jan 1919 Croix d'Officier
12. ↑ London Gazette 21 Aug 1919: Croix de Guerre
13. ↑ London Gazette 11 Jul 1919: DSM
14. ↑ Visit: Tasmania Divisions - Past Members Profile Tree
15. ↑ The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.: 1860-1954), p. 8: SIR JOHN GELLIBRAND. (1923, June 20); retrieved May 29, 2019
16. ↑ Victoria Death Index #19545/1945

See also

• Bazley, A W. Gellibrand, Sir John (1872–1945). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1981; accessed online 4 Jun 2018.
• Wikipedia pofile: John Gellibrand; accessed 4 Jun 2018.