William Throsby Bridges

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Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges, KCB, CMG (February 18, 1861 – May 18, 1915) served with Australian forces during World War I, and was the first Australian to reach the rank of general. He was also the first Australian general to be killed during the war, at Gallipoli on 18 May 1915.

Born in Greenock, Scotland, he was educated at Ryde on the Isle of Wight, at the Royal Naval School at New Cross, London and at Trinity College, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. He studied at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, Canada but left before graduating. In 1879 he joined his family who had settled in his mother's home town of Moss Vale, New South Wales.

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 from where rapid promotions followed.

In 1910 Bridges assumed the post of 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, the Army's top post. He was in Queensland when the war crisis began, and arrived in Melbourne on August 5, 1914. Bridges met with cabinet and was charged with the creation of an expeditionary force for overseas service of 20,000 men. He chose much of his staff from available graduates from the Duntroon college.

Bridges and his command sailed from Albany Western Australia, on October 26, 1914. En route, the destination was changed from England to Egypt and Bridges arrived there on November 30, 1914.

As commander of the 1st Australian Division, Bridges landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli at around 7:30am on April 25, 1915.

General Bridges grave: the consultant designer and architect was Walter Burley Griffin

While touring the lines on May 15, 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 May 17, the first Australian General to receive a knighthood. He died the following day on board the hospital ship. His body was returned to Melbourne where he received a state funeral. 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. It is the only permanent structure designed by Griffin ever built in Canberra.

Bridges is one of only two Australian World War I soldiers killed in action or died of wounds who was buried in Australia. The other is The Unknown Soldier, disinterred from a French grave and buried at the Australian War Memorial in 1991.

He was survived by "Sandy" the only Australian horse to return from World War I (due to quarentine restrictions). 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 Minsiter of Defence Sandy was returned to Australia where he lived at the Remount Depot at Maribyrnong. As old age weared him he was euthenased and stuffed. His head and five hoofs are part of the Australian War Memorial's collection. A fitting menorial to General Bridges.

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. They had seven children, three of whom died young.

A special training section within the Australian Army Recruit Training Centre at Kapooka, "Bridges Company", is named in his honour.