Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Walter Howard Tunbridge, (2 November 1856 – 11 October 1943) was an Australian soldier and architect.

Biography

Tunbridge was born in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, to bricklayer John Nicholas Tunbridge and Anne, ''née'' Denne. Educated at

Eythorne Eythorne is a civil parish and small village located 7.3 miles north-northwest of Dover in Kent, with a combined population of approximately 2,500 residents including nearby villages Barfrestone and Elvington. Although not classed as one of th ...

, he emigrated to Australia in 1884 and established himself as an architect in

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, where he would eventually establish the civil engineering, architecture and surveying firm Tunbridge & Tunbridge. In February 1889 he was commissioned in the Mounted Infantry of the Queensland Land Forces, and in December was promoted

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 ...

. He and his unit were sent to keep order at the 1891 shearers' strike, and in June 1892 Tunbridge was promoted

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 ...

. In November 1898 he was promoted

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and transferred to the Queensland Artillery Garrison Battery, serving in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

from 1900 and commanding the 3rd Mounted Infantry Contingent. He saw action at Elands River and Rhenoster Kop. He served with distinction and 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 ...

, appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

, awarded the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with five clasps and promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel. He returned to Australia in 1902 and served as aide-de-camp to the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. On 7 April 1904 Tunbridge married Leila Emily Brown 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 ...

, and later extended his firm to include a

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 ...

branch, where he based himself until 1914. Appointed censor for the 3rd Military District in August 1914, he was swiftly promoted to deputy chief censor and before the month was out returned to the military as a lieutenant-colonel in the Australian Imperial Force. Given command of the 1st Australian Division Ammunition Park (Mechanical Transport), Tunbridge and his units arrived in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in February 1915, where they were incorporated into the British Army as the 300th and 301st Mechanical Transport Companies and sent to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in July. Influential in various reorganisations of the mechanical transport units, Tunbridge was appointed to command the 1 Anzac Corps Ammunition Park on 25 April 1916 and following a reorganisation in January 1917 became senior mechanical operator of the 1 Anzac Corps. During the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, f ...

his responsibilities covered the entire AIF contingent in France. In June 1918 Tunbridge was promoted

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

; he retired in January 1920 and was formally retired from the AIF in June. He had been mentioned in despatches five times during the war and was appointed

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 ...

in 1917,

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1919 and brevet colonel of the

Australian Military Forces The Australian Military Forces (AMF) was the official name of the Army of Australia from 1916 to 1980. This encompassed both the (full-time) "regular army", and the (part-time) forces, variously known during this period as the Militia, the Citizen ...

. He returned to architecture until his retirement in the 1930s. Tunbridge died at Hawthorn in 1943 and was survived by his wife and three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunbridge, Walter 1856 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Dover, Kent 19th-century Australian architects 20th-century Australian architects Australian Army officers Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War Australian military personnel of World War I Burials at Box Hill Cemetery Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Colony of Queensland people English emigrants to colonial Australia