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 a ...

Sir Charles Rosenthal, (12 February 1875 – 11 May 1954) was an Australian architect, soldier, musician and politician. He commanded units of infantry in the Australian Imperial Force 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 ...

, and in the 1920s was elected as a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

Early life and career

Rosenthal was born in

Berrima, New South Wales Berrima () is a historic village in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The village, once a major town, is located on the Old Hume Highway between Sydney and Canberra. It was previously known officially ...

to a Danish-born school master and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-born mother. He trained as an architect and was elected associate of the

Royal Victorian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

in 1895. He became a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

in the architectural division of the Department of Railways and Public Works in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. After becoming bankrupt and ill he returned to the eastern states in 1899. In 1906 he was made architect for the

Anglican Diocese of Grafton The Anglican Diocese of Grafton is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese is located in north-east New South Wales and covers the area from the Queensland border to Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Port Macquar ...

and

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

. He designed St Andrew's,

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city in northeastern New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore Local government in Australia, local government area; it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State. It ...

, St Laurence's,

Barraba Barraba is a town in the New England region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It was formerly the centre of Barraba Shire local government area, but most of this, including Barraba, was absorbed into Tamworth Regional Council in 2004. On ...

, and Holy Trinity, Dulwich Hill, Sydney.

First World War

In 1892 Rosenthal joined the Geelong Battery of the Victorian Militia Garrison Artillery as a gunner, but left the service three years later on moving to Melbourne. In 1903 he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Militia Garrison Artillery. He transferred to the

Australian Field Artillery The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's first ...

in 1908 where he was promoted as major. In 1914 he became commanding officer of the 5th Field Artillery Brigade. Thus before the war he was established as a soldier as well as a professional architect. Rosenthal joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in August 1914 and sailed with the first convoy as lieutenant-colonel commanding the Australian 3rd Field Artillery Brigade. Rosenthal was at the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915. He was twice wounded at Gallipoli, the second wound causing him to be evacuated to England in August 1915. He returned to Egypt when the (AIF) was expanding and given command of the artillery of the new 4th Division and was promoted

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in February 1916. He was engaged in the heavy fighting on the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

, at

Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village on ...

and

Mouquet Farm The Battle of Mouquet Farm, also known as the Fighting for Mouquet Farm was part of the Battle of the Somme and began during the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September). The fighting began on 23 July with attacks by the British Reserve A ...

and at

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

in Belgium. He was wounded a third time in December 1916. On 22 May 1918 Rosenthal was appointed to command the 2nd Division and promoted

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 a ...

. He took part in the attack at Hamel. He was wounded for a fourth time in 1918 by a sniper when on daylight reconnaissance. He returned to duty in August and was involved in the

Battle of Mont St. Quentin The Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin was a battle on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I. As part of the Allies of World War I, Allied Hundred Days Offensive on the Western Front in the late summer of 1918, the Australi ...

. Rosenthal went to England in March 1919 to command all the depots of the AIF during the repatriation of the troops. He returned to Australia in January 1920.

Post-war career

After the war Rosenthal contemplated not returning to the profession of architecture but did so while leading an active public life. From 1921–26 and also 1932–37 he was commander of the 2nd Division. He served as an alderman of

Sydney Municipal Council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842 ...

in 1921–24 and was chairman of its works committee. He was also a

Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Mini ...

member for Bathurst in the

in 1922–25 and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

in 1936–37. He was twice president of the Institute of Architects of New South Wales in 1926–30 and was also president of the federal council of the Australian Institutes of Architects in 1925–28. He also served as president of the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

, Sydney. In 1930, during the

Great Depression in Australia Australia suffered badly during the period of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. As in other nations, Australia suffered years of high unemployment, povert ...

, he was again declared bankrupt. In 1937 Rosenthal accepted the post of

administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of The Crown and of the Government of Australia, as well as carrying out other duties according to the ''Norfolk Island Amendment Act 2015''.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 opposin ...

until 1945. Among other activities he raised a volunteer infantry unit.

In popular culture

Rosenthal may have been a part-model for the authoritarian veterans' leader Benjamin Cooley in

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

's novel, ''

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

'' (London, 1923). Rosenthal had been founding secretary in 1921 and later president of The King and Empire Alliance, with which Robert Darroch asserts D.H. Lawrence had been in contact, probably through W. J. R. Scott. It has also been alleged that Rosenthal was involved with the Old Guard, a secret

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, set up by the Bruce government.

Footnotes

External links

*
Rosenthal diaries, 25 September 1914 – 5 January 1920 / Sir Charles Rosenthal
held at State Library of New South Wales accessed 23 November 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Charles Military personnel from New South Wales Administrators of Norfolk Island Australian people of Scandinavian descent Australian people of Swedish descent Australian people of Danish descent 1875 births 1954 deaths New South Wales architects Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)