Rear Admiral John Saumarez Dumaresq Date of birth: 26 October 1873 Place of birth: Rose Bay, NSW Date of death: 22 July 1922 Place of death: Phillippines Rear Admiral John Saumarez Dumaresq John Saumarez Dumaresq 305332 John Dumaresq was the first Australian-born officer to command the Australian fleet. He was born on 26 October 1873 at Rose Bay in Sydney but his family moved to England when Dumaresq was just two. Dumaresq joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1886, aged 13. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1894 and served with the Channel Fleet. In 1904 he was promoted to commander and, having taken an interest in torpedo work earlier in his career, was attached to the Admiralty to supervise the equipment of torpedo vessels. Dumaresq was keenly interested in the science of naval warfare and he invented a rangefinder that greatly improved the accuracy of naval gunnery. In 1907 Dumaresq married Christian Dalrymple and the following year he commanded the torpedo flotilla when it escorted King Edward VII on a visit to Russia. After his return, Dumaresq commanded two of the Home Fleet's torpedo destroyers. Promoted to captain in 1910, he invented several fire-control devices that were used in the First World War. Dumaresq commanded the Shannon, a light cruiser, in the battle of Jutland in 1916. During this action he conceived the idea of launching aircraft from a ship's deck. In February 1917 he was transferred to the RAN as captain of HMAS Sydney and later in the year he took command of the British vessel Repulse, which he captained in a successful battle against the German flagship, Königsberg. Dumaresq returned to Sydney in December 1917. To his great pleasure the admiralty had agreed to the installation of an aircraft-launching platform on Sydney, the first to be fitted to a ship. The first flight was a success and the device offered ships some protection against zeppelins and land-based aircraft. Dumaresq remained in command of Sydney until the end of February 1919. The following month he was given command of the Australian fleet with the rank of commodore. In June 1921 he was promoted to rear admiral, becoming the first Australian-born officer to attain that rank and to command the Navy. By the early 1920s, cutbacks in defence spending led Dumaresq into conflict with senior political figures as he sought to ensure that the Navy was properly resourced. He returned to the Royal Navy on 29 April 1922, thus ending his service with the RAN. Dumaresq's final gesture, criticising Australia's apathy towards defence spending, suggests something of his willingness to publicly state his views on matters of national importance. Some regarded him as a strict disciplinarian but he was widely respected, shy of publicity, and has been credited with introducing an esprit de corps into the Navy that the young service had been lacking. Dumaresq never reached England to take up his new appointment. He fell ill on the voyage and died of pneumonia in the Philippines on 22 July 1922.
General John Monash, GCMG, KCB General John Monash, GCMG, KCB General John Monash, GCMG, KCB Date of birth: 27 June 1865 Place of birth: Melbourne, VIC Date of death: 08 October 1931 Place of death: Melbourne, VIC John Monash A01241 Arguably Australia's most famous soldier, John Monash was born in Melbourne on 27 June 1865. He was dux of Scotch College and studied arts and engineering at Melbourne University, where he was also involved in debating and student politics. Outside of university he dabbled in acting. In 1884 he joined the university company of the 4th Battalion, Victorian Rifles. Monash was a driven young man, ambitious and intelligent. He worked on the construction of the Princes Bridge in Melbourne and in 1888 was placed in charge of constructing a new railway even though he had yet to complete his degree. A keen womaniser throughout his life, Monash married Hannah Moss in April 1891 after having had several other relationships, some quite scandalous by contemporary standards. He finished his studies in 1895 and, having long since decided to combine engineering with a military career, was promoted to captain in the Garrison Artillery that year. In 1897 Monash was promoted to major in the North Melbourne Battery and served there for 11 years. Meanwhile, he and a friend had established a private engineering practice in 1894. The business grew steadily but a series of setbacks left him with large debts in 1902. Starting again, Monash recovered and became wealthy. He also gained promotion to lieutenant colonel in the Australian Intelligence Corps in 1908. Now prospering in business and the Army, in 1913 Colonel Monash took command of the 13th Infantry Brigade. After the outbreak of war, Monash took command of the AIF's 4th Infantry Brigade, landing at Gallipoli on 26 April 1915. In July he was promoted to brigadier. Despite having encountered some criticism for his performance on Gallipoli, Monash took his brigade to France in June 1916. He became a major general in July and took command of the 3rd Division. The division's first major battle, Messines, was hailed as a great success. Further success followed and in May 1918, Monash was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the Australian Corps. His first battle in this role, Hamel, came to be considered the "perfect battle". Monash remained in command through the victorious battles in the last months of the war. He was an innovative leader who earned high praise from many leading political and military figures, but he also faced criticism for exaggerating his own and his soldiers' achievements. By the end of the war his force was exhausted and severely depleted. After spending eight months in London overseeing the repatriation of the AIF, Monash was welcomed home in Melbourne by an enthusiastic public on Boxing Day 1919. He returned to business and in 1920 became manager of Victoria's State Electricity Commission. An advocate for returned soldiers, Monash also held a range of high-level positions. His opinions were widely sought and he became a leading figure in Melbourne's Jewish community. Monash died of heart disease in Melbourne on 8 October 1931 and was given a state funeral attended by some 250,000 mourners.
