A selection of photographs of Lieutenant-General Sir Sydney Fairbairn Rowell (1894-1975)
He was educated at Adelaide High School, and 'was one of the first cadets to enter the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Federal Capital Territory, in 1911.... In April 1950 Rowell [was appointed Chief of General Staff], a significant event in the army's history inasmuch as he was the first Duntroon graduate to hold the post' ('Australian Dictionary of Biography'). In between times, he served with distinction in both world wars, but his fiery relationship with his superior, Thomas Blamey, based on his experiences with him in the 'tragic campaign in Greece ... convinced him that Blamey was "quite incompetent as a field commander in modern war"'. Blamey eventually dismissed him from the New Guinea campaign in late September 1942, and he was exiled to Cairo, before spending the last two years of the war in London. The vintage photographs include an early one of him as a teenage schoolboy with his brother Percy (100 × 150 mm); a snapshot of him at Morphettville army camp, Adelaide, in November 1914; in a group portrait of the 'Permanent Staff in Western Australia 1931' (105 × 150 mm); a fine studio portrait from the 1930s (200 × 150 mm); six different WW2-vintage portraits (four of them 215 × 165 mm, the others smaller); and one of his investiture in 1953, when he was awarded the KBE. Four carry captions written by Rowell late in his life. Offered with the 'Form of Service' for his funeral on 17 April 1975, plus six ephemeral publications relating to the Golden Jubilee celebrations for the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in March 1961. [17 items].
Item #121401
Price (AUD):
$400.00