Tom Bridges

Tom Bridges

Sir George Tom Molesworth Bridges (born August 20, 1871 in London , England , † November 26, 1939 in Brighton ) was a British lieutenant general and governor of the Australian state of South Australia .

Life

Bridges, who was born in Eltham, London , attended the Royal Military Academy Woolwich . After stops in India he was used in the Second Boer War, where he was given supreme command of two Australian infantry regiments.

Bridges received several awards during World War I and was promoted to major general in 1915 , but he also lost a leg. Because of his achievements, his uncle, the poet Robert Bridges , wrote the ode "To His Excellency" in his honor.

In 1922 he accepted the post of governor of South Australia at the urging of his friend Winston Churchill . There he was particularly popular with war veterans and represented conservative positions. In his public speeches, he warned against Bolshevism and advocated letting more immigrants into the country. He was a firm opponent of prohibition .

After personal disputes with Prime Minister John Gunn , Bridges turned down a second term and returned to England in 1927.

In 1938, in retirement, he published his memoir, Alarms and Excursions . He died in Brighton on November 26, 1938.

Awards

• Distinguished Service Order
• Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1919)
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (1925)

literature

• PA Howell: Bridges, Sir George Tom Molesworth (1871-1939) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966–2012 (English).