William Bridges (general) - Military Career

Military Career

In 1886, he received a commission into the New South Wales Permanent Artillery stationed at Middle Head. In 1890 he was then sent for training to the United Kingdom at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and at the Royal School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness. Upon returning to Australia in 1893 he became Chief Instructor at the Middle Head School of Gunnery. He volunteered for service in the British Army in the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, from where he contracted typhoid. After being evacuated to England, he returned to Australia in September 1900, from where rapid promotions followed: Assistant Quartermaster General of the Army HQ in Melbourne; Chief of Military Intelligence; Chief of the Australian General Staff. In 1909 he went to England as Australia's representative on the Imperial General Staff.

In 1909-10 Colonel W. Throsby Bridges reported to the Australian Minister of Defence that on his way home to establish the Australian Military College, he had inspected his alma mater Royal Military College of Canada. A copy of Bridges' diary is in the Masey Library at the Royal Military College of Canada. Bridges felt that the RMC Kingston system, by which officers were trained for the reserve as well as for all arms of a regular force trained officers without getting full use of their services after graduation. Consequently, with the international scene getting dangerous, he copied the West Point system, by which only regular army officers were trained via a four-year course training for all arms.

In 1910 Bridges was promoted to Brigadier and (on the recommendation of Lord Kitchener) was recalled to Australia to become the first Commandant of the Royal Military College at Duntroon. He chose the site of the old Campbell homestead. In line with the recommendations of Lord Kitchener, Bridges largely modelled Duntroon on the United States Military Academy at West Point.

In May 1914, Bridges was appointed Inspector General of the Army. He was in Queensland when the war began, and arrived in Melbourne on 5 August 1914. Bridges met with the cabinet and was charged with the creation of an expeditionary force of 20,000 men for overseas service. He chose much of his staff from available graduates from the Duntroon college.

Bridges and his command sailed from Albany, Western Australia, on 26 October 1914. En route, the destination was changed from England to Egypt and Bridges arrived there on 30 November 1914. As commander of the 1st Australian Division, Bridges landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli at around 7:30am on 25 April 1915.

While touring the lines on 15 May 1915, Bridges was shot through the femoral artery by a Turkish sniper. Dragged to safety, he was evacuated to the hospital ship Gascon. Infection set in but amputation was deemed impossible since he had lost so much blood.

Made aware of Bridges' imminent death, King George V knighted him on 17 May. He died the following day on board the hospital ship.

His body was returned to Melbourne where he received a state funeral. Gen Bridges is claimed to be the only Australian killed in WW1 to have their (identified) body repatriated and buried on Australian soil. His funeral service was conducted at St Paul's Cathederal, Melbourne. He was buried on 3 September 1915 at Duntroon on the slopes of Mount Pleasant. The grave was designed by Walter Burley Griffin, the designer of Canberra. A bridge at the Majura Training Area was unofficially named General Grave's Bridge (A play on General Bridge's Grave).

His epitaph reads "Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges KCB CMG died on 18th May 1915 from wounds received at Gallipoli peninsula whilst in command of the Australian Imperial Forces. 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".

As an ex-cadet, his name is listed on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He is commemorated on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial and on page 566 of the Canadian First World War Book of Remembrance.