Leslie Morshead

General, chef for den 9. australske division.

• Tobruk II, 1941

Leslie Morshead blev født i Ballarat Victoria, Australien den 18. september, 1897. Han arbejde som skolelærer indtil han sluttede sig til det australske korps i 1914. Under Første Verdenskrig gjorde han tjeneste ved Gallipoli og på vestfronten i Frankrig. By the end of the war he had been mentioned six times in dispatches and had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
   After the war Morshead went into business and became Sydney manager for the Orient Line. He remained in contact with the army by heading a reserve battalion.
   On the outbreak of the Second World War Morshead was given command of the 18th Brigade and was sent to North Africa.
   I februar 1941 blev Morshead udnævnt til kommandør for den nyligt dannede 9. Australske Division. Da general Archibald Wavell erobrede havnebyen Toruk i Libyen fra den italienske hær, gav han Morshead ansvaret for at forsvare denne vitale fremskudte forsyningsbase mod fjenden.
   Morshead successfully held the port for eight months. However, General Erwin Rommel and the Deutsches Afrika Korps eventually captured Tobruk on 21st June, 1942. Although 35,000 British troops were taken Morshead managed to escape.
When General Thomas Blamey returned to Australia in March 1942 Morshead was given command of the Australian Imperial Forces and took part in the famous victory at El Alamein.
   Under threat from a possible invasion by the Japanese Army Morshead was recalled to Australia. In 1944 Morshead was promoted to commander of the 1st Australian Corps and sent to New Guinea. The following year he joined General Douglas MacArthur in the liberation of Borneo.
Leslie Morshead, who returned to civilian life after the Second World War on 26th September 1959. His funeral was one of the largest in Australia's history.