Australia wants UK to recognise Monash in Imperial War Museum

Sydney: Australia is to press Britain over the failure of the revamped Imperial War Museum to recognise one of its most celebrated war heroes.

Despite undergoing a £40 million makeover earlier this year, the museum does not acknowledge the achievements of General Sir John Monash, who was regarded as one of the best military minds of the First World War. Museum bosses said they had wanted to avoid “information overload” for visitors. However, the move has prompted anger in Australia, with critics — including political leaders and the general’s descendants — saying it indicated Britain’s ongoing disdain for “mere colonials”.

The omission was described as a “major slight” by Tim Fischer, a former Australian deputy prime minister, who said the museum had been urged for some time to recognise Monash. “I am angry and offended about it because it has gone on far too long — and in this centenary year it was time for them to step up, once and for all, to acknowledge General Monash,” Fischer told The Australian newspaper.

“It has a lot to do with the notion that Australia and Canada were merely colonials and a long way down the pecking order. This downplaying of colonial contribution and leadership has gone on for 100 years.” Monash, born in 1865 to German Jewish migrants, commanded the Australian forces in 1918 and helped to stem Germany’s March offensive.

His victory at the battle of Hamel in July took just 93 minutes — three more minutes than he had intended. He became known for his tactical foresight, particularly his advocacy of air and artillery cover, and was named by Field Marshal Montgomery as “the best general on the western front in Europe”. Michael Bennett, a great grandson of Monash, said his ancestor deserved to be remembered, noting that both the French national military museum in Paris and Britain’s National Portrait Gallery acknowledge the general.

“When the [Australian army] first fought in 1915 the country was only 14 years old and [we] were still being treated as colonials maybe we are being treated as colonials now to some extent,” Mr Bennett said. Australia’s high commissioner to London, Alexander Downer, has reportedly agreed to take up the issue with the museum, which reopened in July following a makeover that includes a centrepiece focusing on the First World War. Terry Charman, the museum’s senior historian, said the “huge contribution” of Australia’s forces was recognised, but admitted that Monash himself does not appear.

In a letter to Fischer, Charman said an advisory panel headed by Professor Sir Hew Strachan had not wanted to “turn the gallery into simply a who’s who of the First World War, with the possible, if not probable, danger of information overload for our visitors”.

— The Daily Telegraph