Leslie James Morshead KCB KBE (1889 - 1959)

Born 18 Sep 1889 in Ballarat East, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Myrtle Catherine Hay (Woodside) Morshead — married 17 Nov 1921 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Died 26 Sep 1959 at age 70 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Leslie Morshead KCB KBE is Notable.

Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead KCB KBE CMG DSO ED was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman and farmer, whose military career spanned both world wars. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Lone Pine, Gallipoli and on the Western Front. During the Second World War, he won fame as the defender of Tobruk, both there and at the Second Battle of El Alamein achieving decisive victories over Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. Morshead's landings at Tarakan, North Borneo and Balikpapan were carried out with great efficiency, achieving their objectives with low casualties. Morshead is among the most renowned Australian divisional commanders. He was later general manager of Orient Steam Navigation Company Australia, president of the Bank of New South Wales, chairman of David Jones, and director of several other companies.

formative years

Leslie James Morshead was born on 18th September 1889 at Ballarat East, Victoria (Australia). He was the fourth surviving son of William Morshead, a miner from Cornwall, and his South Australian-born wife, Mary Eliza Rennison, although an older brother passed away in early childhood the following year.^[1] Leslie attended Mount Pleasant State School and belonged to Ballarat's Christ Church Cathedral choir. After completing his formal education, he attended Melbourne Teachers' College and became a school teacher.

Morshead was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Australian Army Cadets in 1908. At Armidale, New South Wales, where he was studying, he was appointed commander of the school cadet unit, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Militia on 10th February 1913. He was promoted to Captain in September. At Melbourne Grammar in 1914 he commanded a company in that school's much larger cadet unit.

The Great War

Leslie Morshead KCB KBE is an Anzac who served in World War One.

With the declaration of war in August 1914,^[2] Morshead resigned both his teaching position and his commission in the Cadet Corps and travelled up to Sydney to enlist as a private in the 2nd Infantry Battalion^[3] of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) because it was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Braund, whom Morshead knew well from his time teaching in Armidale. Morshead's time in the ranks was brief, as he was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 19th September. He was promoted to Captain on 8th January 1915, while the battalion was still in training. The 2nd Battalion landed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, and made the farthest advance of any Australian unit that day, reaching the slopes of Baby 700. Promoted to Major on 8th June, Morshead distinguished himself in the Battle of Lone Pine on 6th August.

Like many others, he succumbed to dysentery and paratyphoid fever; being evacuated to Lemnos, England and then home to Australia. For his service at Gallipoli, Morshead was Mentioned in Despatches.^[4]

With improved health, Morshead was appointed commanding officer of the 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.^[5] He embarked for the Western Front with his new battalion on 4th May 1916. Many men, including Morshead, became mustard gas casualties at Villers-Bretonneaux. A successful leader in the Battles of Messines (June 1917) and Passchendaele (October) in Belgium, and Villers-Bretonneux (April 1918) and Amiens (August) in France, Morshead was appointed Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO),^[6], Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)^[7], Officier de la Légion d'honneur and was Mentioned in Despatches three more times.^[8][9][10]

in between wars

Upon returning from the war, Morshead was granted a soldier settlement block of 23,000 acres (9,300 ha) near Quilpie, Queensland. In 1924, he sold the property and worked for the Orient Steam Navigation Co. Ltd in various capacities of growing responsibility for fifteen years. His special interest lay in the development of Pacific cruises.

On 17th November 1921, he married a former pupil's sister, Myrtle Woodside, daughter of a Victorian grazier, in Scots Church, Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria.^[11] They had one daughter.

As well as pursuing his business interests, Morshead remained active in the part-time Militia between the wars, commanding the 19th Infantry Battalion from 1921 to 1925, 36th Infantry Battalion from 1926 to 1932, 14th Infantry Brigade from 1st January 1933 to 1934 when he moved to Melbourne. Finally, he transferred to command of the 15th Infantry Brigade, and was promoted to Brigadier in 1938.

Second World War

Leslie Morshead KCB KBE is a Military Veteran.
Served in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force 1939-1945
9th Division

Morshead formally transferred to the Second Australian Imperial Force (2AIF) on 10th October 1939, within weeks of the declaration of war.^[12] He was given command of 18th Infantry Brigade, which sailed for Britain in May 1940, where he spent five months training the 18th and leading it in operations while Britain came under attack by the Luftwaffe and faced the threat of invasion. In the New Years Honours 1941, was appointed Commander of Order of the British Empire (CBE).^[13] Blamey appointed Morshead to command the newly-formed 9th Division on 29th January 1941, upon promotion to Major General.^[14] He faced a grim prospect. There were insufficient weapons and equipment, his men were relatively untrained, and one of his brigades was short of a battalion which was on garrison duty in Darwin. As his own gunners were not ready, he was given British artillery.

Axis propagandists described Morshead and the 9th Division as,
"Ali Baba Morshead and his 20,000 thieves," and branded
the defenders of the port as, "the Rats of Tobru."

Within three weeks he was ordered to move this improbable collection to Cyrenaica, Libya, where it would relieve the 6th Division, who were on their way to the disastrous Greek-Crete Campaign. During the withdrawal to Tobruk–Derna in April 1941, Morshead was the only general officer of Cyrenaica Command to avoid capture. That his division reached Tobruk almost exhausted but still an organised force and eager to fight, was a commendable performance. He maintained an aggressive defence, based on ceaseless patrolling and—in the early days—frequent raids, and made it clear to all that 'we should make no-man's land our land'. Axis propagandists described Morshead and the 9th Division as "Ali Baba Morshead and his 20,000 thieves", and branded the defenders of the port as the "Rats of Tobruk", a sobriquet that they seized on and wore as a badge of pride. After visiting the British gunners and others who were to remain, Morshead unveiled a memorial and left Tobruk on 22nd October 1941 in HMS Endeavour. For his part in the campaign, Morshead was created Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on 6th January 1942.^[15] The Polish Government appointed him to the War Order of Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war.

In March that year, following the return to Australia of the 6th and 7th Divisions and war in the south Pacific, he was given command of all Australian forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and was promoted to Lieutenant General, while still remaining commander of the 9th Division. July 1942 was a testing time for Morshead and his men who in three searing weeks tasted everything from triumph on the 10th to disaster on the 27th when the whole 2/28th Battalion was lost. Following his leadership in the Battle of El Alamein, he was also created Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in November 1942.^[16]

Sir Leslie and Lady Morshead c1944

After El Alamein, Morshead and the 9th Division were also recalled to the South West Pacific Area. Morshead became commander of II Corps. Although this role placed him farther from the battle front than at El Alamein, it did not entirely remove him from operations. At the height of the Japanese counter-attack at Finschhafen, New Guinea, on 17th October 1943, his grasp of the situation caused him to signal urgently for the 26th Brigade to move from Lae to reinforce the 9th Division. In November, he became acting commander of New Guinea Force, and Second Army in January-July 1944. Morshead then took over I Corps. Morshead's landings at Tarakan, North Borneo and Balikpapan were carried out with great efficiency, achieving their objectives with low casualties.

Arriving in Sydney in September 1945, he reluctantly agreed to chair a military court of inquiry into Major General Gordon Bennett's 1942 escape from Singapore. The court sat in October. Its findings against Bennett led to (Sir) George Ligertwood's appointment as royal commissioner to investigate the affair. In essence, he reached the same conclusions. Morshead was thrice Mentioned in Despatches for his service in the Second World War and awarded (1948) the American Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm.

life after the Army

After the war, Morshead returned to civilian life, applying his dynamic leadership skills to a different setting; becoming the Orient Steam Navigation Company's Australian general manager on 31st December 1947. He was also appointed president of the Bank of New South Wales, chairman of David Jones, and director of several other companies. Morshead turned down an offer of governorship of Queensland, as well as several diplomatic posts. He was also president of the Boy Scouts' Association of New South Wales.

In 1957, he was appointed chairman of a committee which reviewed the group of departments concerned with defence. Whilst the federal government accepted the committee's recommendation that Supply and Defence Production be amalgamated, it would take another twenty years to achieve its key proposal that Army, Navy and Air come under a single Department of Defence.

Leslie Morshead passed away of cancer on 26th September 1959 in St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales^[17] and was given a military funeral, and the cortège passed through streets lined with former soldiers of the 9th Division. He was survived by Lady Morshead and their daughter, Elizabeth.

legacy

Morshead Fountain, Sydney

Morshead is appropriately commemorated through:

• Morshead Drive, which runs past the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in Canberra is named after him.
• the Morshead War Veterans Home is in Lyneham, Canberra.
• Morshead Fountain sits outside the Morehead Fountain Gate at the Royal Botanic Gardens and opposite the State Library of New South Wales and the Shakespeare Memorial at Shakespeare Place. The fountain was erected in 1966.

honours and awards

• Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, 1917
• Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1918
• 1914-1915 Star, 1918
• British War Medal, 1918
• Victory Medal, 1918
• Officier de la Légion d'honneur (France)
• Efficiency Decoration, 1933
• Commander of Order of the British Empire, 1941
• War Order of Virtuti Militari (Poland), 1941
• Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath, 1942
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1942
• 1939-1945 Star, 1945
• Africa Star, 1945
• Pacific Star, 1945
• Australia Service Medal 1939-1945, 1945
• Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm (United States), 1948
• Mentioned in Despatches, 7 times

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #28116/1889
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: Leslie James Morshead; accessed 26 Apr 2019
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 9 May 2018
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial Honours and Awards: Mention in Despatches; accessed 26 Apr 2019
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 9 May 2018=
6. ↑ Australian Honours: Distinguished Service Order; accessed 26 Apr 2019
7. ↑ Australian Honours: Order of St Michael and St George; accessed 26 Apr 2019
8. ↑ Australian War Memorial Honours and Awards: Mention in Despatches; accessed 26 Apr 2019
9. ↑ Australian War Memorial Honours and Awards: Mention in Despatches; accessed 26 Apr 2019
10. ↑ Australian War Memorial Honours and Awards: Mention in Despatches; accessed 26 Apr 2019
11. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #12440/1921
12. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: Leslie James Morshead; 9 May 2018
13. ↑ Australian Honours: Order of the British Empire; accessed 26 Apr 2019
14. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 9th Division; accessed 9 May 2018
15. ↑ Australian Honours: Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire; accessed 26 Apr 2019
16. ↑ Australian Honours: Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath; accessed 26 Apr 2019
17. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #19205/1959

See also:

• Hill, A J. Morshead, Sir Leslie James (1889–1959), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2000; accessed online 9 May 2018.
• Australian War Memorial biography and timeline; accessed 26 Apr 2019.
• Wikipedia: Leslie Morshead; accessed 9 May 2018.