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Major General Harold "Pompey" ElliottPrint Page Print this page

11-April-2022 (Ballarat City Council)
11-April-2022 (Ballarat City Council)

Photographs supplied by Kent Watson / Ballarat City Council

The sculpture commemorates the life and career of Major General Harold 'Pompey' Elliott.

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 World War One. He also served as a Senator in the Australian parliament after World War one.

He was a senior World War One leader who commanded the 7th Battalion at Gallipoli and the15th Brigade at the Western Front. Pompey Elliott attended Ballarat College (now Ballarat and Clarendon College) from 1885 and shortly after began military service.

Location

Address:Sturt Street, Boulevard Gardens near Rotunda, Ballarat, 3350
State:VIC
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -37.561576
Long: 143.854306
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Sculpture
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Military
Artist:Louis Laumen (Yarraville, VIC)

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Wednesday 15th December, 2010
Front Inscription

Pompey Elliott

Plaque : 
Harold Edward "Pompey" Elliott 
Born West Charlton 1878 - Died Melbourne 1931
CB, CMG, DSO, DCM, Croix De Guerre, Order of St Anne, MID, BA, LLB
Soldier, Solicitor, Senator and acclaimed Commander. 

"General Elliott [was] probably the most outstanding personality in the A.I.F" Those who "knew him on his visits to his school as a quiet, kindly man ... could have no conception of his extraordinary force and driving power as a commander of a fighting unit."  (Ballarat solicitor Hugh Morrow, a lieutenant on Pompey Elliott`s staff, speaking at Ballarat College ANZAC Day ceremony, 1931)

Plaque :
West Charlton to Ballarat.

Harold Elliott was born on 19 June 1878 and grew up in poverty on his parents` farm at West Charlton. His life was transformed when his father discovered gold in Western Australia in 1894 and moved his family to Ballarat. The Elliotts lived at "Elsinore" in Hotham Street, which then had spacious grounds extending towards Lake Wendouree..

Plaque :
Ballarat College.

Harold started secondary education aged 16 when he attended Ballarat College with his brothers. He overcame the legacy of his lost scholastic years with characteristic determination, and ended up dux of the school. The headmaster said he was a "glutton for work". Harold always retained an affectionate sense of affiliation with Ballarat.

Plaque :
University and War.

He graduated in law from the University of Melbourne, sharing the prize for best results in his final year. Harold volunteered for the South African War, departing as a trooper and returning as a lieutenant. He was awarded a DCM for daring exploit. After graduating he became a soldier, husband and parent. He was a wholehearted participant in the militia.

Plaque :
Gallipoli.

He commanded the 7th AIF Battalion at Gallipoli. His men nicknamed him "Pompey."  Wounded at the landing, he was prominent at Lone Pine, where four of his men were awarded the VC. His duel with a Turk in a cramped, murky tunnel confirmed his conspicuous bravery. He was renowned for never sending anyone anywhere he was not  prepared to go himself.

Plaque :
Exceptional Leader

Pompey Elliott was charismatic and inspiring, forthright and controversial. He had unimpeachable integrity and unwavering commitment. His tempestuousness generated a host of Pompey anecdotes that amused his men and disconcerted his superiors. No Australian general was more revered by those he led, or more famous outside his own command. He was an outstandingly successful commander.

Inscription in Proximity

Plaque :

Western Front         

Plaque :

The Fighting Brigadier

Plaque :

A Household Name  

(see text in photos)

 

Source: MA,ADB
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au