Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Godfrey George Howy Irving (25 August 1867 – 11 December 1937) was a senior

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

officer during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early life and career

Godfrey George Howy Irving was born on 25 August 1867 at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

, the son of Professor

Martin Howy Irving Martin Howy Irving (21 February 1831 – 23 January 1912) was an English rower and educationist who spent nearly all his career in Australia . Background and early career Irving was born in St Pancras, London, the son of Edward Irving, a major f ...

. He was educated at Hawthorn Grammar School. While still at school, Irving enlisted in the 2nd Battalion, Victorian Rifles in 1885. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion in 1887 and in 1891 joined the Victorian Permanent Forces as a captain. Over the next nine years he was adjutant of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions. In March 1900 he became adjutant of the Victorian Rangers and was promoted to major in July 1900. In March 1902 he was appointed to the Victorian Headquarters staff in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Irving volunteered for service in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and embarked in May 1902 as commander of the 6th Battalion,

Australian Commonwealth Horse The Australian Commonwealth Horse (ACH) was a mounted infantry unit of the Australian Army formed for service during the Second Boer War in South Africa in 1902 and was the first expeditionary military unit established by the newly formed Common ...

, with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. Irving and his battalion arrived in Natal, but were immediately ordered to return to Australia due to the end of the war. Irving returned to Australia and resumed duty on the Victorian staff. In November 1903, he was transferred to the Army Headquarters staff. Irving was sent to England and India for training in 1905, returning in early January 1906. In March 1906 he was posted to the Administrative and Instructional Staff in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In September 1909 he became commandant of the 5th Military District (

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

). He was promoted to temporary colonel in January 1911 and substantive colonel on 1 May 1915. In July 1914, he moved to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

to become Commandant of the 4th Military District (

First World War

On 24 May 1915, Irving was appointed

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

, replacing

James Legge James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the London ...

who had been appointed General Officer Commanding the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). His chief responsibility was overseeing the expansion of the training establishment in Australia to provide reinforcements for the AIF units overseas and raising and training what would become the 2nd Division. By late 1915, the General Staff and the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, Senator

George Pearce Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO (14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1901 to 1938. He began his career in the Labor Party but later joined the National Labor Party, ...

, had become concerned by the way that the Australian Intermediate Base and the AIF training depot in Egypt were being run. Lacking confidence in the base commander, Colonel

Victor Sellheim Major general (Australia), Major General Victor Conradsdorf Morisset Sellheim, (4 May 1866 – 25 January 1928) was an Australians, Australian military officer during the Second Boer War and the First World War. Sellheim fought in the Second B ...

, Pearce ordered Irving, an officer he regarded as more capable than Sellheim, to take charge of the base in November 1915 as GOC Australian Troops in Egypt. The evacuation of Gallipoli lead to Irving not taking command of the Australian Intermediate Base and the AIF training depot, he was instead given command of the 15th Brigade on 21 February 1916. On 1 March 1916, he was switched to command of the 14th Brigade. He was also acting commander of the

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 5th Division (Australia) *5th Division (People's Republic of China) * 5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) * 5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Mo ...

from 1 March until the arrival of Major General

James McCay Lieutenant General Sir James Whiteside McCay, (21 December 1864 – 1 October 1930), who often spelt his surname M'Cay, was an Australian general and politician. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he earned Master of Arts an ...

. On 20 March, the 4th and 5th Divisions were ordered to move from their training area at Tel el Kebir to the Suez Canal, where they would replace the 1st and 2nd Divisions, which had recently left for France. Irving returned to Australia in June and once again became Commandant of the 4th Military District. In February 1917, he became Commandant of the 1st Military District (

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Post war

In May 1921 he was appointed Deputy Quartermaster General at Army Headquarters in Melbourne. He was placed on the unattached list in 1922 and made a major general on retirement in November 1925. Irving died in Melbourne on 11 December 1937 and was buried in Boroondara Cemetery. His son Ronald Godfrey Howy Irving graduated from

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...

in 1919 and reached the rank of brigadier, while a daughter, Colonel Sybil Howy Irving, was founder and Controller of the Australian Women's Army Service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

References

*Ross Mallett
Godfrey George Howy Irving
''General Officers of the First AIF'', adfa.edu.au *C. D. Coulthard-Clark

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pp 441–442. {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Godfrey 1867 births 1937 deaths Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Melbourne Chiefs of Army (Australia) Australian Army officers Colony of Victoria people