The Dr John Laffin Memorial Lecture

Edited from the address given by Robert Thomas BA (Hons), Grad Dip Ed

Delivered in Richmond NSW on the 4th of July 2004

Introduction

When I was preparing the notes for this address, I found that I was simply retelling the story of Sir Harry Chauvel and his exploits in World War I. It was then that I made the decision to concentrate on the earlier years of Chauvel’s life and the events that influenced the development of the skills and personality that enabled him to achieve so much.

It is not necessary to go back to Chauvel’s birth at Tabulam on 4th March 1865, but it is, in my opinion, important to look at his schooling, so it is here we shall begin.

According to his daughter Elyne, his early education was undertaken at Tabulam and then in 1873 (aged 8) he was sent to Mr Belcher’s boarding school at Goulburn, where he suffered from a severe case of homesickness. She records that he went there for some years and if we accept that he was there during the periods bracketed by his time at Sydney Grammar School, we can place him at Belcher’s for 1873, part of 1874 and all of 1875.

The archives of SGS show him enrolled at their school for the periods of January to April 1874 [1], and then from January 1876 to 1880 when he followed one of the masters (Mr Lawrence Stephenson, BA (Cambridge)) from Sydney Grammar to Toowoomba Grammar School when he went there as Head Master.[2]

Right: The Clarence River in 1887

Harry and his brother Alan (accompanied by a stockman) rode their horses from Tabulam to Toowoomba at the beginning and end of each term, a vastly different trip than the steamer down the coast to Sydney. While at TGS they were part of a group of boarders who spent their weekends riding and camping along the Great Dividing Range escarpment, at great risk to themselves and each other, with no supervision. Winn records that Harry was not a noted scholar but even at this young age he was acknowledged as a very fine horseman.[3]

In 1882, Head Master Stephenson sent all the boys home from Toowoomba Grammar and effectively closed the school following a protracted dispute with the school board.

Because of the sudden closure of the school there was no stockman available to meet them, so Harry and Alan rode home unaccompanied and it is not really surprising that they reappear on the roll of Sydney Grammar School the following year. It was during this stay at Sydney Grammar that Harry commenced his military career as a cadet, soon rising to the rank of Lance Corporal [4]. Harry completed his schooling there in 1884. His time at school had given him a broad education and a streak of independence and self-reliance that would stand him in good stead in later life and it had given him his first taste of formal military training.

On 14th March 1886 he was commissioned into the Upper Clarence Light Horse, a militia unit raised by his father, Major C.H.E. Chauvel, as a 2nd Lieutenant. He continued in this position until the family sold the Tabulam property in 1888 and moved to Canning Downs South near Warwick in Queensland.

According to his personal papers, at that time he had been instrumental in the recruitment and training of the Tenterfield Light Horse.[5]

Once settled in Queensland he applied for a commission in the Queensland Defence Force. In May 1889, he sailed for England on the S.S. Quetta, visiting friends and relatives and taking in the sights at some of the British Army training days. It is interesting to note that after landing in Sydney on his return, the first event recorded in his diary is a visit to the Easter 1900 encampment of the New South Wales Defence Force [6].

Left: Warwick and District Map

His appointment as a Provisional Lieutenant in the QDF was gazetted in January 1890 (while he was overseas) and he was posted to A Company, Darling Downs Mounted Infantry, based at Warwick. Within six months of taking up that position, he was required to sit for and pass four written exams and a practical test at Victoria Barracks in Brisbane [7], regardless of the fact that he had experience in a New South Wales unit.[8]  The records for his course give him an average score of 70% in the written work and an “excellent” in the fieldwork [9].

Toowoomba Grammar School Mounted Cadets (after Federation)
Sydney Grammar (circa 1900) Source: Tyrrell Photographic Collection, Powerhouse Museum
Caption Required
Tenterfield Light Horse

In January 1891, the Queensland Shearers’ Strike erupted and a panicked colonial government mobilised its defence force to prevent a rumoured insurrection by the workers.

Chauvel was mobilised on 25th March 1891. “A” Company, Darling Downs Mounted Infantry was turned out on short notice and because of the dispersed nature of the farming communities around Warwick, many of them missed the special train. When they finally headed west, his group were ordered to:

detrain at Currajong, 30 Miles east of Charleville…. it is not marked on the map, and no station or platform is provided.[10]

From there they proceeded south to a property (“Oakwood”) that none of them had seen, as an escort to non-union labourers. Travelling cross-country through heavy rain and black soil mud, with no protection other than their coats and blankets, they completed their task in 4 days.

When later faced with angry and agitated strikers who threatened violence, Chauvel credited the good discipline of his men for the fact there was no bloodshed. He and his men were fortunate to have had their own horses for the exercise and the majority of his troops were from rural areas and some were in fact employed on the Chauvel property (Canning Downs South) and would have been comfortable and familiar with taking orders from the man who was their boss in civilian life. In other areas some of their fellow troops were faced with similar duties on unbroken horses supplied by the Pastoralists’ Association.[11] Regardless of the circumstances and hardships, they still showed that they were capable of carrying out their orders and maintaining discipline.

The delay in the mobilisation of the Darling Downs Mounted Infantry had caused some angst for Chauvel. While others were in the field in the central highlands of the colony, he was at home, wishing he were with them. In February, he wrote to the Colonial Secretary (Horace Tozer) offering to form a special unit of Mounted Infantry to serve in the disturbed areas[12].

While he was given the responsibility of looking after himself and his men during these periods of independent deployment, he was also faced with the normal hazards of soldiers on active service, the times of intense boredom and inactivity. Chauvel’s immediate superior, Capt Kenneth Hutchison (who had actually been appointed to a position in the Clarence River Light Horse when Chauvel’s father formed it, but decline it to accept a position in the Queensland Defence Force.) was responsible for the clear guidelines provided for the Officers and N.C.O.s of the force. Amongst the personal papers of Sir Harry Chauvel is a small pocket card, originally folded, now broken into 2 pieces, printed on both sides.[13] This card gives clear, concise instructions but allows the officer in command of any group to consult the civil authorities and then make his own decision.

This is a key factor in the development of Chauvel; the opportunity to carry out orders independently with some flexibility to think for himself. Over the nine-month period of active service, under trying climatic conditions with the stresses of command and management, he was provided with a taste of the full role of an office.

Following the activity of the 1891 Strike, the Queensland Defence Force contracted. Expenditure on the conflict had almost caused the bankruptcy of the Government, the unions and the graziers. The Government cut back on expenditure, reducing some Defence Force units in size, disbanding some completely and restricting exercises and purchases. By early 1894 the effects of these fiscal policies had returned the colony to a more stable financial state, prompting the unions to again contest control of the rural labour market.

The Woolshed at Ayrshire Downs was burnt on 3rd July 1894. While the burning was a provocative act by the unionists and of itself, a criminal act of arson, the conjunctive acts of the fifteen armed men involved in holding off workers who attempted to control the fire by shooting at them, and the cutting down of telegraph lines, were of additional concern.

As troops had been mobilised in 1891, pastoral groups and some Government officers expected and vocally demanded that the same happen again. When the Colonial Secretary Horace Tozer told them to make do with the Police Force, there was much heavy lobbying and strongly worded letters to the Secretary from these quarters[14].

Having seen the disruption to budgets caused by the mobilisation of the Defence Force in 1891, Tozer resisted strongly, and on July 7th, he berated Police Commissioner Seymour for his negative attitude, suggesting that if he doubts that his force was sufficient to control the Western Region, he would have to recruit “trained officers and men from the Defence Force” as permanent police, further stressing that “Our policy is to abstain from using Militia”[15].

Lt H. G. Chauvel and Captain Ken Hutchison. Source: State Library of Queensland
Caption required

Captain Chauvel, feeling the need for a more active role in the dispute, accepted a commission as Sub-Inspector of Police (on special service). This appointment, like all other special police appointments during the 1894 strike, was recorded in the colonial secretary’s files and was published in the Police Gazette, yet it has no number and is not recorded in the Queensland Police appointment files.

As in 1891, Chauvel was given the opportunity to work largely without close supervision. According to Goldfield Inspector Gall in Clermont, Chauvel was stationed in that town for some time[16], making friends with people in the district and riding in picnic race meetings[17]. His command consisted of Constables appointed for special service (one of these constables was Sgt Murphy from Gatton who was later murdered with his sister in the unsolved Gatton Murders, and there were suggestions that his service in the 1894 strike had some connection with the murders).

The work that these men did in the Central Highlands included long distance patrols, escorting of strikebreakers, guards on Woolsheds and escorts for Wool shipments. In September, Chauvel was sent to Tangorin Station with five Constables[18] to escort strikebreakers and later in the month District Magistrate Parry-Okeden told Tozer that Chauvel was conducting patrols in the eastern part of the district.[19]

By October, he had become more proactive in his work and he suggested that Bowen Downs and its Woolshed should be included in the declared district (for control of strikers).[20] At that time Bowen Downs was under the management of one of his former schoolmasters from Toowoomba Grammar, “Bully” Fraser.

It is this strike that begins to highlight Chauvel among the officers in the Defence Force. He is the only one appointed as a Commissioned Police Officer and he is permitted to work independently. The references to him in the telegrams to Tozer appear almost as asides, added on to give more substance to the reports. He had the responsibility to maintain law and order in his region and set about doing it with so little fuss that it is almost unrecorded and unremarked, in this case a sign of a job well done.

By December 1894, the strike was essentially over. However, the police involved in special duties were retained on the police payroll until June 30th 1895. This further period of service in the field was of immense value to Chauvel. He polished the skills that he had learnt in 1891 and further enhanced his reputation as reliable man who would get any job done and do it well.

The week after his retirement from the police force, Chauvel received praise and support in Parliament from Henry Tozer. Following an attack on the Government’s handling of the strike and some of those involved, Chauvel was signalled out by Tozer as “an officer who performed his work with much credit and who was selected, not only because he had the confidence of his men, but also because he was a man of great integrity and judgement ,”[21]

In 1896 he was appointed to the Queensland Defence Force as a full-time soldier, and in 1897 he was attached as a supernumerary officer to the Queensland contingent to the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations for Queen Victoria following which he proceeded to study at the School of Musketry at Hythe.

His 1897 trip to Great Britain enabled him to build and reinforce close personal relationships. Through his official role during training, study and ceremonial duties, he was able to become part of existing networks within the British Army. He saw service with two regular British Army units at Aldershot and with the Jubilee Contingent was part of sister city celebrations between his old base of Warwick on the Darling Downs and Warwick in the Midlands.

On his return to Brisbane in 1898 he settled into his position as Staff Officer for Infantry. This entailed visiting all the training centres and getting to know the officers and N.C.O’s, an important factor in his development as a central figure in the military network, reinforcing the training system instituted under Colonel French when he was QDF Commandant.

At the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899, Chauvel was appointed as a Company commander and Adjutant of the First Contingent of Queensland Mounted Infantry under LT COL Percy Ricardo. When these troops arrived in South Africa, they immediately moved north towards the areas of conflict. Field conditions, personal temperament and experience ensured that the officers and men of the expedition began to rely on Chauvel. Ricardo’s field diary reports a number of social events (including lunch with Cecil Rhodes [22]) in detail but is notable for its brevity when discussing operational matters, a balance that may indicate his personal preferences.

Chauvel spent his time organising horse care and following up (and in some cases going back towards Cape Town to collect) soldiers who had not returned from hospital or duties in the rear areas. The arrival of the 2nd Contingent, under the command of Chauvel’s long-time friend and former commanding officer Ken Hutchison, provided fresh men and horses and the combined unit continued in operations.

Right: Informal group portrait of British and Australian Army officers. The twelve officers identified wearing bush hats with light coloured puggarees and emu feather plumes are officers of the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry Contingent. Source: Australian War Memorial

The Maxim gun captured by Chauvel

During the attack at Vet River on the 5th and 6th May 1900, Ricardo held the Queenslanders back in the riverbed, complying with the letter of his orders. Chauvel and some of his men advanced and captured a Boer gun and prisoners. It was this event that led to Ricardo being accused of cowardice and his lawsuit against the Brisbane Observer in 1902.[23]

Chauvel exhibited the general attitude of the troops under his command when he left Ricardo in shelter and proceeded to outflank and rush the position and then route the enemy. This type of initiative built his reputation with the rank and file and raised his profile among the British officer corps while having the opposite effect on Ricardo and his position.

In June of 1900, Ricardo accepted a role in the Civil Administration, allowing Chauvel to take formal command of the Queensland Force. In August Chauvel and his men were tasked to escort 1000 cattle towards the combat zone. In September, the Queenslanders were combined with a company of Canadian Mounted Rifles, 3rd Mounted Infantry (a British unit), a Battery of the Royal Field Artillery, and a unit of Cape Mounted Scouts. This conglomerate unit was known as Chauvel’s Mounted Infantry and was based at Nooitgedacht for some time. 

Amongst the Chauvel Collection[24] is a note book containing the orders of the day for the unit, all carefully written and signed by the unit Staff Officer, Victor Sellheim and initialled on each order by the Officer Commanding each detachment[25]. The attention to detail included in this notebook when compared to similar field books of the time is a clear indication of the control and command exercised by Chauvel, and the performance levels that he required of his subordinates. He gave clear directions to the personnel and ensured that the orders were understood each day.

The officers and other ranks of 1st QMI returned to Australia on 17th January 1901. Ricardo, feeling that his reputation had been damaged by articles in the Brisbane press, launched action against the Brisbane Observer. He sued for £5000 damages and called a number of witnesses, including Chauvel. The proceedings held the public in a trance as a “who is who” of the Queensland Defence Force paraded through the court as witnesses for the defence or the plaintiff. Chauvel was called upon to support Ricardo and his evidence supports Ricardo; up to a point. When questioned in detail by the papers legal team he admitted criticising Ricardo in South Africa. Chauvel’s view of Ricardo’s methods was that while they may have been to the letter of his orders, they left much to be desired and failed to take advantage of opportunities that were available in action and did not provide the best support for his men when out of action. Ricardo’s case was upheld, but the damages awarded were reduced to £500.

In May 1902, the Commonwealth assembled an additional force for service in South Africa. Named 7th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, it was placed under the command of the newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Harry Chauvel. This unit sailed on 19th May and arrived in South Africa after the ceasefire. They returned to Australia on 2nd August 1902. While there, Chauvel took time to visit some of the battlefields and organised what is recognised as the first Australian Battlefield memorial[26].

The cairn, erected on the site of the Battle of Sunnyside, is still in existence (contrary to reports in Starr and Sweeney’s 1988 publication “Forward”). It commemorates the deaths of Jones and McLeod of 1st QMI, killed in action January 1st 1900. These two men are the first Australians, serving with an Australian raised unit to be killed in action.

When the contingent returned to Australia, the Commandant of the new Commonwealth Army, Major General Sir Edward Hutton had begun his sweeping plans to combine the Colonial Forces into a cohesive unit, and he had also begun his long running battle with the Bulletin, which saw him as a symbol of British Imperialism.

Hutton’s relationship with Chauvel had been marred initially by his decision in South Africa to make the Queenslanders exchange their plumed slouch hats for helmets, a move Chauvel felt broke down his unit’s spirit, writing to his brother Alan;

“He has put us into helmets so we have quite lost our individuality and our interest in proceedings.”[27] 

However, by the time Chauvel left South Africa, he and Hutton were firm friends, and Hutton’s respect for Chauvel and other Queenslanders (and their training) saw them appointed to many of the prime positions within the new force hierarchy.

Having returned from South Africa as a 38-year-old Lieutenant Colonel, Chauvel was posted to Townsville (now Australia’s largest military centre). Still considered one of Australia’s most able Light Horse commanders, when the decision was made to reorganise the South Australian Light Horse Regiments, Chauvel was appointed to do the job, against the wishes of the Defence Minister who objected on the grounds of expenses[28]. This temporary posting enabled him to strengthen existing associations and develop new friendships, using his tact and personal experiences to turn what could have been a divisive and uncomfortable exercise into a benefit for all involved.

In 1904 he returned to Brisbane as the Acting Staff officer for Queensland and Chief Instructor of Light Horse. There he met Sibyl Campbell Jopp, a 16-year-old schoolgirl. They married in June 1906[29]. During his stay in Brisbane he served as Relieving Queensland Commandant on a number of occasions and Aide De Camp to the Governor of Queensland. He wrote to his wife Sibyl in January 1908 that he would have to postpone his leave because of his duties and unless she could organise some invitation to an event near her so he could include it in his official duties he was not sure when he would see her.[30]

He developed a reputation for imaginative and effective training and staff rides.[31] His duties and lack of further promotion would have been very frustrating for an officer of his calibre, but he was certainly effective in the development of his command, personally conducting the examinations on the courses he ran and ensuring that the candidates knew what was required of them.

During this period the Legion of Frontiersmen, formed in Britain in 1904, appears within the Australian Military. This “paramilitary’ group had a variety of goals, some military, some social. In 1910, a Queensland Branch was established with many members drawn from the Boer War veterans of the Queensland Defence Force. In October 1910, Chauvel was elected Vice Patron to replace Senator Pearce (Minister of Defence). It is not clear from the records obtained from the Legions historian if Pearce had accepted the position and then resigned or if he declined the position after being elected by the new group. However, in February 1911 Chauvel was directed by the Army to withdraw from the Legion.

LT COL Wallack (Victoria Barracks, Sydney) in a letter dated 8th February 1911 states “the Minister considers that an officer of the Permanent Forces should not accept a position on such an organisation. LT COL Chauvel CMG should accordingly withdraw from his position on the Council of this body”[32].

His next posting was to Victoria Barracks (Melbourne) as Adjutant General. In July 1914 he sailed for England on the SS Ulysses to take up a four year appointment at the War Office, with the guarantee of appointment as Commandant of RMC Duntroon on his return.  His plans were disrupted by the outbreak of War and his appointment to command the 1st Brigade of Australian Light Horse. His agitation about conditions for troops on Salisbury Plain was instrumental in the decision to continue training of the AIF in Egypt.

 During the war, Chauvel showed his command capabilities on Gallipoli when the Turks broke into Quinn’s Post. His quick thinking and dispersal of reinforcements retook the position and established a reputation of being a commander of ability and according to some commentators luck.  His role in the August offensive also reflected on his ability to make decisions quickly when he called off the attack before it became a disaster like that at the Nek. After the evacuation, he declined an infantry command and accepted command of the Anzac Mounted Division.

At Romani, he used this Division to draw Turkish forces into a trap and by control and planning, he was able to turn the campaign from defence of the Suez Canal into attack in the Sinai. In December 1916, he furthered his reputation as a lucky commander when he ordered his troops to withdraw from Magdhaba and the defenders of the town surrendered before the withdrawal took place.[33] He was knighted in the field in January 1917.

The rest of 1917 was a series of frustrations around Gaza. His mounted troops took the city on the first attempt but were ordered to withdraw by higher command. The second attempt resulted in heavy casualties. The third attempt followed a revised approach and an attack on the eastern end of the Gaza – Beersheba line and resulted in Grant’s defining moment, the sunset charge for the Wells at Beersheba and the advance to Jerusalem in time for Christmas.

1918 produced a series of setbacks and a torturously hot summer in the Jordan Valley followed by the Battle of Megiddo, the “Great Ride” with 20 days of advance, the capture of Damascus, 30,000 prisoners and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Chauvel finished the War as the first Australian to command an Army Corps and the highest-ranking officer in the Australian Army. He exhibited a public confidence that he privately admitted was at times a façade, remarking in his letters to his wife on a number of occasions that he felt strongly his lack of Staff College training. Regardless of this factor his relationship with his force enabled him to plan and execute a war of movement. His confidence that they could carry out his orders was built on the knowledge of the members of the network that he kept around him.

His success was based on his confidence in those below him. Yet his men never idolized him, they respected him. He was no cult figure, yet his officers gave him loyalty and followed him without question. He had experience and training, but so did many others. Why then was he so successful?

Charles Bean provides part of the answer that question. In 1945, on the death of Sir Harry, Bean wrote to Lady Chauvel;

In 1941 when General White died in that tragic crash at Canberra, I happened to be speaking with the door keeper at the Army Department at Headquarters in Melbourne, who was saying that “they would never get another one like him” and then he added: “Do you know, the best loved man that ever we had here was General Chauvel.”

Coming from one who had just been speaking of his great liking and respect for my very dear friend, Brudenell White, the remark made a deep impression on me.

“General Chauvel was the most considerate man we ever had here” he said [34]

These sentiments could be glossed over as something written as a comfort to a loved one during a time of loss if it were not for another letter, written in a time of great excitement by Phillip Chetwode. Dated 5th October 1918, it reads in part.

As an old Cavalryman, I could find it in my heart to envy my own brother the splendid command you have had, and put to such fine use – but if there is anyone in the service who I would grudge it to least it is you – for I shall always be in debt to you for the most loyal and wholehearted co-operation on many difficult occasions.

You have made history with a vengeance and your performance will be talked about and quoted long after more bloody battles in France will have been almost forgotten.[35]

These two letters provide the key to the success of Chauvel. He possessed a number of qualities; his love of the military, his horsemanship, leadership skills and ability to understand his men, all contributed to his position, but it was the combination of these abilities with his defining qualities of consideration and loyalty that were the reason for his position in Australian Military history.

Notes

  1. Archive of Sydney Grammar School. May 2004
  2. Winn, 2000, p73
  3. Winn, 2000, p74
  4. Monograph, WJ Gall Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland
  5. G.Chauvel, Letter to United Graziers Association, 1891, Qld State Archives
  6. Travel Journal, 1889 –1890, Chauvel Collection, AWM
  7. Government Gazette, (Check Date and Number)
  8. G.Chauvel, Letter to United Graziers Association, 1891, Qld State Archives
  9. Government Gazette, (Check Date and Number)
  10. Special service by Corps of the Queensland Defence Force, Votes and Proceedings, 1891, p.3
  11. Ibid, p6
  12. Letter, Chauvel to Tozer, 1891, Queensland State Archives, Col/425
  13. Refer attached reproduction, Appendix A
  14. In particular Bird to Tozer; Queensland State Archives, Col/414/447
  15. Telegram, Tozer to Parry-Okeden, 07.07.1894, Queensland State Archives, Col/414
  16. Monograph on Sir Harry Chauvel, Gall Collection, UQFL43 Box 5 D/263, Fryer Library, University of Queensland.
  17. Hall, 1978, p9
  18. Telegram, Seymour to Tozer 19.09.1894; Queensland State Archives, Col/414
  19. Telegram, Parry-Okeden to Tozer 27.09.1894; Queensland State Archives, Col/414
  20. Telegram, Parry-Okeden to Tozer 5.10.1894; Queensland State Archives, Col/414
  21. Hall, 1978, p9
  22. Ricardo’s Field Diary is part of the collection of the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (QMI) Museum collection. The report on the actions at Sunnyside and Vet River are extremely sparse. In contrast Chauvel’s field book (Chauvel Collection, AWM) is particularly detailed.
  23. Court Transcripts,Brisbane Telegraph and Brisbane Courier, July 1902
  24. AWM PR00356, Chauvel Collection, Australian War Memorial, Canberra,
  25. AWM PR00356, Notebook (Chauvel Collection) Section H, 21st October 1900
  26. Mitchell, 1983, p30
  27. Hill, 1978, p 23
  28. Hill, 1978, p33
  29. Mitchell, 1983, p31
  30. Letter, H.G.C to wife, 20.01.1908, Chauvel collection, AWM, PR00535
  31. Hill, 1978, p35
  32. Quoted by J C (Jeff) Henley, VMSM, LF Research & History, in a reply to my enquiries in 2002.
  33. Gullett, 1923, pp 53, 64, 228
  34. Chauvel Collection, Letter, Bean to Lady Chauvel 1945.
  35. Ibid, Letter Chetwode to Chauvel, 1918