View source for William Bridges (general)

{{Short description|Australian Army general}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Sir William Throsby Bridges
|image= William Throsby Bridges 2.jpg
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= Major General William Bridges {{circa}} 1914
|nickname= 
|birth_date= {{birth date|1861|02|18|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [[Greenock]], Scotland
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1915|5|18|1861|2|18|df=yes}}
|death_place= [[Dardanelles]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
|placeofburial= [[Royal Military College, Duntroon]]
|allegiance= Australia
|branch= [[Australian Army]]
|serviceyears= 1885–1915
|rank= [[Major general (Australia)|Major General]]
|unit= 
|commands= [[1st Division (Australia)|1st Division]] (1914&ndash;15)<br/>[[Royal Military College, Duntroon]] (1910&ndash;14)<br/>[[Chief of Army (Australia)|Chief of the General Staff]] (1909)
|battles= 
{{tree list}}
* [[Second Boer War]]
* [[First World War]]
** [[Gallipoli campaign]]{{DOW}}
{{tree list/end}}
|awards= [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]]
|relations= 
|laterwork= 
}}
[[File:GnlBridgesGrave.jpg|thumb|General Bridges' grave at Duntroon. The consultant designer and architect was [[Walter Burley Griffin]]{{sfn|National Capital Authority|p=5}}]]
[[File:CMR - Arche commémorative.JPG|thumb|General Bridges is listed on the Memorial Arch at the [[Royal Military College of Canada]] in [[Kingston, Ontario]].]]

[[Major general (Australia)|Major General]] '''Sir William Throsby Bridges''', {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|CMG}} (18 February 1861 – 18 May 1915) was a senior [[Australian Army]] officer who was instrumental in establishing the [[Royal Military College, Duntroon]] and who served as the first Australian [[Chief of Army (Australia)|Chief of the General Staff]]. During the [[First World War]] he commanded the [[1st Division (Australia)|1st Australian Division]] at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]], where he died of wounds on 18 May 1915, becoming the first Australian [[general officer]] to be killed during the war. He was the first Australian officer—and the first graduate of [[Royal Military College of Canada|Kingston]]—to reach the rank of major general, the first to command a division, and the first to receive a knighthood. He is one of only two Australians killed in action in the Great War to be interred in Australia.

==Early life==
Bridges was born on 18 February 1861 in [[Greenock]], Scotland, the son of William Wilson Somerset Bridges, a Royal Navy captain, and his Australian wife, Mary Hill Throsby.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=6–7}} He was educated at [[Ryde]] on the [[Isle of Wight]], before attending the [[Royal Naval School]] at [[New Cross]], London, in 1871. He remained there until mid-1872 when his family moved to Canada, after his father was badly injured in an accident and forced to retire from the navy.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=8–9}} For the next three years, Bridges was a boarder at the [[Trinity College School]], at [[Port Hope, Ontario|Port Hope]], Ontario. On 10 April 1877, at the age of 16, he entered the newly established [[Royal Military College of Canada]] in [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] as part of the college's second intake, and was assigned the student number 25.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=10}}

Although tall, Bridges was of slight build and was not noted for his involvement in sport while at the college, spending most of his spare time reading; nevertheless, he became a keen canoeist as a cadet. Although he was a good student, he became unsettled and began failing his courses when his family migrated to Australia leaving him in Kingston. In June 1879, having received his Certificate of Military Qualifications, Bridges was permitted to leave the college, becoming its first drop out after his father paid a $100 fine to withdraw him.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=10–11}}{{sfn|Preston|1969|p=}} Travelling on the transport ''Zealandia'', Bridges arrived in Sydney in August and joined his family who had settled in his mother's home town of [[Moss Vale, New South Wales|Moss Vale]], New South Wales. Shortly after his arrival, he began working for the Department of Roads and Bridges at Braidwood, and by 1884 he had become an inspector in the [[Narrabri, New South Wales|Narrabri district]].{{sfn|Trinity College |}}{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark |1979|pp=13–15}}

==Military career==
===Early career and Boer War ===
In early 1885, in response to the fall of [[Khartoum]] and the death of General [[Charles George Gordon|Charles Gordon]] during the [[Mahdist War|British campaign against the Dervish revolt]] in Sudan, the colony of New South Wales raised a military contingent consisting of an infantry battalion, with artillery and supporting units, for service with the British. In an effort to enlist, Bridges travelled to Sydney from Narrabri, but by the time he had arrived, the force had already been raised. Nevertheless, due to [[Panjdeh Incident|concerns about Russian intentions in Afghanistan]], the Australian colonies began expanding their military forces, and on 19 May that year he was commissioned as a lieutenant into the New South Wales Artillery. Initially his appointment was only temporary, but he was later offered a permanent position.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=16–17}}

The following year Bridges undertook an artillery officers' course at the School of Gunnery at [[Middle Head]], after which he was posted there as a staff officer. In 1889 he qualified as a gunnery instructor and in October 1890, having been promoted to captain the month before, he was sent to the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]] and to the [[MoD Shoeburyness#RA School of Gunnery|Royal School of Gunnery]] at [[Shoeburyness]] for training.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=20–21}} Upon returning to Australia in 1893 he became Chief Instructor at the Middle Head School of Gunnery.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=22}} He was promoted to major in September 1895, and he held positions on several military committees and conferences.{{sfn|Australian Dictionary of Biography |}} In late 1899 Bridges became one of four New South Wales officers seconded to serve with British Army units during the [[Second Boer War]]. During his time in South Africa he took part in actions around Kimberley, Paardeberg and Driefontein before contracting [[typhoid]]. After being evacuated to England, he returned to Australia in September 1900.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=22–38}}

Upon his return, Bridges took command of the Brigade Division of Field Artillery as well as holding various staff appointments. In 1901 the Australian colonies [[Federation of Australia|federated]], and the various [[Colonial forces of Australia|colonial military forces]] coalesced into the [[Australian Army]].{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=40}} Bridges undertook a quick succession of appointments: Assistant Quartermaster General of the Army HQ in [[Melbourne]]; Chief of Military Intelligence; [[Chief of Army (Australia)|Chief of the Australian General Staff]], achieving the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]] in July 1902 and then [[colonel]] in October 1906. In 1909, he went to London as Australia's representative on the [[Imperial General Staff]].{{sfn|Australian Dictionary of Biography | }}

[[File:RmcDuntroon1913.jpg|thumb|left|Group portrait of members of the Second Class at the RMC, Duntroon, with their officers and sergeant majors, December 1913. Brigadier General W. T. Bridges, the college's commandant, is sat in the centre of the front row.]]

In 1910 Bridges was promoted to [[brigadier general]] and, on the recommendation of [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]], was recalled to Australia to become the first commandant of the [[Royal Military College, Duntroon|Royal Military College]] at [[Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory|Duntroon]].{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=94}} On his way back to Australia, Bridges inspected various military academies, including [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Sandhurst]], [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich|Woolwich]], and [[United States Military Academy|West Point]].{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=92}} He chose the site of the old [[Robert Campbell (Australian landowner)|Campbell]] homestead and in line with Kitchener's recommendations, Bridges largely modelled Duntroon on the [[United States Military Academy|United States Military Academy at West Point]]. He remained commandant of the college until May 1914, when he was appointed [[Inspector General]] of the Army.{{sfn |Australian Dictionary of Biography | }}{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=115}}

===First World War===
[[File:1st Division Staff.jpg|thumb|left|Group portrait of 1st Division staff officers at Mena Camp, December 1914. Major General Bridges is in the front row, fifth from the left.]]

When war broke out, Bridges was in [[Queensland]] on an inspection tour, and he returned to Melbourne on 5 August 1914. He met the [[Cabinet (Australia)|Australian cabinet]], was promoted to the rank of [[major general]], and was charged with the creation of an expeditionary force of 20,000 men for overseas service, known as the [[First Australian Imperial Force|Australian Imperial Force]] (AIF). As this force was raised, Bridges convinced the government to graduate the first class of Duntroon cadets early.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=116–119}} Once the force was raised, Bridges and his command sailed from [[Albany, Western Australia]] and Fremantle, Western Australia{{sfn|First World War Service Record | }} in late October, bound for England, where they were to undertake a period of training before being committed to the fighting on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. En route, the destination was changed from England to [[Egypt]], where they landed on 1 December.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=128–132}} In Egypt, Bridges set to work training his troops, which were organised as the [[1st Division (Australia)|1st Australian Division]]. On 25 April, as part the [[Australian and New Zealand Army Corps]], Bridges' command was among the first ashore at [[landing at Anzac Cove|Anzac Cove]], at the start of the [[Gallipoli campaign]].{{sfn |Australian Dictionary of Biography | }}

After the initial landing, the Australian and New Zealand troops established a beachhead around Anzac Cove, but during early May a period of stalemate followed as the Turkish defenders prevented them from advancing inland. Bridges suggested withdrawing the force, but he was over-ruled.{{sfn |Australian Dictionary of Biography | }} During this time, Bridges inspected the front lines on a daily basis, despite the risks. On 15 May 1915, he was shot through the [[femoral artery]] in his right leg by a Turkish sniper. Dragged to safety, he was evacuated to the [[HMHS Gascon|hospital ship ''Gascon'']]. Infection set in but amputation was deemed impossible since he had lost so much blood.{{sfn |Australian Dictionary of Biography | }}  On 17 May 1915, Bridges was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]], although the award was not formally gazetted until 22 May.{{sfn|It's an Honour|}} He was also posthumously [[Mentioned in Despatches]],{{sfn|Honours and Awards | }} having died on board the hospital ship on 18 May.{{sfn |Australian Dictionary of Biography | }}

Bridges was buried in Alexandria but in June his body was returned to [[Melbourne]] where he received a [[state funeral]].{{sfn |Australian Dictionary of Biography | }} Bridges is the only identified Australian killed in the First World War to have had his body repatriated and buried on Australian soil.{{sfn |Dolan |2010|p=}}{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=181}} His funeral service was conducted at [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne]]. He was buried on 3 September 1915 at Duntroon on the slopes of [[Mount Pleasant (Australian Capital Territory)|Mount Pleasant]].{{sfn |Australian Dictionary of Biography | }}

==Personal life==
On 10 October 1885, Bridges married Edith Lilian Francis (1862–1926), daughter of Alfred John Dawson Francis and Margaret Agnes Anne Francis (formerly Wilson, born Green) at St John's Church, [[Darlinghurst, New South Wales]], which was the same church in which his parents had married in 1858.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=19}} They had seven children, three of whom died young.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|pp=5, 20 and 26}} Bridges was survived by Edith and their four living children; one of his sons, [[William Francis Noel Bridges|William Francis]], later followed in his footsteps, serving on the Western Front, achieving the rank of major in the AIF and receiving the [[Distinguished Service Order]].{{sfn|Australian Dictionary of Biography | }}

He was also survived by his horse "Sandy", the only Australian [[Waler horse]] to return from the First World War, due to quarantine restrictions.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=181}} It is not clear when Bridges met Sandy but after his death Sandy was cared for by a number of Army vets until, by order of the Minister of Defence, the horse was returned to Australia where he lived at the Remount Depot at Maribyrnong, before being put down in 1923 due to ill health.{{sfn |Australian War Memorial |}}

==Dates of rank==
{| class="wikitable"
! Rank !! Date !! Position
|-
||[[File:British Army OF-1b.svg|British Army OF-1b|30px]] [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]]||May 1885||Gunnery Officer—New South Wales Contingent
|-
||[[File:British Army OF-2.svg|British Army OF-2|30px]] [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]]||September 1890||Instructor—New South Wales School of Gunnery
|-
||[[File:British Army OF-3.svg|British Army OF-3|30px]] [[Major (British Army and Royal Marines)|Major]]||September 1895||Chief Instructor—New South Wales School of Gunnery
|-
||[[File:British Army OF-4.svg|British Army OF-4|30px]] [[Lieutenant Colonel (UK)|Lieutenant Colonel]]||July 1902||Assistant Quartermaster General—Australian Military Forces
|-
||[[File:British Army OF-5.svg|British Army OF-5|30px]] [[Colonel (UK)|Colonel]]||October 1906||Chief of Military Intelligence<br/>Chief of the Australian General Staff
|-
||[[File:British Army OF-6.svg|British Army OF-6|30px]] [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier General]]||May 1910||Commandant of the [[Royal Military College, Duntroon]]<br/>Inspector General—Australian Military Forces
|-
||[[File:British Army OF-7.svg|British Army OF-7|30px]] [[Major General (United Kingdom)|Major General]]||August 1914||Commander of the [[First Australian Imperial Force|Australian Imperial Force]]
|}

==Honours, awards and decorations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:Order of the Bath UK ribbon.png|80px]] || [[Order of the Bath|Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] (KCB){{sfn|It's an Honour|}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29170|page=4989|date=21 May 1915|supp=y}}</ref> || Awarded 1915
|-
|[[File:Ord.St.Michele-Giorgio.png|80px]] || [[Order of St Michael and  St George|Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (CMG){{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=44}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28263|page=4855|date=22 June 1909|supp=y}}</ref> || Awarded 1909
|-
|[[File:Queens South Africa Medal 1899-1902 ribbon.png|80px]] || [[Queen's South Africa Medal]]{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=38}} ||
|-
|[[File:1914 Star BAR.svg|80px]] || [[1914–15 Star]] ||
|-
|[[File:British War Medal BAR.svg|80px]] || [[British War Medal]] ||
|-
|[[File:Victory Medal MID ribbon bar.svg|80px]] || [[Victory Medal (UK)|Victory Medal]] with palm for [[Mentioned in Dispatches]]{{sfn|Honours and Awards | }} ||
|-
|}

==Legacy==
Sir William Throsby Bridges is memorialised by a memorial tablet in the Anglican [[St John the Baptist Church, Reid|Church of St John the Baptist]], in Canberra, where his wife is buried.{{sfn |St Johns | }}  The tablet was unveiled on 9 December 1930, on the final Duntroon graduation day before the college temporarily moved to Victoria Barracks, in Sydney, having been paid for by subscriptions from former AIF officers.{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=183}} His epitaph reads: "Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges KCB CMG died on 18 May 1915 from wounds received at Gallipoli peninsula whilst in command of the Australian Imperial Force. A gallant and erudite soldier, he was the first commandant of this College, where in recognition of faithful service his remains were publicly interred on Third September 1915".{{sfn|Coulthard-Clark|1979|p=187}} As an ex- Kingston cadet, Bridges' name is also listed on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and he is commemorated on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial and on page 566 of the Canadian First World War Book of Remembrance.{{sfn|Veterans Affairs Canada|}}

==See also==
*[[List of generals of the British Empire who died during the First World War]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
; Books
* {{cite book |last=Coulthard-Clark |first=Christopher |title=A Heritage of Spirit: A Biography of Major-General Sir William Throsby Bridges K.C.B., C.M.G. |location=Carlton, Victoria |publisher=Melbourne University Press |year=1979 |isbn=0-522-84170-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Dolan |first=Hugh |title=36 Days: The Untold Story Behind the Gallipoli Landings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUttrYxBbysC |year=2010 |publisher=Pan Australia |location=Sydney, New South Wales |isbn=9781742621692 }}
* {{cite book |last=Preston |first=Richard |title=Canada's RMC: A History of the Royal Military College |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1969 |isbn=9780802032225 }}

;Websites
*{{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/horses/sandy.asp |title=Sandy – The Only Horse to Return from the First World War |publisher=Australian War Memorial |access-date=12 April 2013 |ref=CITEREFAustralian War Memorial}}
*{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |author=Coulthard-Clark, Christopher |title=Bridges, Sir William Throsby (1861–1915) |volume=7 |year=1979 |id2=bridges-sir-william-throsby-5355 |ref=CITEREFAustralian Dictionary of Biography |access-date=12 April 2013}}
* {{cite web |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1082381 |work=It's an Honour |title=Bridges, William Throsby: KCB |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |ref=CITEREFIt's an Honour |access-date=12 April 2013}}
* {{cite web|url=http://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/person/33219 |title=First World War Service Record – William Throsby Bridges |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |access-date=8 October 2014|ref=CITEREFFirst World War Service Record}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/honours_and_awards/person.asp?p=343214 |title=Honours and Awards – William Throsby Bridges |publisher=Australian War Memorial |access-date=12 April 2013 |ref=CITEREFHonours and Awards}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/downloads/education_and_understanding/tours/Military.pdf |title=Military Memorials in the National Capital |publisher=National Capital Authority |access-date=12 April 2013|ref=CITEREFNational Capital Authority}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.stjohnscanberra.org/history |title=History |publisher=St Johns Canberra |access-date=12 April 2013 |ref=CITEREFSt Johns |archive-date=6 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006020858/http://www.stjohnscanberra.org/history |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/trinitycollegesc5016trin/trinitycollegesc5016trin_djvu.txt |author= Van Straubenzee, A.H. |title= Major-General Sir William Throsby Bridges, K.C.B., C.M.G. |work=Trinity College School Record, October 1946 – August 1947 |access-date=12 April 2013 |ref=CITEREFTrinity College }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=collections/virtualmem/Detail&casualty=2001136 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719171034/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=collections%2Fvirtualmem%2FDetail&casualty=2001136 |title=Canadian Virtual War Memorial William Bridges |publisher=Veterans Affairs Canada |archive-date=19 July 2011 |access-date=12 April 2013 |ref=CITEREFVeterans Affairs Canada |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |title=William Throsby Bridges: Father of the AIF |journal=Australian Heritage |year=2009 |volume=Autumn 2009 |pages=26–27 |issn=1832-8091 }}
* {{cite book |last=Moore |first=Darren |title=Duntroon: A History of the Royal Military College of Australia, 1911–2001 |location=Canberra |publisher=Royal Military College of Australia |year=2001 |isbn=9781876439972 }}
*{{cite book|first1=Frank|last1=Davies|first2=Graham|last2=Maddocks|title=Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918|location=[[Barnsley]], [[South Yorkshire]]|publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]]|year=2014|orig-year=1995|isbn=978-1-78346-237-7}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|William Throsby Bridges}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419041543/http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-leaders/ww1/bridges.htm |date=19 April 2010 |title=Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges KCB CMG "The Father of the AIF" }}, Digger History: an unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Forces
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/bridges.htm Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges], biography, www.firstworldwar.com
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140131123838/http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/Generals/bridges.html Bridges] at www.aif.adfa.edu.au

{{S-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box
| title=[[Chief of Army (Australia)|Chief of the General Staff]]
| before=Major General [[Harry Finn]]<br/><small>as General Officer Commanding, the Forces of Australia</small>
| after=Major General [[John Charles Hoad|Sir John Charles Hoad]]
| years=1 January – 25 May 1909|
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Chief of Army (Australia)}}
{{Australian Generals of World War I}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, William}}
[[Category:1861 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian military personnel]]
[[Category:Australian generals]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel killed in World War I]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People from Greenock]]
[[Category:Royal Military College of Canada alumni]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]]
[[Category:People educated at the Royal Naval School]]
[[Category:Trinity College School alumni]]
[[Category:British emigrants]]
[[Category:People of the Gallipoli campaign]]
[[Category:Immigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Immigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:Chiefs of Army (Australia)]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Inverclyde]]