John Monash: the forgotten General
An elder statesman’s long-standing fascination in one of the best Allied generals of the First World War has led to a new book on Sir John Monash.
In Maestro John Monash, Australia’s Greatest Citizen General, former Australian Deputy PM the Honourable Tim Fischer AC asks why Sir John Monash, Australian Army Corps Commander, was never promoted to Field Marshal, post-war as international precedent suggested was most appropriate. Mr Fischer points the finger primarily at the Australian prime minister of the time, Billy Hughes, within a wider context of establishment suspicion towards this son of a German Jewish migrant.
Much admired by his high-ranking military contemporaries, by King George V, British prime minister Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, prime minister of France, and even the architect of the Gallipoli campaign, Winston Churchill, Sir John rates not a mention in the 2014 three-volume Cambridge History of the First World War. Research from the book, plus lobbying from a group including Mr Fischer has recently resulted in the Imperial War Museum in London finally acknowledging Sir John’s important role in the First World War.
Sir John, who saw his own role in conducting battle as akin to that of an orchestra conductor, is for Mr Fischer simply ‘The Maestro’, a man who, for all the recognition he received in his lifetime and after, has arguably not been given his proper due.
In Maestro John Monash, Mr Fischer continues his search to better understand why Sir John was overlooked: did the anti-Monash prejudices of journalist Walter Murdoch and Australia’s official war historian CEW Bean – who went on to oversee the downplaying of Monash within the Australian War Memorial – play a part?
With the release of the book Mr Fischer intends to ramp up a campaign to have Sir John posthumously appointed to the rank he should have been given, that of Field Marshal, as a belated tribute to and reminder of a legacy not only of Generalship, but of leadership.
“I am not going to go missing on this one. I am going to be putting the case loud and strong for Sir John to get his due reward at last,” Mr Fischer said.
Mr Fischer is the former deputy prime minister of Australia and was the Australian ambassador to the Holy See for three years until January 2012.
His previous publications include Seven Days in East Timor: Ballor and Bullets (2000), Asia & Australia: Tango in Trade, Tourism and Transport (2005) and Holy See, Unholy Me! 1000 Days in Rome (2013).
Maestro John Monash: Australia’s Greatest Citizen General will be launched by the Honourable Josh Frydenberg MP, Federal Member for Kooyong and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, on Monday 10 November at Memorial Hall, Scotch College, 1 Morrison St, Hawthorn starting at 6pm for 6.30pm.
RSVP (essential) to the Old Scotch Collegians’ Association website.
This is a public event and includes the opportunity to observe a display of Monash memorabilia.