Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, VC, CMG, CBE, ED

Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, was an Australian soldier, lawyer, politician, and recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for valour in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time.

A lawyer and part-time soldier prior to the outbreak of WW1, Arthur Blackburn enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in August, 1914, as a private, and was assigned to the 10th Battalion.

His unit landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on the April the 25th, 1915, and he and another scout were credited with advancing the furthest inland on the day of the landing. Arthur Blackburn was later commissioned and, along with his battalion, spent the rest of the Gallipoli campaign fighting Ottoman forces.

The 10th Battalion was withdrawn from Gallipoli in November 1915, and after re-organising and training in Egypt, sailed for the Western Front in late March 1916.

It saw its first real fighting in France on the 23rd of July during the Battle of Pozières, part of the Battle of the Somme. It was during this battle that Arthur Blackburn's actions resulted in a recommendation for his award of the VC.

Commanding 50 men, he led four separate sorties to drive the Germans from a strong point using hand grenades, capturing 370 yards (340 m) of trench. He was the first member of his battalion to be awarded the VC during WW1, and the first South Australian to receive the VC.

He also fought in the Battle of Mouquet Farm in August, before being evacuated to the United Kingdom and then Australia suffering from illness. He was medically discharged in early 1917.

After the outbreak of WW2, Arthur Blackburn was appointed to command the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion of the Second Australian Imperial Force, and led it during the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the Vichy French in 1941, during which he personally accepted the surrender of Damascus.

In early 1942, his battalion was withdrawn from the Middle East and played a role in the defence of Java in the Dutch East Indies from the Japanese. Arthur Blackburn was promoted to Brigadier when he arrived in Java. Captured, he spent the rest of the war as a prisoner-of-war.

After he was liberated in 1945, he returned to Australia and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services on Java in 1942.

On the 11th of October 1946, Arthur Blackburn was again appointed to active duty from the Reserve of Officers List, and was again temporarily promoted to brigadier while he was attached to 2nd Australian War Crimes Section as a witness before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo, Japan.

He died in 1960, aged 67, and was buried with full military honours in the Australian Imperial Force section of the West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia.

Many members of the public and hundreds of former members of the 10th Battalion and 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion lined the 1.9-mile (3 km) route between St Peter's Cathedral and the cemetery, and eight brigadiers were pallbearers.

His Victoria Cross and other medals are displayed in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial.

His wife, Rose Ada Blackburn (nee Kelly), died on the 5th of September, 1981, at age 87, in Adelaide, South Australia,

Rose and Arthur had four children.

'Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, VC, CMG, CBE, ED (25 November 1892 – 24 November '1960) was a South Australian soldier, lawyer, politician, and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Biographies:

• Wikipedia contributors, 'Arthur Blackburn', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
• R. A. Blackburn, 'Blackburn, Arthur Seaforth (1892–1960)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University