William Holmes (Australian general)

Infobox Military Person
name= William Holmes
lived= 12 September 1862 – Death date and age|1917|7|2|1862|9|12|df=yes
placeofbirth= Sydney, New South Wales
placeofdeath= Messines, France


caption=Colonel William Holmes, Commander of the Australian Navy and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) in New Guinea
nickname=
allegiance= Australian Army
serviceyears= 1872-1917
rank= Major General
commands=4th Division
2nd Division
5th Infantry Brigade
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
6th Infantry Brigade
unit=
battles= Second Boer War
World War I
*Gallipoli Campaign
*Battle of the Nek
*Western Front
*Battle of Pozieres
*Battle of Messines
awards= Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Volunteer Decoration
Mention in Despatches (5)
laterwork=
Major General William Holmes CMG, DSO, VD (12 September 1862 – 2 July 1917) was an Australian Army Major General in World War I. He was mortally wounded by a German shellburst while surveying the ground won at the Battle of Messines.

Biography

Early life and career

Holmes was born in Sydney on 12 September 1862, the son of Captain William Holmes, the chief clerk at New South Wales Military Forces Headquarters. Holmes lived in the Victoria Barracks and was educated Paddington Public School.

Holmes worked at the Sydney Mint and then joined the Department of Works as a clerk on 24 June 1878. On 24 August 1887, he married Susan Ellen Green, whose family also lived in the Victoria barracks. On 20 April 1888 he became chief clerk and paymaster of the Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage. Under his leadership, the department underwent a major expansion and the Cataract Dam, Cordeaux and Avon dams were built.

In 1872 at the age of 10 Holmes joined the 1st Infantry Regiment of the New South Wales Military Forces as a bugler and served in every enlisted rank. Holmes served for 18 months in a submarine mining company before returning to the regiment and being commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1886. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1890, captain in 1894 and major in 1900.

Boer War

In 1899, Holmes volunteered for service in South Africa. The company left for South Africa in November 1899, and on arrival was incorporated in the Australian Regiment. Originally an infantry unit, it became mounted in February. He saw action at Colesberg, Pretoria and Diamond Hill in June 1900, where he was wounded. Holmes was mentioned in dispatches, promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel, and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He reurned home in August 1900.

Holmes commanded the 1st Australian Infantry from 1902 to 1911. He was promoted to colonel on 6 January 1912 and was appointed to command the 6th Infantry Brigade.

The Great War

German New Guinea

Shortly after war broke out, a special expeditionary force, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, was formed to occupy German possessions in New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. Under Holmes command the force sailed from Sydney on the auxiliary cruiser HMAS Berrima on 19 August 1914. The German governor surrendered to Holmes on 17 September 1914 and the British flag was raised over the town.

Holmes was criticised in Australia for offering extremely lenient terms but he was under orders to occupy, not annex, German New Guinea. Holmes became administrator of New Guinea. He relinquished the post to Colonel S Petheridge in January 1915 and returned to Australia, where his appointment to the AN&MEF was terminated on 6 February 1915.

Gallipoli

On 16 March 1915, Holmes was appointed to the First Australian Imperial Force as commander of the newly formed 5th Infantry Brigade with the rank of a colonel. The brigade left Sydney in May and arrived in Egypt in June 1915, where it became part of the 2nd Division.

The 5th Brigade began moving to Gallipoli in early August and Holmes arrived on the 19th. The brigade was placed at the disposal of Major General A Godley of the New Zealand and Australian Division and elements participated in the fighting for Hill 60. The 5th Brigade took over the trenches facing the Nek from the 3rd Light Horse Brigade on 28 August 1915. Holmes made a habit of regularly visiting every key part of his front lines. When Major General Legge fell ill in November and was evacuated, Holmes took over acting command of the 2nd Division.

Western Front

After the evacuation of Anzac Holmes returned to the 5th Brigade, which he took to the Western Front in April 1916. He led the brigade in the attacks on the Pozieres Heights in August and at Flers in October 1915. In January 1917, Holmes was given command of the 4th Division, replacing Major General H. V. Cox.

Holmes continued his habit of personally reconnoitring every part of his line. On 31 March 1917, he paid a daylight visit to an outpost near Lagnicourt, as usual wearing his red hat band, accompanied by his aide, Lieutenant Fergusson. Holmes was sniped at but not hit; Fergusson was hit and had to be left behind, to be evacuated after nightfall. Shortly afterwards the post was shelled, causing heavy casualties to the garrison, including Fergusson who was injured for a second time.

Holmes commanded his division at Bullecourt in April, where he opposed the operation that ultimately caused his division very heavy losses, and at Messines in June. On 2 July 1917, Holmes took the Premier of New South Wales, William Holman, to survey the Messines battlefield. The party left his car in order to avoid a dangerous corner, something Holmes usually would not do. As they set out on foot, a German shell, believed to be a seventy-seven, or a "pip-squeak" landed nearby and Holmes was hit through the chest and lung. His aide, Captain Maxwell, along with Frank Edwards the private secretary to W.A Holman, took Holmes to the nearest aid post, where he died. He was buried at Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, Belgium. Holmes was the most senior Australian officer killed in action on the Western Front.

ee also

List of Australian Generals

References

* [http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/%7Ermallett/Generals/index.html William Holmes Biography at General Officers of the First AIF]
*Cite web |url=http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/ItemDetail.asp?M=0&B=3267421&NS=Y |title=Primary description of item 3267421 |publisher=National Archives of Australia |work=World War I service records online