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A tale of the two Johns who helped forge a nation

Apr 25, 2018

A tale of two Johns: The statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick and his donkey, left, and Sir John Monash. Source: Flickr/Wikipedia CC

He called himself Simpson. He was a man with a donkey —

We all know the legend, the story of a bloke with a donkey who saved 300 Diggers at Gallipoli, bringing them in for medical treatment on the back of a quiet little beast of burden. Man and beast carried the wounded away from where they had fallen and out to relative safety at base camp. Some were treated there but others, their wounds more severe, had to be evacuated to Egypt for treatment.

But who was he, and where did he come from?

His full name was John Simpson Kirkpatrick, son of Scots parents from the English county, Durham. On leaving school, he had four years at a local dairy as milk boy and donkey handler, but joined the merchant navy at age 17. In 1910, he deserted when his ship arrived in New South Wales, passing on from the port of Newcastle to work at places as far apart as Cairns, Queensland and Yilgara, Western Australia.

In August 1914, now 22, he joined the Australian Imperial Force and was assigned to 3rd Field Ambulance, AAMC, but to avoid scrutiny and a potential charge of desertion, he dropped his surname and enlisted as John Simpson. A good lad who regularly maintained contact with his mother and sister at home in England, sending them money from his wages, he evidently hoped to find his way back in the army to the Mother Country. It was not to be; eight months later, on April 25, 1915, he landed at Gallipoli.

The story of ‘the man and his donkey’ entered Australian folklore, not least because it helped maintain more buoyant news in the face of such a disastrous Dardanelles campaign. Some aspects of it were pure propaganda, for that very reason, some were apocryphal, and others due to confusion with another brave man and a donkey, a stretcher bearer in the NZMC named Dick Henderson. Both men provided selfless service but, where Dick Henderson managed to survive and return home, living on until 1958, the Anglo-Australian died of a Turkish bullet a few weeks short of his 23rd birthday, on May 19, 1915.

John Simpson will be forever remembered for the work he did as a stretcher bearer. The fact remains that, whether hyped up for public consumption, there is no doubt he and others of his ilk were brave beyond belief.
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His name was Monash. He was a general who cared —

At the other end of the military hierarchy, an Australian general made attempts to reduce dreadful battle toll by employing better strategy as opposed to sending troops out as mere cannon fodder.

After gaining degrees in arts, engineering and law, 21-year-old John Monash joined the Melbourne University artillery garrison. A natural leader, he advanced constantly and, by 1914, found himself in Egypt commanding 4th Brigade AIF. Already aware of poor planning with calamitous outcomes, he was determined to bring about change.

Promoted to Major General, Monash took command of the 3rd Brigade in France in 1916, he and his troops involved in many of the major confrontations including Messines, the third battle of Ypres, and Polygon Wood. Totally opposed to the wanton slaughter caused by flawed and outdated British tactics, he wrote,

“… the true role of infantry was not to expend itself upon heroic physical effort… wither under merciless machine-gun fire… impale itself on hostile bayonets, but… to advance under the maximum possible array of mechanical devices… to be relieved as far as possible of the obligation to fight their way forward.”

Corps commander of Australian forces by 1918, among other significant victories, Monash led Australian and American forces to a triumphant capture of the town of Hamel, a battle won in just 93 minutes due to his skilful tactical planning and attention to detail.

Losses through the rest of the war remained horrendous, but there is no doubt many were reduced by one of the most caring of leaders.

A fitting tribute was paid by (later) Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, who wrote, “I would name Sir John Monash the best general on the Western Front in Europe.”

Monash was not alone in the compassion he had for the troops. I’ve written before about Pompey Elliott, the general who cried over the loss of his men. Unlike Elliott, who died of his own hand, suffering what we now know as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), General Sir John Monash, GCMG, KCB, VD returned to a life of community leadership. He died of coronary vascular disease on 1931.

Rest in peace, John Simpson and John Monash, wonderful men both, and all the others now long past who fought to rid the world of one tyrant, only to have another come along two decades later.

Lest we forget.