Book Review - Sir William Glasgow: soldier, senator and diplomat by Peter Edgar

Written by: Peter Edgar

Big Sky Publishing, Newport, 2011, 407 pp, 

ISBN 9780987057495,

Reviewed by: Dr Robert Stevenson, Research Fellow, University of New South Wales

This biography is Peter Edgar’s second book examining the life of Sir William Glasgow (1876–1955). In 2006 he published To Villers-Bretonneux¹ examining the military service of Glasgow as the commander of the 13th Infantry Brigade (AIF) on the Western Front. Although this work was not so much a biography of its commander as it was a study of his command, it was groundbreaking because it remains the only published study of an Australian infantry brigade during the Great War. At the time this reviewer was impressed with the author’s research and approach, and only disappointed because Glasgow’s earlier Gallipoli service and his later appointment as commander of the 1st Australian Division lay outside the period under investigation.

Edgar’s new volume admirably fills the gap and expands on his earlier work, providing the first full length biography of Glasgow. At one time Bill Glasgow was a household name in Australia, though today he barely rates a mention in most histories as he has been overshadowed by other more colourful and chronicled contemporaries such as the mercurial Harold ‘Pompey’ Elliott. While an imposing bronze statue of Glasgow stands in Post Office Square in central Brisbane, it is doubtful if many of the busy workers and shoppers who daily pass his image recognise his name or appreciate his lifetime of national service. As Edgar accurately and assiduously charts, Glasgow had a remarkable life growing up in colonial Queensland before enjoying successful careers as a banker, storekeeper, grazier, businessman, soldier, senator, Minister of the Crown and diplomat. A tyro in each of these new fields, invariably he rose to command great respect in each of them. Although a man of many parts, he was like so many of his generation forged in war and it is his military career that consumes more than half of this study.

Glasgow held a life-long belief that every man had a duty to defend his homeland, be it colony, dominion or independent country. He understood that more often than not, war catches people and nations off guard descending, as he described, ‘life a thief in the night’. Joining first the school cadet corps and then the local part-time colonial forces, three times in the first half of the twentieth century war erupted and on each occasion Glasgow stepped forward. In South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War he earned the Distinguished Service Order. When war broke out in Europe in 1914 he joined the light horse, seeing service on Gallipoli, where he was wounded and earned a reputation as a brave soldier and competent regimental commander. When the Australian forces were expanded following the withdrawal, Glasgow left his beloved mounted troopers to command an infantry brigade. Over the next two years he commanded his formation with skill, culminating in the brilliant night time recapture of Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918, an action involving both his and Elliott’s brigades. Following his success Glasgow, who had proven to be more dependable and balanced, was promoted over the head of Elliott to command the 1st Division. He led the division through the final 100-day campaign that saw the defeat of the German army. In four years he rose from major to major general and ended the war as Sir William Glasgow.

While the general reader might find the level of military detail daunting, Edgar does an excellent job of explaining the different issues with which Glasgow grappled, from troop leader on the Veldt all the way up to divisional commander on the chalk uplands of Picardy. The text is supported by more than 70 photographs and a total of 35 maps. The maps are clear, relevant and well laid-out, allowing the reader to follow the military actions described. As an aside, this volume is one of a series of studies published by Big Sky Publishing in association with the Army History Unit in its Australian Army History Collection. Both organisations are to be congratulated for publishing this volume in hard back and at a reasonable cost. While some might find the 400 pages excessive and cluttered in places with background information, this is a minor criticism (if at all), since some readers will undoubtedly appreciate the context it provides.

Edgar goes on to describe Glasgow’s equally impressive post-war achievements. He was elected to the Senate in 1920 and seven years later was appointed Minister for Defence, holding that position until his party lost the 1931 election. In peace as in war, Glasgow maintained the same degree of diligence and integrity in his parliamentary affairs as he did on the battlefield, rising by force of character, capacity, loyalty and hard work. When war broke out in 1939 he again volunteered, at the age of 63, and although rejected for a military command, he was appointed the first Australian High Commissioner for Canada. Between 1940 and 1945 he again gave distinguished service in a pioneering role, including exercising a supervisory function for the Empire Air Training Scheme. While Edgar’s narrative includes an interesting chapter on Glasgow’s role in Australian-Canadian wartime relations, including an unsuccessful Australian plea for reinforcements as Japan advanced southwards, one surprising omission is that Edgar makes no mention of the Canadian brigade lost in the defence of Hong Kong, surely one reason for Canadian reticence.

The author examines the man and his times, avoiding the propensity to view the past coloured by today’s attitudes and sensibilities. He describes Glasgow as he was: a life-long Freemason and committed Presbyterian, who was not immune from the anti-Catholic prejudices of the day. On the other hand he also liked a smoke, drink and joke. He was staunchly conservative in his attitudes and politics and unforgiving of those he thought failed in their duty. He was one of a number of Australian officers who supported the application of the death sentence to Australian deserters. He was a tough, uncompromising man who drove himself as hard as those he commanded without being a martinet. Glasgow emerges with his strengths and weaknesses because Edgar avoids injecting his judgements from the distant future, allowing the reader to respect the man despite the passage of time and despite the generational differences.

In summary, this is a well researched, easy to read, solid biography. It will appeal to those interested in the Australian Army during the Great War and those with an interest in the development of Australian foreign relations. It is a welcome addition to the growing body of biographies on Australian commanders and that twentieth century phenomenon, the soldier-politician. Perhaps when next in Brisbane the reader might take the time to stop and admire Daphne Mayo’s statue of the general and reflect upon his considerable and wide achievement. Certainly Peter Edgar has done his subject justice by presenting a clear and unvarnished account of a great but largely forgotten Australian.

Endnotes

1  Peter Edgar, To Villers-Bretonneux: Brigadier-General William Glasgow, DSO and the 13th Australian Infantry Brigade, Australian Military History Publishing, Loftus, 2006.