Captain Albert Jacka's return to Australia – letter to Lieutenant-General William Birdwood

Transcript

[Page 1.]

Administrative Headquarters, A.I.F.,

London.

15th September, 1918.

[Stamped in black ink 'ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS A.I.F. Central Registry'. Handwritten within stamp, red ink ‘H308 – 9 – 131’.]

Dear General,

Yesterday I received your letter of the 7th instant – copy of which is enclosed – relative to Jacka's return to Australia.

Before issuing these instructions to Jacka may I place [circled] the following before you [end emphasis] as explained by him to me –

Jacka is very strongly opposed to returning to Australia just at the present moment for the undermentioned reasons:-

1. He is engaged to a lady in England and has arranged to get married to her within the next two or three months:

2. He is at the present time somewhat estranged from his father who is a strong anti-conscriptionist [handwritten addition] in Australia [end addition], Jacka being of course a conscriptionist; and he feels that if he goes out to Australia to help in the conscription campaign it will considerably widen the breach between them – a thing which he is particularly anxious to avoid.

I feel sure that when Jacka is informed of your decision that he is to return to Australia that he will at once apply for permission to take his discharge in England. Jacka has always stated that he is fit to carry on and according to his statement to me a week or two ago in his opinion he is quite fit (and anxious) to resume duty with his unit in the field. His statement about remaining in England for six months was given at the time [word underlined.]

[Recipient's address]

General Sir W.R. Birdwood, K.C.B., etc., etc.,

Headquarters, 5th Army,

B.E.F.

[Page] -2-

[Added in red pen ‘H308 – 9 – 131’.]

[continued from page 1: His statement about remaining in England for six months was given at the...] time because he thought that it was your desire that he should not for the present rejoin [sic] his unit and I gather from other sources that there had been a certain amount of unpleasantness between him and his brigadier.

I am afraid that if we persist in returning Jacka to Australia merely because he is a V.C. man we should come in for a great deal of criticism both here and in Australia but of course there may be reasons of which I do not know.

I thought it best, however, to write this to you and to hold communicating the contents of your letter of the 7th instant to Jacka until I got your reply to this.

Yours sincerely,

[Handwritten signature: T Griffiths

[Handwritten note:] BF to AC [Illegible initials.]

About this record

This typed letter, which is part of Captain Albert Jacka's service record, relates to his proposed return to Australia for a six-month furlough. It was written on Jacka's behalf by Brigadier General Tom Griffiths, and is to General Sir WR Birdwood of the British 5th Army, former commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). It is dated 15 September 1918 and is part of ongoing communications involving the Administrative Headquarters of the Australian Imperial Forces in London.

Educational value

This document forms part of an ongoing debate over a proposal by the army to send Captain Albert Jacka (1893–1932) to Australia on temporary leave. Jacka was awarded Australia's first Victoria Cross (VC) of World War I when, in 1915, he distinguished himself at Gallipoli by repelling Turkish forces from a trench on the ANZAC line. He was heralded as an Australian hero and appeared on recruiting posters.

This letter refers to Australia's debate over conscription. In October 1916, Australian Labor Party prime minister Billy Hughes called a referendum on compulsory military service as enlistment numbers fell. In December 1917 a second referendum was called. Although both were defeated, the debate caused bitter divisions in Australia that were still felt in 1918.

The letter suggests the personal cost that the debate over whether compulsory service should be introduced caused within some Australian families. Jacka is described as pro-conscription and his father as anti-conscription. Jacka's desire not to return to Australia is said to be based on an understanding that the publicity of his pro-conscription beliefs could 'widen the breach' between father and son.

This letter cites a belief in the positive influence that Jacka, as a national hero, could have on the pro-conscription debate if he returned to Australia. His importance to the war effort had previously seen his name used in government military propaganda promoting recruitment. As a working-class man, his opinions could also influence Labor voters traditionally opposed to conscription, making his support of great value.

Despite the letter showing that Jacka's superiors believed he could help the conscription campaign, it also indicates the latter's clear preference to resume fighting. At the time this letter was written Jacka was still recuperating from serious injuries he had sustained at Villers-Bretonneux in May 1918. His wounds brought to an end a distinguished fighting career which had also seen him awarded the Military Cross. Jacka returned to Australia to a hero's welcome in September 1919.

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