Thomas William Glasgow KCB CMG (1876 - 1955)

Born 6 Jun 1876 in Tiaro, Queensland (Australia)

Ancestors

Husband of Annie Isabella (Stumm) Glasgow — married 21 Apr 1904 in Gympie, Queensland, Australia

Died 4 Jul 1955 at age 79 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Bill Glasgow KCB CMG is Notable.

Major General Sir Thomas Glasgow KCB CMG DSO VD was a senior Australian Army officer and politician. Glasgow rose to prominence during The Great War as a brigade and divisional commander on the Western Front; having earlier served in the Boer War. Post-war, he was elected to the Australian Senate, representing Queensland from 1919 to 1931, as well as serving as Minister for Defence. He was appointed Australian High Commissioner to Canada, a position he held from 1939 to 1945, throughout the Second World War.

Thomas William "Bill" Glasgow was born on 6th June 1876 in Tiaro, near Maryborough, Queensland (Australia). He was the third son of Samuel Glasgow and Mary Margaret Trotter Anderson.^[1] 'Bill' Glasgow was educated at the One-Mile State School, Gympie, and Maryborough Grammar School. In 1893 he started work as a junior clerk in the office of a mining company at Gympie and later became a clerk in the Queensland National Bank there. Amongst his friends in Gympie was (future General Sir) Brudenell White, a clerk in a rival bank. They both joined the 2nd Queensland (Wide Bay and Burnett) Regiment, Queensland Mounted Infantry.

Her Majesty's empire

Bill Glasgow KCB CMG is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army 1899-1901
1st Queensland Mounted Infantry

With nineteen others Glasgow travelled to London in 1897 to represent Queensland at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Glasgow volunteered for service in South Africa in the Second Boer War and served as a Lieutenant in the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry Contingent. He participated in the relief of Kimberley, the capture of Cronje's laager on the Modder and the occupation of Bloemfontein in 1900. On 16th April 1901 he was Mentioned in Despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).^[2][3] He was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal for his service in South Africa.

After returning to Australia, Glasgow formed a partnership with his younger brother Alexander, and they took over their father's grocery store in Gympie.

He married Annie Isabel Stumm, daughter of Jacob Stumm, the Federal member for Lilley, on 21st April 1904 in the Presbyterian Church, Gympie, Queensland.^[4] They had two daughters.

In 1903, Glasgow organised the 13th Light Horse Regiment at Gympie. He was promoted to Captain in 1906 and Major in 1912.

Being the adventurer, Bill tired of storekeeping and bought a cattle station in central Queensland. But with the outbreak of another war, the farm would have to wait ...

the (supposed) war to end all wars

Bill Glasgow KCB CMG is an Anzac who served in World War One.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, he was appointed to the Australian Imperial Force with the rank of Major in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment on 19 August 1914.^[5] He embarked for Egypt where his regiment trained until called forward for dismounted service at Gallipoli. In August 1915, Glasgow lead an attack on Dead Man's Ridge; the ridge had sweeping views of The Nek. After the failed attack on the Nek, Glasgow, realising that the ridge would now be attacked by the full force of the Turkish army, ordered a retreat. Glasgow covered the retirement, finally making it back carrying one of his wounded troopers. Of the 200 men in the attack, four officers and 56 other ranks had been killed and seven officers and 87 other ranks wounded. Every officer except Glasgow had been killed or wounded. The next day he was appointed to command the regiment with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

In March 1916 Glasgow was appointed commander of the 13th Infantry Brigade on the Western Front, which he commanded at Mouquet Farm, Messines, Polygon Wood and Dernancourt, where the brigade helped stop the German advance. In June 1918, Glasgow was appointed to command the 1st Division. For his services during the war, Glasgow was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG),^[6] Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB),^[7] and was created Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1919 New Year Honours.^[8] He was Mentioned in Despatches nine times and was appointed Officier de la Légion d'Honneur and Croix de Guerre by the French Government (gazetted in London 29th January 1919 on page 1445 at position 3)^[9] and the Croix de Guerre from the Belgian Government. He also was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Returning to the Militia after the war, Glasgow commanded the 4th Division from 1921. He led the annual Anzac Day parade in Brisbane for twenty years.

parliament: a different type of fighting

Glasgow was elected to the Senate in 1919, representing Queensland, as a Nationalist. He was no orator but his rugged common sense was appreciated and he quickly made his mark in Melbourne. He became Minister for Home and Territories in 1926, and then from 1927 to 1929 was Minister for Defence. In this period the government completed its five-year defence programme which increased the citizen army to 45,000 and modernised and expanded the Royal Australian Air Force.

In 1931 Glasgow resumed his pastoral interests as well as becoming a director of several companies and president of the Queensland branch of the United Australia Party.

diplomatic service

On 24th December 1939, Glasgow was appointed first Australian High Commissioner to Canada. Canada thus became only the fifth country in which Australia had diplomatic representatives. Glasgow won the trust of the Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King and built good relations with the ministers for external affairs, defence, and munitions and supply; concluding a "mutual aid" agreement between the two countries. His work included negotiation on matters of policy regarding the Empire Air Training Scheme and he regularly visited the far-flung camps and schools in Canada where Australians were training or awaiting embarkation. He made sure the airmen had good conditions and that mail and other amenities were promptly distributed. He established Anzac clubs in Ottawa and Halifax. The University of Manitoba awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 1942. He attended the Quebec Conferences in 1943 and 1944 between US President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, where he represented Australian interests.

last post

Glasgow returned to Australia in 1945 and once again resumed his pastoral and business interests.

He passed away on 4th July 1955 in Brisbane, Queensland.^[10] He was given a state funeral after a service at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Brisbane.

In 1966, a bronze statue of Glasgow was unveiled at the junction of Roma and Turbot streets in Brisbane. At the ceremony, Sir Arthur Fadden described him as 'one of the most distinguished soldiers of our age and generation'. During 2008, the statue was moved to the much more central and popular Post Office Square (opposite ANZAC Square).