Edmund Herring
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General
Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO
, MC
, KStJ
, ED
, QC
(2 September 1892 – 5 January 1982) was an Australian Army
officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor
of Victoria
, and Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of Victoria
.
A Rhodes scholar
, Herring was at New College, Oxford
, when the First World War broke out and served with the Royal Field Artillery
on the Macedonian front
, for which he was awarded the Military Cross
and Distinguished Service Order
. After the war he carved out a successful career as a barrister
and King's Counsel. He also joined the Australian Army, rising to the rank of colonel
by 1939.
During the Second World War, he commanded the 6th Division
Artillery in the Western Desert Campaign
and the Battle of Greece
. In 1942, as a corps commander, he commanded the land forces in the Kokoda Track campaign
. The following year, he directed operations at Lae
and Nadzab
.
Herring left his corps to become the longest-serving Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, serving for three decades. In the latter capacity, he was patron of many charitable organisations.
, on 2 September 1892, the third of five children of Edmund Selwyn Herring, a solicitor, and his Irish-born wife Gertrude Stella Herring, formerly Fetherstonhaugh. He was educated at Maryborough College and High School and at Melbourne Grammar, where he excelled at tennis and cricket
, and was both School Captain
and Dux
in 1910. While at Melbourne Grammar, he served in the Commonwealth Cadet Corps
, reaching the rank of sergeant
.
In 1911, Herring entered Trinity College
, the Church of England
residential college at the University of Melbourne
, where he played cricket and tennis. In 1912, he won a Rhodes Scholarship
to the University of Oxford in England. There, he joined the Officers Training Corps
in 1913. In November of that year he enlisted as a trooper in King Edward's Horse
, a cavalry unit in the British Army
.
in the Royal Field Artillery
, and was posted to B Battery, 99th Field Artillery Brigade of the British 22nd Division. The division moved to the Western Front
in August 1915, but was there only a month before being transferred to the Macedonian front
, where it served for the rest of the war.
In the Battle of Doiran
in April 1917, Herring served as an artillery observer
, directing artillery fire in support of the 22nd Division's attack from a front line observation post
on Pip Ridge. There was a furious artillery duel. Twenty minutes after Captain Thomas Winwood took Herring's place as forward observer, the observation post took a direct hit from an enemy shell, killing Winwood. Herring succeeded Winwood as battery captain, and was promoted to acting captain in April 1917. For his "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" under heavy shellfire, Herring received an immediate award of the Military Cross
.
After three years' service, Herring was granted three weeks' leave in Australia in October 1917. He returned to Maryborough, where he met Mary Ranken Lyle
, the daughter of the mathematical physicist Thomas Lyle
, then a medical student at the University of Melbourne
, on New Year's Day 1918. The two became constant companions and agreed to correspond regularly.
Herring departed for Salonika in February, returning to duty there in March 1918, and was promoted to acting major on 24 October 1918 on assuming command of B Battery, 99th Field Artillery Brigade. For his service as a battery
commander, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
. He reverted to lieutenant on ceasing to command the battery on 22 January 1919.
Trust allowed him to resume his scholarship, and he studied for a Bachelor of Civil Law
(BCL) degree. Since it had been five years since he had been awarded his BA, he was entitled to a MA
as well, and graduated with both degrees in July 1920. After a holiday in Britain and France with his sister Kathleen, he arrived back in Melbourne on 26 November 1920.
Herring was admitted to practice in Victoria
as a barrister
and solicitor on 1 March 1921 and signed the roll of counsel of the Victorian Bar on 8 June of that year, while Mary graduated with her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
(MB BS) and became a resident
surgeon at Royal Melbourne Hospital
. The two were married on 6 April 1922, and had three daughters, Mary Cecile (Molly), born in 1924, Judith Ann (Judy), born in 1926, and Margaret Lyle, born in 1933. Herring worked as a barrister, and lectured in law at the University of Melbourne
. He became a King's Counsel on 25 February 1936. Mary worked as a physician at antenatal clinics.
Herring joined the Australian Army
on 1 October 1922 as a legal staff officer in the part time militia
, with the rank of captain. On 1 August 1923 he transferred to Australian Field Artillery
. He was promoted to major on 1 July 1925, lieutenant colonel
on 1 July 1929, and temporary colonel
on 1 August 1939, commanding the 3rd Division Artillery.
Herring was involved in politics throughout the 1930s. He was elected to the Melbourne Club
in 1927, a year before Sir Thomas Lyle became its president. He joined the Young Nationalists
, an organisation founded by Robert Menzies
and Wilfrid Kent Hughes
. Along with many senior army and ex-army officers, he was also a member of the clandestine far-right wing paramilitary organisation known as the White Guard, White Army or League of National Security. Composed primarily of former soldiers, the White Guard saw themselves as defenders of order who stood ready to stop a Catholic or Communist revolution in the wake of an emergency like the 1923 Victorian Police strike
. After failing to gain United Australia Party
preselection for the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Prahran
in 1931, he ran as an unendorsed candidate (i.e. one lacking formal political endorsement
) for the seat of Brighton
in 1936. He gained 12,258 votes, losing by just 528. Herring also joined the Christian service organisation Toc H
in 1925 and became its Victorian Area Commissioner in 1936.
Sir Thomas Blamey
had decided to appoint him as Commander, Royal Artillery, of the 6th Division
, of the new Second Australian Imperial Force
(AIF) being raised for service overseas. A week later, Herring was promoted to substantive colonel
and temporary brigadier
, and given the AIF serial number VX15. His first task was to organise his new command, which was equipped with World War I vintage 18 pounder
guns and 4.5 inch howitzers
. Herring left for Palestine
on 15 April 1940, along with the 6th Division's
commander, Major General Iven Mackay and his headquarters. Training was difficult as the old ammunition was in short supply. His command was only partially reequipped with the new 25 pounders
before being committed to the Western Desert Campaign
in December 1940.
At the Battle of Bardia
, Herring controlled all 120 guns used in the division's attack, in which the infantry were supported by Great-War-style barrages. After the victory at Bardia, Herring's gunners supported the attack on Tobruk
. More than half of his guns were British, and some were commanded by regular British officers who were sceptical of the ability of an Australian Militia officer. War Correspondent Chester Wilmot
noted that:
, Herring had, in addition to his own gunners, the 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
, 64th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
and, for a time, the 6th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery
, under his command. His Australian, New Zealand and British gunners demonstrated "the extent to which, in such rugged country, artillery, with reliable infantry ahead, could halt and confuse a pursuer" but they were unable to stop the enemy advance.
Herring was ordered to evacuate from Greece. He was one of between 7,000 and 8,000 troops that gathered at Nafplion
on 24 April 1941, although transportation had been arranged for only 5,000. The ship that he was to sail on, the Ulster Prince ran aground near the harbour entrance. She was refloated but then ran aground again near the wharf. Despite this, some 6,600 men and women were embarked. Herring and fellow Brigadier Clive Steele
were among 5,100 that managed to reach Crete
on the Royal Navy
transport . From there they flew back to Alexandria
. Others were transported by , , and , which carried 150 Australian and New Zealand nurses. For his service in Libya and Greece, Herring was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE).
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Herring was promoted to the temporary rank of Major General
on 14 August 1941 when he took over command of the 6th Division
. He returned to Australia with it in March 1942. Unaware that the government had already decided that General
Sir Thomas Blamey should be appointed Commander in Chief, Herring, along with Major General George Alan Vasey and Brigadier Clive Steele, approached Army Minister Frank Forde
with a proposal that all officers over the age of 50 be immediately retired and Major General Horace Robertson
appointed Commander in Chief. The 'revolt of the generals' collapsed with the announcement that General Blamey was returning from the Middle East to become Commander in Chief, but seems to have done the participants no harm.
In Blamey's reorganisation of the Army in April 1942, Herring was given command of Northern Territory Force
. At this time Darwin
was being subjected to Japanese air raids. As supply by sea or air was impractical, Herring developed a land line of communications running across the outback
from Alice Springs
.
On 14 August 1942, Herring was ordered to Esk, Queensland
, to assume command of II Corps with the temporary rank of Lieutenant General
. As such, he was responsible for the defence of Brisbane
. At this time he was criticised in Parliament
by Arthur Calwell
for allegedly issuing a verbal order whilst commander of the 6th Division
that no officer was to be commissioned unless they had at least attained an Intermediate Certificate
. There was no evidence that such an order was ever issued, but the allegation reflected a suspicion that Herring was an elitist.
for insubordination, Blamey ordered Herring to join him in Port Moresby
as the new commander of I Corps. Before departing, Herring met with General Douglas MacArthur
, who emphasised that the first duty of a soldier was obedience to his superiors.
As at Darwin, Herring's primary difficulty was logistics
. The troops on the Kokoda Track
had to be supplied from Port Moresby
either by air or by Papuan native carriers who lugged stores over the track on their backs. MacArthur created the Combined Operation Service Command (COSC), an unusual combined Australian-American logistical organisation, under U.S. Brigadier General
Dwight Johns
, who in turn was answerable to Herring. Herring backed a plan to take American engineers off working on the airstrips in order to develop the port by building a causeway to Tatana Island, the successful completion of which doubled the port's capacity and was the logistical turning point of the campaign.
More controversial was Herring's relief of Brigadier Arnold Potts
and Blamey's of Major General Arthur Samuel Allen
at Herring's urging. Herring acknowledged that the two men had faced a difficult task but felt that they were tired and that Brigadier Ivan Dougherty
and Major General George Alan Vasey could do better. Supporters of Allen, who left school at age 14, saw this as the action of an autocratic elitist who "ran his staff as he had controlled junior counsel in his barrister's chamber; they did his bidding, his way, or were forthwith dispensed with".
In a letter to Herring in 1959, General Robert L. Eichelberger
(who had himself relieved two division commanders – Major Generals Edwin F. Harding
and Horace H. Fuller
) had this to say about the matter:
In November, Herring flew across the mountains to take control of the fighting around Buna
, leaving Blamey to control operations elsewhere in New Guinea. Herring planned the systematic reduction of the Japanese positions at Buna and Sanananda. He struggled to amass enough troops, equipment, guns, and supplies to allow Australian troops under Vasey and Americans under Eichelberger to overcome the Japanese and capture the area.
, Blamey ordered him to return to Australia for a rest. While in Melbourne, Herring had an attack of malaria
, but recovered to resume command in New Guinea in May. Blamey charged him with responsibility for the next phase of Operation Cartwheel
, the capture of Lae
. Herring would command I Corps, which would be part of New Guinea Force
, under Blamey and later Mackay. Blamey intended to have Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead
command the subsequent phase of the operation, the assault on Madang
.
At this time operations were in train to drive the Japanese back to Salamaua
. Once again, the difficulties of supplying the attacking force were formidable. Out of sensitivity towards the sensibilities of the Americans, Herring left the command arrangements between Major General Stanley Savige
's 3rd Division and units of the American 41st Infantry Division ambiguous. This backfired, producing acrimony between the Australian and American commanders. Herring prepared to fire Savige, but an investigation by Major General Frank Berryman
determined that the dispute was not Savige's fault.
.jpg)
The new offensive, which opened on 5 September 1943 with the 7th Division
landing at Nadzab
by air and 9th Division
landing at Lae
from the ships of Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey
's VII Amphibious Force, saw the rapid capture of Lae
. While the 7th Division
moved up the Markham and Ramu Valleys, the 9th Division
made another landing at Scarlet Beach
near Finschhafen
. The timing of the landing was contentious, with Barbey, who feared air attack, wanting to land at night while Herring held out for a dawn landing, threatening to take the issue to General MacArthur. Eventually Berryman managed to persuade Herring to accept a compromise H-hour in the darkness before dawn. The U.S. Naval Historian Samuel Eliot Morison
noted: "The Australians proved to be right; 'Uncle Dan's' outfit was not prepared for a neat night landing. The usual SNAFU
developed." But Berryman saw Herring as being uncooperative, and his intransigence as a sign of battle weariness.
In the subsequent battle of Finschhafen
, it soon became clear that the strength of the Japanese forces there had been seriously underestimated, and the 9th Division
needed to be resupplied and reinforced, and its casualties evacuated. Herring strove to get the necessary amphibious lift from the navy but the commander of the United States Seventh Fleet
, Vice Admiral
Arthur S. Carpender
, was reluctant to expose his ships to the Japanese air threat. The matter went up the chain of command to Mackay, to Blamey, and ultimately to MacArthur, who could do little, given that he had no real authority over the U.S. Navy.
Carpender was not inflexible, and reached a compromise with Mackay to transport a battalion to Finschhafen in high speed transports (APDs)
. Herring was in Dobodura
, lunching with Lieutenant General
Brehon B. Somervell
, when he heard this news. He decided to fly to Milne Bay
to discuss the matter of resupply in general with Barbey. On 28 September, Herring and two of his staff officers, Brigadiers R. B. Sutherland and R. Bierwirth, boarded a U.S. Fifth Air Force
B-25 Mitchell
bomber at Dobodura. As the plane was about to take off, the undercarriage collapsed and the plane ploughed into the Marston Mat runway. A propeller shattered, splinters ripped through the fuselage into the cabin and Sutherland, who was sitting in the navigator's compartment next to Herring, was struck by a flying fragment that killed him instantly. The crew, Herring and Bierwirth escaped shaken but unscathed. The trip to Milne Bay was cancelled. Brigadier Sutherland was buried will full military honours at Soputa the next day, with a fly past by B-25s. When next he flew, Herring once again took a B-25 and made a point of requesting the major who had been in charge of the crashed plane to be his pilot.
Mackay became convinced that Herring was becoming increasingly difficult to work with as a result of stress and fatigue and asked Blamey for permission to relieve him. Blamey's response was characteristic: Morshead would be on the next plane. Yet Blamey maintained his faith in Herring, who retained command of I Corps on the Atherton Tableland
, where he trained his men for the next operation. He did not know when or where this would be, so he focused on amphibious warfare
. He created the 1st Beach Group and developed tactics and doctrine for amphibious operations based on his own experience in the New Guinea Campaign
and reports from the Allied invasion of Sicily
. The benefits of his work would be realised in the Borneo Campaign
.
On 2 February 1944, the Victorian government decided to appoint Herring as Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of Victoria
. Blamey advised the Prime Minister that:
It was not quite the end of his military service. Herring was recalled to duty for a year as Director General of Recruiting in August 1950 when the Korean War
spurred efforts to build up the Army again. In January 1953, Herring was selected as leader of the Australian Services Contingent for the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II
. This saw Australian soldiers as the Queen's Guard
at Buckingham Palace
on 26 May 1953, with Herring personally taking part in the procession. On 10 July, he was made a Knight of the Order of St John
at Buckingham Palace. At the same time, Mary was made a commander of the same order for her charity work.
Herring maintained connections with his comrades from both World Wars. On the way back from the coronation, the Herrings stayed with the Eichelbergers in Asheville, North Carolina
. The two generals remained close friends, exchanging regular letters until Eichelberger's death in 1961. In 1962, Herring visited Richard O'Connor
at his home in Ross
. In 1967 and 1971, the Herrings again travelled to America where they were guests of Dwight Johns
and his wife. In 1973, he visited Washington, D.C. for the annual reunion of MacArthur's staff, and resolved that the next reunion should be held in Australia. He obtained government backing for his idea, and arranged for more than twenty former American generals, including Leif J. Sverdrup
, Hugh John Casey
, William C. Chase
, Clyde D. Eddleman
and LeGrande A. Diller, and their wives to visit Australia in 1974, with commemorative functions being held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane
. Herring steadfastly believed that MacArthur, like Blamey, was a great commander who was not fully appreciated in his own country.
Herring's twenty years as Chief Justice was a period of significant change and growth in the administration of the law. During his period of office the number of judges on the Court increased from six to fourteen, reflecting the growth in cases. Herring earned a reputation as a fine judge and able administrator. He set up the Chief Justice's Law Reform Committee to try to ensure justice in Victoria's courts was abreast of the times, and a committee for religious observances and services to arrange the religious services marking the opening of the legal year. Herring retired as Chief Justice in 1964 but stayed on as Lieutenant Governor until his 80th birthday in 1972, serving in the position for a record 27 years. For his service as Lieutenant Governor, Herring was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
in the King's Birthday Honours of 9 June 1949.
In a speech given on the occasion of his retiring as Chief Justice of Victoria, Herring said:
While opening the Victorian Returned Services League Conference shortly before his retirement as Lieutenant Governor, Herring criticised anti-war protesters and praised Australian soldiers who had served in the Vietnam War
. "People who throw stones at Americans," he said, "should stop and think where we would have been in 1942 without the Americans." Such remarks earned him a rebuke from the then acting State Opposition Leader, Frank Wilkes
, as "untactful" for a representative of the Crown.
Herring again became the subject of controversy in May 1978 when Barry Jones
revealed in Federal Parliament
that during World War II Herring had confirmed death sentences on 22 Papuans convicted of handing over seven Anglican missionaries to the Japanese, which Jones called "the darkest secret in modern Australian history". The Papuans had been convicted of offences including murder and treason. Herring claimed that they had been treated fairly under the conventions and circumstances applicable in wartime. "I have a clear conscience about it" he said. The seven missionaries had all been murdered by the Japanese. Four of them were women who had been raped as well. The Papuans had also handed over to the Japanese for execution two planters, six Australian soldiers, and two American airmen, and they had murdered Australian soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion near Kokoda. They were handed over to ANGAU, which had carried out the executions at Higaturu in September 1943.
Herring was president of the Boy Scouts' Association
of Victoria for 23 years, and was later the first president of the Australian Boy Scouts' Association from 1959 to 1977. He was chairman of trustees of the Shrine of Remembrance
from 1945 to 1978 (and remained a trustee until his death) and chairman of trustees of the Australian War Memorial
from 1959 to 1974. He was made a fellow of New College, Oxford
, in 1949, received an honorary DCL
from Oxford in 1953, became an honorary bencher of the Inner Temple
in 1963 and received an honorary LLD from Monash University
in 1973. He was also active in the Anglican Church
, and for many years was chancellor
of the diocese
of Melbourne, the highest church office that could be held by a layman.
Herring died at a Camberwell, Victoria
, nursing home on 5 January 1982. He was given a state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
, planned by Mary, who had died three months before.
Victoria's Herring Island
is named after him; fittingly, it is beside the Monash Freeway
(named for Herrings fellow 'civilian soldier', General, and lawyer, Sir John Monash
) in Melbourne
's Yarra River
at South Yarra, approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the city.
His wartime portraits are in the Australian War Memorial
in Canberra
, which featured him as one of the fifty most prominent Australians with a military background. His papers are in the State Library of Victoria
.
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, KStJ
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
, ED
Efficiency Decoration
The Efficiency Decoration is a defunct medal of Britain and the Commonwealth awarded for long service in the Territorial Army of the UK, the Indian Volunteer Forces and Colonial Auxiliary Forces....
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(2 September 1892 – 5 January 1982) was an Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, and Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Supreme Court of Victoria
Supreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
.
A Rhodes scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
, Herring was at New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, when the First World War broke out and served with the Royal Field Artillery
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....
on the Macedonian front
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
, for which he was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
and Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. After the war he carved out a successful career as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and King's Counsel. He also joined the Australian Army, rising to the rank of colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
by 1939.
During the Second World War, he commanded the 6th Division
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
Artillery in the Western Desert Campaign
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...
and the Battle of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
. In 1942, as a corps commander, he commanded the land forces in the Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
. The following year, he directed operations at Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Nadzab
Nadzab
-History:A Lutheran mission station was established at Nadzab around 1910. Nadzab was the site of the only Allied paratrooper assault in New Guinea on 5 September 1943.The Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport served by regional aircraft with domestic flights....
.
Herring left his corps to become the longest-serving Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, serving for three decades. In the latter capacity, he was patron of many charitable organisations.
Education and early life
Edmund Francis Herring, known as Ned to his family, was born in Maryborough, VictoriaMaryborough, Victoria
-Education:Maryborough has three schools:*Highview Christian Community College*Maryborough Education Centre Years Prep–12*St Augustine's Primary School Grades Prep–6-Music:...
, on 2 September 1892, the third of five children of Edmund Selwyn Herring, a solicitor, and his Irish-born wife Gertrude Stella Herring, formerly Fetherstonhaugh. He was educated at Maryborough College and High School and at Melbourne Grammar, where he excelled at tennis and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and was both School Captain
School Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
and Dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
in 1910. While at Melbourne Grammar, he served in the Commonwealth Cadet Corps
Australian Army Cadets
The Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that is involved with progressive training of youths in military and adventurous activities. The programme has more than 19,000 Army Cadets between the ages of 12½ and 19 based in 236 units around Australia...
, reaching the rank of sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
.
In 1911, Herring entered Trinity College
Trinity College (University of Melbourne)
Trinity College is the oldest college of the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England, Trinity is unique among Australian university colleges in its diverse education programs...
, the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
residential college at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, where he played cricket and tennis. In 1912, he won a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
to the University of Oxford in England. There, he joined the Officers Training Corps
Officers Training Corps
The Officer Training Corps is a part of the British Army which provides military leadership training to students at UK universities...
in 1913. In November of that year he enlisted as a trooper in King Edward's Horse
King Edward's Horse
King Edward's Horse was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1901, which saw service in the Boer War and the First World War.-Early history:...
, a cavalry unit in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
First World War
King Edward's Horse was mobilised in August 1914, but was not immediately sent overseas. In December 1914, Herring was commissioned as a second lieutenantSecond Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the Royal Field Artillery
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....
, and was posted to B Battery, 99th Field Artillery Brigade of the British 22nd Division. The division moved to the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in August 1915, but was there only a month before being transferred to the Macedonian front
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
, where it served for the rest of the war.
In the Battle of Doiran
Battle of Doiran (1917)
During the Second conference of the Military Counsel of the Entente in Chanties, it was decided to continue with the attempts at a breakthrough. The task for the Entente forces on the Macedonian Front was to inflict major defeats on the Bulgarian army and effect a wide breakthrough in the Balkans...
in April 1917, Herring served as an artillery observer
Artillery observer
A military artillery observer or spotter is responsible for directing artillery fire and close air support onto enemy positions. Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located tens of miles away...
, directing artillery fire in support of the 22nd Division's attack from a front line observation post
Observation post
An observation post, temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers , or to direct artillery fire...
on Pip Ridge. There was a furious artillery duel. Twenty minutes after Captain Thomas Winwood took Herring's place as forward observer, the observation post took a direct hit from an enemy shell, killing Winwood. Herring succeeded Winwood as battery captain, and was promoted to acting captain in April 1917. For his "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" under heavy shellfire, Herring received an immediate award of the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
.
After three years' service, Herring was granted three weeks' leave in Australia in October 1917. He returned to Maryborough, where he met Mary Ranken Lyle
Mary Herring
Dame Mary Ranken Lyle Herring, DBE, CStJ was an Australian physician and community worker.-Early life:Born the eldest of four children of Sir Thomas Ranken Lyle, a mathematical physicist, and his wife, Frances Isobel Clare Millear, she attended Toorak College between 1906 and 1912, and she...
, the daughter of the mathematical physicist Thomas Lyle
Thomas Ranken Lyle
Sir Thomas Ranken Lyle FRS was an Irish-born and educated mathematical physicist and educator. He emigrated to Australia to take up a professorship at the University of Melbourne, where he was a pioneer in the use of X-rays as a medical tool...
, then a medical student at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, on New Year's Day 1918. The two became constant companions and agreed to correspond regularly.
Herring departed for Salonika in February, returning to duty there in March 1918, and was promoted to acting major on 24 October 1918 on assuming command of B Battery, 99th Field Artillery Brigade. For his service as a battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
commander, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. He reverted to lieutenant on ceasing to command the battery on 22 January 1919.
Between the wars
When the war ended, Herring wished to return to Australia and see Mary before resuming his studies at the University of Oxford in October 1919. Mary wrote back pointing out the impracticality of this idea; while she would be disappointed not to see him, he should remain in England and complete his course at Oxford first. The university had awarded him a wartime Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1915; the Rhodes ScholarshipRhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
Trust allowed him to resume his scholarship, and he studied for a Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...
(BCL) degree. Since it had been five years since he had been awarded his BA, he was entitled to a MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
as well, and graduated with both degrees in July 1920. After a holiday in Britain and France with his sister Kathleen, he arrived back in Melbourne on 26 November 1920.
Herring was admitted to practice in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and solicitor on 1 March 1921 and signed the roll of counsel of the Victorian Bar on 8 June of that year, while Mary graduated with her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
(MB BS) and became a resident
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
surgeon at Royal Melbourne Hospital
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
. The two were married on 6 April 1922, and had three daughters, Mary Cecile (Molly), born in 1924, Judith Ann (Judy), born in 1926, and Margaret Lyle, born in 1933. Herring worked as a barrister, and lectured in law at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. He became a King's Counsel on 25 February 1936. Mary worked as a physician at antenatal clinics.
Herring joined the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
on 1 October 1922 as a legal staff officer in the part time militia
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
, with the rank of captain. On 1 August 1923 he transferred to Australian Field Artillery
Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery , is a corps of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation...
. He was promoted to major on 1 July 1925, lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
on 1 July 1929, and temporary colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
on 1 August 1939, commanding the 3rd Division Artillery.
Herring was involved in politics throughout the 1930s. He was elected to the Melbourne Club
Melbourne Club
The Melbourne Club is a male only club, established in 1839 and located at 36-50 Collins Street, Melbourne; adjacent to the women-only Lyceum Club. The club is made up of approximately 1500 members; admission being by invitation only...
in 1927, a year before Sir Thomas Lyle became its president. He joined the Young Nationalists
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
, an organisation founded by Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
and Wilfrid Kent Hughes
Wilfrid Kent Hughes
Sir Wilfrid Selwyn Kent Hughes KBE, MVO, MC was an Australian soldier, Olympian and Olympic Games organiser, author and federal and state government minister.Kent Hughes was born in Melbourne to an upper middle-class family...
. Along with many senior army and ex-army officers, he was also a member of the clandestine far-right wing paramilitary organisation known as the White Guard, White Army or League of National Security. Composed primarily of former soldiers, the White Guard saw themselves as defenders of order who stood ready to stop a Catholic or Communist revolution in the wake of an emergency like the 1923 Victorian Police strike
1923 Victorian Police strike
The 1923 Victorian Police strike occurred in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. On the eve of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival in November 1923, half the police force in Melbourne went on strike over the operation of a supervisory system using labour spies...
. After failing to gain United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
preselection for the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Prahran
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
in 1931, he ran as an unendorsed candidate (i.e. one lacking formal political endorsement
Political endorsement
Political endorsement is the action of publicly declaring one's personal or group's support of a candidate for elected office.In the case of a 4 or 5 party system, where one of the parties has a 15 to 20% predicted electoral support, just prior to the election, the official representative of the...
) for the seat of Brighton
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
in 1936. He gained 12,258 votes, losing by just 528. Herring also joined the Christian service organisation Toc H
Toc H
Toc H is an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, 'Toc' signifying the letter T in the signals spelling alphabet used by the British Army in World War I. A soldiers' rest and recreation centre named Talbot House was founded in December 1915 at Poperinghe,...
in 1925 and became its Victorian Area Commissioner in 1936.
Second World War
On 6 October 1939, Herring was informed that Major GeneralMajor General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
had decided to appoint him as Commander, Royal Artillery, of the 6th Division
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
, of the new Second Australian Imperial Force
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
(AIF) being raised for service overseas. A week later, Herring was promoted to substantive colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and temporary brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
, and given the AIF serial number VX15. His first task was to organise his new command, which was equipped with World War I vintage 18 pounder
Ordnance QF 18 pounder
The Ordnance QF 18 pounder, or simply 18-pounder Gun, was the standard British Army field gun of the World War I era. It formed the backbone of the Royal Field Artillery during the war, and was produced in large numbers. It was also used by British and Commonwealth Forces in all the main theatres,...
guns and 4.5 inch howitzers
QF 4.5 inch Howitzer
The Ordnance QF 4.5 inch Howitzer was the standard British Empire field howitzer of the First World War era. It replaced the BL 5 inch Howitzer and equipped some 25% of the field artillery. It entered service in 1910 and remained in service through the interwar period and was last used in...
. Herring left for Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
on 15 April 1940, along with the 6th Division's
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
commander, Major General Iven Mackay and his headquarters. Training was difficult as the old ammunition was in short supply. His command was only partially reequipped with the new 25 pounders
Ordnance QF 25 pounder
The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...
before being committed to the Western Desert Campaign
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...
in December 1940.
Western desert
Operation Compass
Operation Compass was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and eastern Libya in December 1940 to February 1941. The attack was a complete success...
, Herring controlled all 120 guns used in the division's attack, in which the infantry were supported by Great-War-style barrages. After the victory at Bardia, Herring's gunners supported the attack on Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
. More than half of his guns were British, and some were commanded by regular British officers who were sceptical of the ability of an Australian Militia officer. War Correspondent Chester Wilmot
Chester Wilmot
Reginald William Winchester Wilmot was an Australian war correspondent who reported for the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation during the Second World War. After the war he continued to work as a broadcast reporter, and wrote a well-appreciated book about the liberation of Europe...
noted that:
Greece
In the campaign in GreeceBattle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
, Herring had, in addition to his own gunners, the 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
Royal Horse Artillery
The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
, 64th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
and, for a time, the 6th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery
Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery
The Royal New Zealand Artillery forms the artillery section of the New Zealand Army. In its current form it was founded in 1947 with the amalgamation of the regular and volunteer units of artillery in New Zealand.-Modern structure:...
, under his command. His Australian, New Zealand and British gunners demonstrated "the extent to which, in such rugged country, artillery, with reliable infantry ahead, could halt and confuse a pursuer" but they were unable to stop the enemy advance.
Herring was ordered to evacuate from Greece. He was one of between 7,000 and 8,000 troops that gathered at Nafplion
Nafplion
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of...
on 24 April 1941, although transportation had been arranged for only 5,000. The ship that he was to sail on, the Ulster Prince ran aground near the harbour entrance. She was refloated but then ran aground again near the wharf. Despite this, some 6,600 men and women were embarked. Herring and fellow Brigadier Clive Steele
Clive Steele
Major General Sir Clive Selwyn Steele KBE, DSO, MC, VD was an engineer and a senior officer of the Australian Army who served in both World War I and World War II...
were among 5,100 that managed to reach Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
on the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
transport . From there they flew back to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Others were transported by , , and , which carried 150 Australian and New Zealand nurses. For his service in Libya and Greece, Herring was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE).
Defence of Australia
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
on 14 August 1941 when he took over command of the 6th Division
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
. He returned to Australia with it in March 1942. Unaware that the government had already decided that General
General (Australia)
General is the second highest rank, and the highest active rank, of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of General; it is also considered a four-star rank....
Sir Thomas Blamey should be appointed Commander in Chief, Herring, along with Major General George Alan Vasey and Brigadier Clive Steele, approached Army Minister Frank Forde
Frank Forde
Francis Michael Forde PC was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.-Early life:...
with a proposal that all officers over the age of 50 be immediately retired and Major General Horace Robertson
Horace Robertson
Lieutenant General Sir Horace Clement Hugh Robertson KBE, DSO was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served in the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War...
appointed Commander in Chief. The 'revolt of the generals' collapsed with the announcement that General Blamey was returning from the Middle East to become Commander in Chief, but seems to have done the participants no harm.
In Blamey's reorganisation of the Army in April 1942, Herring was given command of Northern Territory Force
Northern Territory Force
Northern Territory Force was an Australian Army force responsible for protecting the Northern Territory during World War II. Most units assigned to the Northern Territory Force were based near Darwin and were responsible for defending the important naval and air bases in and around the town against...
. At this time Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
was being subjected to Japanese air raids. As supply by sea or air was impractical, Herring developed a land line of communications running across the outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
from Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
.
On 14 August 1942, Herring was ordered to Esk, Queensland
Esk, Queensland
Esk is a town in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, approximately 90 km northwest of Ipswich on the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was named after the River Esk in Scotland and England. It is the administrative centre of the Somerset Region...
, to assume command of II Corps with the temporary rank of Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
. As such, he was responsible for the defence of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. At this time he was criticised in Parliament
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
by Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
for allegedly issuing a verbal order whilst commander of the 6th Division
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
that no officer was to be commissioned unless they had at least attained an Intermediate Certificate
Intermediate Certificate
The Intermediate Certificate was a certificate awarded in Australia for the successful completion of three years of high school. This was at around age 14 — what is called Year 9 today. Currently students in New South Wales can leave school at age 15. Apparently this has been the case since...
. There was no evidence that such an order was ever issued, but the allegation reflected a suspicion that Herring was an elitist.
Papuan campaign
In the wake of the dismissal of Lieutenant General Sydney RowellSydney Rowell
Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Fairbairn Rowell, KBE, CB was an Australian soldier who served as Chief of the General Staff from 17 April 1950 to 15 December 1954...
for insubordination, Blamey ordered Herring to join him in Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
as the new commander of I Corps. Before departing, Herring met with General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, who emphasised that the first duty of a soldier was obedience to his superiors.
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
. The troops on the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track
The Kokoda Trail or Track is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland — in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea...
had to be supplied from Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
either by air or by Papuan native carriers who lugged stores over the track on their backs. MacArthur created the Combined Operation Service Command (COSC), an unusual combined Australian-American logistical organisation, under U.S. Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Dwight Johns
Dwight Johns
Brigadier General Dwight Frederick Johns was an American soldier and general in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the South West Pacific Area during World War II, where he headed the Advance Base and the Combined Operations Service Command during the Kokoda...
, who in turn was answerable to Herring. Herring backed a plan to take American engineers off working on the airstrips in order to develop the port by building a causeway to Tatana Island, the successful completion of which doubled the port's capacity and was the logistical turning point of the campaign.
More controversial was Herring's relief of Brigadier Arnold Potts
Arnold Potts
Brigadier Arnold William Potts DSO, OBE, MC was an Australian grazier who served in the First World War and led 21st Brigade of the Second AIF during its defence of the Kokoda Trail during the Second World War...
and Blamey's of Major General Arthur Samuel Allen
Arthur Samuel Allen
Major General Arthur Samuel "Tubby" Allen CB CBE DSO VD was an Australian soldier. During World War II he reached the rank of Major General and commanded Allied forces in the Syria-Lebanon and New Guinea campaigns...
at Herring's urging. Herring acknowledged that the two men had faced a difficult task but felt that they were tired and that Brigadier Ivan Dougherty
Ivan Dougherty
Major General Sir Ivan Noel Dougherty CBE, DSO & Bar, ED was an Australian Army officer during World War II.-Education and early life:...
and Major General George Alan Vasey could do better. Supporters of Allen, who left school at age 14, saw this as the action of an autocratic elitist who "ran his staff as he had controlled junior counsel in his barrister's chamber; they did his bidding, his way, or were forthwith dispensed with".
In a letter to Herring in 1959, General Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was a general in the United States Army, who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. His Army was among the very first to engage the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.-Pre-World War II service:Eichelberger was born...
(who had himself relieved two division commanders – Major Generals Edwin F. Harding
Edwin F. Harding
Edwin Forrest Harding commanded the 32nd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. He graduated 74th among his classmates from the United States Military Academy in 1909, who included George S. Patton , Jacob L. Devers , John C. H. Lee , Horace H. Fuller , Robert L. Eichelberger , and...
and Horace H. Fuller
Horace H. Fuller
Major General Horace H. Fuller was an American soldier and general in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his command of the 41st Infantry Division in the South West Pacific Area during World War II....
) had this to say about the matter:
In November, Herring flew across the mountains to take control of the fighting around Buna
Battle of Buna-Gona
The Battle of Buna–Gona was a battle in the New Guinea campaign, a major part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. On 16 November 1942, Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. Both forces were riddled by disease and...
, leaving Blamey to control operations elsewhere in New Guinea. Herring planned the systematic reduction of the Japanese positions at Buna and Sanananda. He struggled to amass enough troops, equipment, guns, and supplies to allow Australian troops under Vasey and Americans under Eichelberger to overcome the Japanese and capture the area.
New Guinea campaign
Following the victory at Buna, for which Herring and Eichelberger were appointed Knights Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, Blamey ordered him to return to Australia for a rest. While in Melbourne, Herring had an attack of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, but recovered to resume command in New Guinea in May. Blamey charged him with responsibility for the next phase of Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel was a major military strategy for the Allies in the Pacific theater of World War II. Cartwheel was a twin-axis of advance operation, aimed at militarily neutralizing the major Japanese base at Rabaul...
, the capture of Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
. Herring would command I Corps, which would be part of New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, territory of Papua and territory of New Guinea troops serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942 it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944,...
, under Blamey and later Mackay. Blamey intended to have Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead
Leslie Morshead
Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, with a distinguished military career that spanned both world wars...
command the subsequent phase of the operation, the assault on Madang
Madang
Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....
.
At this time operations were in train to drive the Japanese back to Salamaua
Salamaua
Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...
. Once again, the difficulties of supplying the attacking force were formidable. Out of sensitivity towards the sensibilities of the Americans, Herring left the command arrangements between Major General Stanley Savige
Stanley Savige
Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, KBE, CB, DSO, MC, ED , was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant general....
's 3rd Division and units of the American 41st Infantry Division ambiguous. This backfired, producing acrimony between the Australian and American commanders. Herring prepared to fire Savige, but an investigation by Major General Frank Berryman
Frank Horton Berryman
Lieutenant General Sir Frank Horton Berryman, KCVO, CB, CBE, DSO was an Australian Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general during the Second World War. The son of an engine driver, he entered Duntroon in 1913. Graduating early due to the First World War, he served on the Western...
determined that the dispute was not Savige's fault.
Australian 7th Division
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force...
landing at Nadzab
Landing at Nadzab
The Landing at Nadzab was an airborne landing on 5 September 1943 during the New Guinea campaign of World War II that began with a parachute drop at Nadzab in conjunction with the Landing at Lae....
by air and 9th Division
Australian 9th Division
The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the fourth division of the Second Australian Imperial Force and was formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940 from infantry brigades and support units which had been previously raised in Australia and...
landing at Lae
Landing at Lae
The Landing at Lae was an amphibous landing, as part of ', to the east of Lae in the Salamaua-Lae campaign of World War II between 4–6 September 1943....
from the ships of Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey
Daniel E. Barbey
Vice Admiral Daniel Edward Barbey was an officer in the United States Navy who served in World War I and World War II. A graduate of the Naval Academy, he participated in the 1912 United States occupation of Nicaragua and the 1915 United States occupation of Veracruz. While serving with the War...
's VII Amphibious Force, saw the rapid capture of Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
. While the 7th Division
Australian 7th Division
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force...
moved up the Markham and Ramu Valleys, the 9th Division
Australian 9th Division
The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the fourth division of the Second Australian Imperial Force and was formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940 from infantry brigades and support units which had been previously raised in Australia and...
made another landing at Scarlet Beach
Battle of Scarlet Beach
The Battle of Scarlet Beach took place during the Huon Peninsula campaign of the Second World War. Involving forces from Australia, the United States and Japan, Allied forces landed at Scarlet Beach, north of Siki Cove and south of the Song River, to the east of Katika and about 10 kilometres to...
near Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
. The timing of the landing was contentious, with Barbey, who feared air attack, wanting to land at night while Herring held out for a dawn landing, threatening to take the issue to General MacArthur. Eventually Berryman managed to persuade Herring to accept a compromise H-hour in the darkness before dawn. The U.S. Naval Historian Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
noted: "The Australians proved to be right; 'Uncle Dan's' outfit was not prepared for a neat night landing. The usual SNAFU
SNAFU
SNAFU is an acronym that stands for situation normal: all fucked up. It is sometimes bowdlerized to all fouled up or similar. In simple terms, it means that the normal situation is in a bad state, as it always is, therefore nothing unexpected. It is usually used in jest, or as a sign of frustration...
developed." But Berryman saw Herring as being uncooperative, and his intransigence as a sign of battle weariness.
In the subsequent battle of Finschhafen
Battle of Finschhafen
The Battle of Finschhafen was part of the Huon Peninsula campaign during the Second World War between September and October 1943 between Australian and Japanese forces...
, it soon became clear that the strength of the Japanese forces there had been seriously underestimated, and the 9th Division
Australian 9th Division
The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the fourth division of the Second Australian Imperial Force and was formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940 from infantry brigades and support units which had been previously raised in Australia and...
needed to be resupplied and reinforced, and its casualties evacuated. Herring strove to get the necessary amphibious lift from the navy but the commander of the United States Seventh Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
, Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Arthur S. Carpender
Arthur S. Carpender
Arthur Schuyler Carpender , nicknamed "Chips", was an American vice admiral during World War II commanding US naval forces in the Southwest Pacific.-Family:...
, was reluctant to expose his ships to the Japanese air threat. The matter went up the chain of command to Mackay, to Blamey, and ultimately to MacArthur, who could do little, given that he had no real authority over the U.S. Navy.
Carpender was not inflexible, and reached a compromise with Mackay to transport a battalion to Finschhafen in high speed transports (APDs)
High speed transport
High Speed Transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used to support amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer....
. Herring was in Dobodura
Dobodura
Dobodura armata is a species of beetle in the family Carabidae, the only species in the genus Dobodura....
, lunching with Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
Brehon B. Somervell
Brehon B. Somervell
Brehon Burke Somervell was a General in the United States Army and Commanding General of the Army Service Forces in World War II. As such he was responsible for the U.S. Army's logistics...
, when he heard this news. He decided to fly to Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
to discuss the matter of resupply in general with Barbey. On 28 September, Herring and two of his staff officers, Brigadiers R. B. Sutherland and R. Bierwirth, boarded a U.S. Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
bomber at Dobodura. As the plane was about to take off, the undercarriage collapsed and the plane ploughed into the Marston Mat runway. A propeller shattered, splinters ripped through the fuselage into the cabin and Sutherland, who was sitting in the navigator's compartment next to Herring, was struck by a flying fragment that killed him instantly. The crew, Herring and Bierwirth escaped shaken but unscathed. The trip to Milne Bay was cancelled. Brigadier Sutherland was buried will full military honours at Soputa the next day, with a fly past by B-25s. When next he flew, Herring once again took a B-25 and made a point of requesting the major who had been in charge of the crashed plane to be his pilot.
Mackay became convinced that Herring was becoming increasingly difficult to work with as a result of stress and fatigue and asked Blamey for permission to relieve him. Blamey's response was characteristic: Morshead would be on the next plane. Yet Blamey maintained his faith in Herring, who retained command of I Corps on the Atherton Tableland
Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around...
, where he trained his men for the next operation. He did not know when or where this would be, so he focused on amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
. He created the 1st Beach Group and developed tactics and doctrine for amphibious operations based on his own experience in the New Guinea Campaign
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...
and reports from the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. The benefits of his work would be realised in the Borneo Campaign
Borneo campaign (1945)
The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and...
.
Chief Justiceship and later life
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Supreme Court of Victoria
Supreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
. Blamey advised the Prime Minister that:
It was not quite the end of his military service. Herring was recalled to duty for a year as Director General of Recruiting in August 1950 when the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
spurred efforts to build up the Army again. In January 1953, Herring was selected as leader of the Australian Services Contingent for the coronation
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. This saw Australian soldiers as the Queen's Guard
Queen's Guard
The Queen's Guard and Queen's Life Guard are the names given to contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in London...
at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
on 26 May 1953, with Herring personally taking part in the procession. On 10 July, he was made a Knight of the Order of St John
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
at Buckingham Palace. At the same time, Mary was made a commander of the same order for her charity work.
Herring maintained connections with his comrades from both World Wars. On the way back from the coronation, the Herrings stayed with the Eichelbergers in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. The two generals remained close friends, exchanging regular letters until Eichelberger's death in 1961. In 1962, Herring visited Richard O'Connor
Richard O'Connor
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor KT, GCB, DSO & Bar, MC, ADC was a British Army general who commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II...
at his home in Ross
Ross
Ross is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...
. In 1967 and 1971, the Herrings again travelled to America where they were guests of Dwight Johns
Dwight Johns
Brigadier General Dwight Frederick Johns was an American soldier and general in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the South West Pacific Area during World War II, where he headed the Advance Base and the Combined Operations Service Command during the Kokoda...
and his wife. In 1973, he visited Washington, D.C. for the annual reunion of MacArthur's staff, and resolved that the next reunion should be held in Australia. He obtained government backing for his idea, and arranged for more than twenty former American generals, including Leif J. Sverdrup
Leif J. Sverdrup
Leif Johan Sverdrup was a Norwegian born, American civil engineer and general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the first half of the 20th century...
, Hugh John Casey
Hugh John Casey
Hugh John Casey was a Major General in the United States Army. A 1918 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Casey served in Germany during the Occupation of the Rhineland...
, William C. Chase
William C. Chase
Major General William Curtis Chase was an American soldier and General in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the South West Pacific Area during World War II and in the Occupation of Japan....
, Clyde D. Eddleman
Clyde D. Eddleman
Clyde Davis Eddleman was a United States Army four star general who served as Commander, U.S. Army Europe from 1959 to 1960, and as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1960 to 1962.-Military career:...
and LeGrande A. Diller, and their wives to visit Australia in 1974, with commemorative functions being held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. Herring steadfastly believed that MacArthur, like Blamey, was a great commander who was not fully appreciated in his own country.
Herring's twenty years as Chief Justice was a period of significant change and growth in the administration of the law. During his period of office the number of judges on the Court increased from six to fourteen, reflecting the growth in cases. Herring earned a reputation as a fine judge and able administrator. He set up the Chief Justice's Law Reform Committee to try to ensure justice in Victoria's courts was abreast of the times, and a committee for religious observances and services to arrange the religious services marking the opening of the legal year. Herring retired as Chief Justice in 1964 but stayed on as Lieutenant Governor until his 80th birthday in 1972, serving in the position for a record 27 years. For his service as Lieutenant Governor, Herring was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in the King's Birthday Honours of 9 June 1949.
In a speech given on the occasion of his retiring as Chief Justice of Victoria, Herring said:
While opening the Victorian Returned Services League Conference shortly before his retirement as Lieutenant Governor, Herring criticised anti-war protesters and praised Australian soldiers who had served in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. "People who throw stones at Americans," he said, "should stop and think where we would have been in 1942 without the Americans." Such remarks earned him a rebuke from the then acting State Opposition Leader, Frank Wilkes
Frank Wilkes
Frank Noel Wilkes AM , Australian politician, was Leader of the Labor Opposition in Victoria from 1977 to 1981. Wilkes was born in Melbourne and educated at Northcote Primary and Secondary Schools and Preston Technical College. During the Second World War he served in the southwest Pacific in the...
, as "untactful" for a representative of the Crown.
Herring again became the subject of controversy in May 1978 when Barry Jones
Barry Jones (Australian politician)
Barry Owen Jones AO, FAA, FASSA, FAHA, FTSE, FACE is a writer, lawyer, social activist, quiz champion and former politician. He campaigned against the death penalty throughout the 1960s, particularly against the execution of Ronald Ryan, and remains against capital punishment...
revealed in Federal Parliament
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
that during World War II Herring had confirmed death sentences on 22 Papuans convicted of handing over seven Anglican missionaries to the Japanese, which Jones called "the darkest secret in modern Australian history". The Papuans had been convicted of offences including murder and treason. Herring claimed that they had been treated fairly under the conventions and circumstances applicable in wartime. "I have a clear conscience about it" he said. The seven missionaries had all been murdered by the Japanese. Four of them were women who had been raped as well. The Papuans had also handed over to the Japanese for execution two planters, six Australian soldiers, and two American airmen, and they had murdered Australian soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion near Kokoda. They were handed over to ANGAU, which had carried out the executions at Higaturu in September 1943.
Herring was president of the Boy Scouts' Association
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
of Victoria for 23 years, and was later the first president of the Australian Boy Scouts' Association from 1959 to 1977. He was chairman of trustees of the Shrine of Remembrance
Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war...
from 1945 to 1978 (and remained a trustee until his death) and chairman of trustees of the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
from 1959 to 1974. He was made a fellow of New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, in 1949, received an honorary DCL
Doctor of Civil Law
Doctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....
from Oxford in 1953, became an honorary bencher of the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1963 and received an honorary LLD from Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
in 1973. He was also active in the Anglican Church
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, and for many years was chancellor
Chancellor (ecclesiastical)
Two quite distinct officials of some Christian churches have the title Chancellor.*In some churches, the Chancellor of a diocese is a lawyer who represents the church in legal matters....
of the diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Melbourne, the highest church office that could be held by a layman.
Herring died at a Camberwell, Victoria
Camberwell, Victoria
Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Camberwell had a population of 19,637....
, nursing home on 5 January 1982. He was given a state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of the Province of Victoria...
, planned by Mary, who had died three months before.
Victoria's Herring Island
Herring Island (Victoria)
Herring Island is a small island located in Melbourne's Yarra River at South Yarra, approximately 3 km from the city. Originally a quarry, it was leased by the scouts in the 1950s and 1960s and is currently managed by Parks Victoria and used as a sculpture park...
is named after him; fittingly, it is beside the Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway is an urban freeway in Victoria, Australia linking Melbourne's CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation...
(named for Herrings fellow 'civilian soldier', General, and lawyer, Sir John Monash
John Monash
General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
) in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
's Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
at South Yarra, approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the city.
His wartime portraits are in the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, which featured him as one of the fifty most prominent Australians with a military background. His papers are in the State Library of Victoria
State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district...
.
External links
- Herring Biography at the Australian War Memorial
- Supreme Court of Victoria Website
- Geoff Browne, 'Herring, Sir Edmund Francis (Ned) (1892–1982)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 17, Melbourne University Press, pp 520–523.