John Forsyth (general)
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Major General John Keatly Forsyth, (8 February 1867 – 12 November 1928) was a senior
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
officer in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and after.


Early life and career

John Keatly Forsyth was born in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, colonial Queensland, on 8 February 1867, the son of a builder. He was educated at Fortitude Valley State and the Normal School, Brisbane and became a clerk in a sawmill and later in a solicitor's office. Forsyth enlisted in the Queensland Mounted Rifles Regiment as a trooper in November 1885. He served as a non commissioned officer before being commissioned a second lieutenant in the Queensland Mounted Infantry on 18 July 1892. He was promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
on 4 November 1892 and captain on 22 September 1896. He joined the Queensland Permanent Forces at a staff lieutenant on 1 August 1897, and was promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
on 1 February 1901. Forsyth served as adjutant of the 4th Queensland Mounted Infantry from 1 March 1901 to 27 February 1902, of the 2nd Queensland Mounted Infantry and 4th Infantry Regiment from 28 February 1902 to 30 June 1902, and of the 2nd Queensland Mounted Infantry again from 1 July 1902 to 12 November 1905. Forsyth moved to
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, where he served as a staff officer. He became secretary to the inspector general, Major General Finn, from 13 November 1905 to 1 October 1906. He joined the Victorian Instructional Staff on 1 February 1907 and was promoted to major on 28 May 1908. In 1909–1910 he was posted to India on exchange duty with the
British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
as brigade major of the Amballa Cavalry Brigade. Returning to Melbourne, he was deputy assistant adjutant general (DAAG) for instruction from 1 to 31 December 1910. Forsyth was a GSO2 at Army Headquarters from 1 November 1911 to 30 June 1912, became director of equipment on 1 July 1907, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 March 1914. On 1 August 1914, he became quartermaster general and a member of the Military Board.


First World War

On 15 August 1914 Forsyth joined the Australian Imperial Force as a temporary colonel. Appointed to command the 1st Division's mounted regiment, the 4th Light Horse Regiment, he also took on responsibility for raising the
1st Light Horse Brigade The 1st Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time militia formation in the early 1900s in ...
, whose commander designate, Colonel
Harry Chauvel General Sir Henry George Chauvel, (16 April 1865 – 4 March 1945) was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. He was ...
, was still on duty in the United Kingdom. Forsyth embarked with the brigade on 21 October 1914 and handed over command to Chauvel on the latter's arrival in Egypt in November 1914. Forsyth then concentrated on training his own regiment, who referred to him as "Dad". In May 1915, the light horse were ordered to
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
dismounted to reinforce the infantry. Forsyth arrived at Anzac Cove on 5 May 1915. On 19 May 1915, he became the assistant adjutant and quartermaster general (AA & QMG) of the 1st Division. From 30 May to 8 June he was acting commander of the 2nd Brigade in the absence of Colonel
James Whiteside McCay Lieutenant General Sir James Whiteside McCay, (21 December 1864 â€“ 1 October 1930), who often spelt his surname M'Cay, was an Australian general and politician. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he earned Master of Arts an ...
, who had been wounded at Krithia, along with most of the brigade's officers. When McCay was evacuated with a broken leg, Forsyth became commander of the 2nd Brigade on 26 July 1915 and was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general. He remained at Anzac with his brigade, fighting another battle at the German Officers' Trench in August, until it was evacuated to
Mudros Moudros () is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eastern peninsula o ...
on 10 December 1915. The 2nd Brigade returned to Egypt in January 1916, and moved to Serapeum, where it guarded the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
. On 27 March 1916, it sailed for France. The brigade spent a time in the relatively quiet
Armentières Armentières (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fià ...
sector before it was committed on the
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at
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in July. There it was subjected to intense artillery bombardments. Forsyth suffered a breakdown in his health and was evacuated to England. When he was discharged from the hospital, he became commander of 'B' Training Group at
Rollestone Rollestone is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Shrewton, on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, England. It is near the River Till. Its nearest town is Amesbury, about away to the east. In 1931 the parish had a popula ...
, England. Ill health forced his return to Australia in December 1916. For his services on the Western Front he was
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
and was appointed a
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...
(CMG) on 1 January 1917.


Post war

Forsyth became Commandant of the 4th Military District (
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
) on 16 February 1917 and was promoted to brevet colonel on 24 September 1917. On 2 July 1918, he once again became Quartermaster General and a member of the Military Board. He was promoted to temporary major general in January 1921 but had to relinquish the rank when he was placed on the unattached list in 1922. He retired with the honorary rank of major general on 9 February 1925. In 1928, Forsyth was selected as a Nationalist Party candidate for the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. While campaigning in
Sea Lake, Victoria Sea Lake is a town in the The Mallee, Mallee district of north-west Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia and is situated on the southern shores of Lake Tyrrell. The town is located on the Calder Highway, north-west of Melbourne, and west o ...
, he came down with
influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
and died nine days later on 12 November 1928. He was buried at Boroondara Cemetery,
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
, with full military honours.


References


External links


Major General John Forsyth
at General Officers of the First AIF
Honours and Awards – John Keatly Forsyth
at the Australian War Memorial
Major John Keatly Forsyth
''London Gazette'' 19 October 1909, mention now local rank of major {{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, John Keatly 1867 births 1928 deaths Military personnel from Brisbane Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I Deaths from influenza Colony of Queensland people 19th-century Australian military personnel Nationalist Party (Australia) politicians