Harold Edward Elliott | |
|---|---|
 Brigadier General Harold Elliott | |
| Nickname(s) | Pompey |
| Born | 19 June 1878 West Charlton, Victoria |
| Died | 23 March 1931 (aged 52) Malvern, Victoria |
| Buried | Burwood Cemetery, Burwood, Victoria |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/ | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1899–1931 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands | 3rd Division (1927–31) 15th Brigade (1916–21, 1926–27) 7th Battalion (1914–16) 58th Battalion (Essendon Rifles) (1913–14) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Conduct Medal Volunteer Decoration Mentioned in Despatches (8) Order of St. Anna (Russia) Croix de guerre (France) |
| Relations | George Elliott (brother) |
| Other work | Solicitor at Law Senator for Victoria Board member Royal Melbourne Hospital |
Major General Harold Edward "Pompey" Elliott, CB, CMG, DSO, DCM, VD (19 June 1878 – 23 March 1931) was a senior officer in the Australian Army during the First World War. After the war he served as a Senator for Victoria in the Australian parliament.
Elliott entered the University of Melbourne as a resident at Ormond College in 1898 to study law, but left in 1900 to serve in the Imperial Bushmen in the South African War. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, and given a British Army commission, but chose to remain with the Victorian Imperial Bushmen as an attached subaltern. He returned to Australia in 1901, but went back to South Africa to serve with the Border Scouts, who patrolled remote and inhospitable areas. In December 1901, he distinguished himself in repelling a numerically superior Boer force, and received a congratulatory telegram from General Lord Kitchener. After he returned to Australia, he completed his law degree and became a solicitor. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Militia in 1904, and he was promoted to lieutenant in 1905, captain in 1909, major in 1911, and lieutenant colonel in 1913, commanding the 58th Battalion (Essendon Rifles).
After the outbreak of the First World War, Elliott joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), and formed and commanded the 7th Infantry Battalion, which he led in the landing at Anzac on 25 April 1915, and the Battle of Lone Pine in August. In March 1916, he became the commander of the newly formed 15th Infantry Brigade, which he led in the disastrous Battle of Fromelles in July 1916. In March 1917, the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line gave Elliott a rare chance to display his tactical acumen in an independent command as the 15th Brigade operated as an advance guard of the British Fifth Army. It fought in the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May 1917, and the Battle of Polygon Wood at the end of September 1917, when Elliott's leadership transformed a near-defeat into a victory. In the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918, he won another famous victory.
Elliott won the 1919 federal election as a Nationalist Party of Australia candidate for the Senate, and was re-elected in the 1925 election. His involvement with returned servicemen's issues led to his redrafting of the constitution of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia, and he played an important part in the Victoria Police strike, making a call alongside Lieutenant General Sir John Monash for members of the AIF to come to Melbourne Town Hall and sign up as special constables. In 1926, he was appointed to command the 15th Brigade again, and the following year was finally promoted to the rank of major general, and became the commander of the 3rd Division. Suffering from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, he killed himself in March 1931.