St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

In 1947, the leading British general of the Second World War, Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery, unveiled a plaque on the exterior north wall of St John’s Cathedral commemorating the victory by Allied forces in the war and the service and sacrifice of all Queenslanders who had served in the conflict. The plaque, known as ‘The Stone of Remembrance’, dedicated the second stage of the Cathedral (eventually built between 1964 and 1968) as a “thank offering” for victory and as a war memorial. For Australians, Montgomery is best remembered for his association with Australian troops at the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa.

Opposite page: The “Stone of Remembrance” on the Cathedral’s north wall commemorates the Allied victory in the Second World War. It was unveiled by Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein on 15 July 1947.

Aimee Catt

Field Marshal Montgomery visiting St John’s Cathedral in 1947 to officially unveil the Stone of Remembrance. With him is then Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, the Most Reverend Reginald Halse.

Anglican Archives, Brisbane

There, in 1942, the British Eighth Army, which included New Zealanders and the Australian 9th Division, defeated the Germans and Italians in an engagement which owed most of its success to the superb fighting qualities displayed by the 9th, which included many Queenslanders among its numbers. Over 12 days of intense fighting, the Australians showed great tenacity, facilitating a victory which marked a major turning point in the war against against German land forces. In 1942 Churchill was still searching for a significant land victory to break Hitler’s momentum. The Nazi dictator’s forces held sway across the European Continent and were threatening to consume the Middle East and Russia. The forces of the renowned German General Erwin Rommel, which included Italian troops, had rampaged across North Africa and the Allies had been unable to check the enemy’s advance. But in August 1942 Churchill appointed a new general to command the British Army in North Africa. That leader was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), an Englishman who had been brought up in Tasmania where his father had been the Anglican Bishop. Montgomery, nicknamed ‘Monty’, was a superb tactition and organiser, if outspoken and egotistical (as was also General Douglas MacArthur of the United States).

75