Herring left his corps to become the longest serving Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, serving for three decades. In the latter capacity, he was patron of many charitable organisations.
Between the wars
When the war ended, Herring wished to return to Australia and see Mary before resuming his studies at the
University of Oxford in October 1919. Mary wrote back pointing out the impracticality of this idea; while she would be disappointed not to see him, he should remain in England and complete his course at Oxford first.
[12] The university had awarded him a wartime
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1915; the
Rhodes Scholarship Trust allowed him to resume his scholarship, and he studied for a
Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree. Since it had been five years since he had been awarded his BA, he was entitled to a
MA as well, and graduated with both degrees in July 1920. After a holiday in Britain and France with his sister Kathleen, he arrived back in Melbourne on 26 November 1920.
[13]Herring was involved in politics throughout the 1930s. He was elected to the
Melbourne Club in 1927, a year before Sir Thomas Lyle became its president. He joined the
Young Nationalists, an organisation founded by
Robert Menzies and
Wilfrid Kent Hughes.
[16] Along with many senior army and ex-army officers, he was also a member of the clandestine far-right wing paramilitary organisation known as the White Guard, White Army or League of National Security. Composed primarily of former soldiers, the White Guard saw themselves as defenders of order who stood ready to stop a
Catholic or
Communist revolution in the wake of an emergency like the
1923 Victorian Police strike.
[17][18] After failing to gain
United Australia Party preselection for the Victorian
Legislative Assembly seat of
Prahran in 1931, he ran as an unendorsed candidate (i.e. one lacking formal
political endorsement) for the seat of
Brighton in 1936. He gained 12,258 votes, losing by just 528.
[19]Herring also joined the Christian service organisation
Toc H in 1925 and became its Victorian Area Commissioner in 1936.
[20][edit]Second World War
[edit]Western Desert
At the
Battle of Bardia, Herring controlled all 120 guns used in the division's attack, in which the infantry were supported by Great War style barrages.
[22] After the victory at Bardia, Herring's gunners supported the attack on
Tobruk. More than half of his guns were British, and some were commanded by regular British officers who were skeptical of the ability of an Australian Militia officer. War Correspondent
Chester Wilmotnoted that:
Herring has a quiet, easy manner and his last war service has given him an understanding of the British to which they were quick to respond. After Bardia and Tobruk those officers who had been most skeptical were his strongest champions. In building up the artillery plan, Herring brought to bear the same thorough, relentless logic and attention to detail with which he had so often built up a legal argument.
[23]
In the
campaign in Greece, Herring had, in addition to his own gunners, the 2nd Regiment,
Royal Horse Artillery, 64th Medium Regiment,
Royal Artillery and, for a time, the 6th Field Regiment,
Royal New Zealand Artillery, under his command.
[24] His Australian, New Zealand and British gunners demonstrated "the extent to which, in such rugged country, artillery, with reliable infantry ahead, could halt and confuse a pursuer"
[25]but they were unable to stop the enemy advance.
Herring was ordered to evacuate from Greece. He was one of between 7,000 and 8,000 troops that gathered at
Nafplion on 24 April 1941, although transportation had been arranged for only 5,000. The ship that he was to sail on, the
Ulster Prince ran aground near the harbour entrance. She was refloated but then ran aground again near the wharf. Despite this, some 6,600 men and women were embarked.
[26] Herring and fellow Brigadier
Clive Steele were among 5,100 that managed to reach
Crete on the
Royal Navy transport
HMS Glenearn. From there they flew back to
Alexandria.
[27] Others were transported by
HMS Phoebe ,
HMS Hyacinth ,
HMAS Stuart, and
HMAS Voyager, which carried 150 Australian and New Zealand nurses.
[26] For his service in Libya and Greece, Herring was made a Commander of the
Order of the British Empire (CBE).
[28][edit]Defence of Australia
Members of the 6th Division march past Major General Herring at Darwin during 1942
Herring was promoted to the temporary rank of
Major Generalon 14 August 1941 when he took over command of the
6th Division. He returned to Australia with it in March 1942. Unaware that the government had already decided that
GeneralSir Thomas Blamey should be appointed Commander in Chief, Herring, along with Major General
George Alan Vasey and Brigadier Clive Steele, approached Army Minister
Frank Fordewith a proposal that all officers over the age of 50 be immediately retired and Major General
Horace Robertsonappointed Commander in Chief. The 'revolt of the generals' collapsed with the announcement that General Blamey was returning from the Middle East to become Commander in Chief, but seems to have done the participants no harm.
[29]In Blamey's reorganisation of the Army in April 1942, Herring was given command of
Northern Territory Force. At this time
Darwin was being subjected to Japanese air raids. As supply by sea or air was impractical, Herring developed a land line of communications running across the
Outback from
Alice Springs.
[30][edit]Papuan Campaign
In the wake of the dismissal of Lieutenant General
Sydney Rowell for insubordination, Blamey ordered Herring to join him in
Port Moresby as the new commander of
I Corps. Before departing, Herring met with General
Douglas MacArthur, who emphasised that the first duty of a soldier was obedience to his superiors.
[32]
Herring (second from left) in Papua with General Douglas MacArthur (centre) and Major General Arthur Samuel Allen (right)
As at Darwin, Herring's primary difficulty was
logistics. The troops on the
Kokoda Track had to be supplied from
Port Moresby either by air or by
Papuan native carriers who lugged stores over the track on their backs. MacArthur created the Combined Operation Service Command (COSC), an unusual combined Australian-American logistical organisation, under U.S.
Brigadier General Dwight Johns, who in turn was answerable to Herring. Herring backed a plan to take American engineers off working on the airstrips in order to develop the port by building a causeway to Tatana Island, the successful completion of which doubled the port's capacity and was the logistical turning point of the campaign.
[33]More controversial was Herring's relief of Brigadier
Arnold Pottsand Blamey's of Major General
Arthur Samuel Allen at Herring's urging. Herring acknowledged that the two men had faced a difficult task but felt that they were tired and that Brigadier
Ivan Dougherty and Major General
George Alan Vasey could do better. Supporters of Allen, who left school at age 14, saw this as the action of an autocratic elitist who "ran his staff as he had controlled junior counsel in his barrister's chamber; they did his bidding, his way, or were forthwith dispensed with".
[34]It is a funny thing about war historians. If a general dismisses a subordinate at any time he is immediately attacked; whereas in our football game, if you have a better player for a particular place, you always play him, and everybody expects you to do this. I have little doubt that the same is true of your ball game. War historians never seem to give generals credit for having thought that X might be better than Y for the next phase of operations.
[35]
In November, Herring flew across the mountains to take control of the fighting around
Buna, leaving Blamey to control operations elsewhere in New Guinea.
[36] Herring planned the systematic reduction of the Japanese positions at Buna and Sanananda. He struggled to amass enough troops, equipment, guns, and supplies to allow Australian troops under Vasey and Americans under Eichelberger to overcome the Japanese and capture the area.
[37][edit]New Guinea Campaign
Following the victory at Buna, for which Herring and Eichelberger were appointed Knights Commander of the
Order of the British Empire,
[38] Blamey ordered him to return to Australia for a rest. While in Melbourne, Herring had an attack of
malaria, but recovered to resume command in New Guinea in May. Blamey charged him with responsibility for the next phase of
Operation Cartwheel, the capture of
Lae. Herring would command
I Corps, which would be part of
New Guinea Force, under Blamey and later
Mackay. Blamey intended to have Lieutenant General
Leslie Morshead command the subsequent phase of the operation, the assault on
Madang.
[39]At this time operations were in train to drive the Japanese back to
Salamaua. Once again, the difficulties of supplying the attacking force were formidable. Out of sensitivity towards the sensibilities of the Americans, Herring left the command arrangements between Major General
Stanley Savige's
3rd Division and units of the American
41st Infantry Division ambiguous. This backfired, producing acrimony between the Australian and American commanders. Herring prepared to fire Savige, but an investigation by Major General
Frank Berrymandetermined that the dispute was not Savige's fault.
[40]
Herring (left) with other senior Australian officers in the Ramu Valley of New Guinea in October 1943
In the subsequent
battle of Finschhafen, it soon became clear that the strength of the Japanese forces there had been seriously underestimated, and the
9th Division needed to be resupplied and reinforced, and its casualties evacuated. Herring strove to get the necessary amphibious lift from the navy but the commander of the
United States Seventh Fleet,
Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender, was reluctant to expose his ships to the Japanese air threat. The matter went up the chain of command to Mackay, to Blamey, and ultimately to MacArthur, who could do little, given that he had no real authority over the U.S. Navy.
[43]Carpender was not inflexible, and reached a compromise with Mackay to transport a battalion to Finschhafen in
high speed transports (APDs). Herring was in
Dobodura, lunching with
Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell, when he heard this news. He decided to fly to
Milne Bay to discuss the matter of resupply in general with Barbey. On 28 September, Herring and two of his staff officers, Brigadiers R. B. Sutherland and R. Bierwirth, boarded a U.S.
Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchell bomber at Dobodura. As the plane was about to take off, the undercarriage collapsed and the plane ploughed into the
Marston Mat runway. A propeller shattered, splinters ripped through the fuselage into the cabin and Sutherland, who was sitting in the navigator's compartment next to Herring, was struck by a flying fragment that killed him instantly. The crew, Herring and Bierwirth escaped shaken but unscathed. The trip to Milne Bay was cancelled. Brigadier Sutherland was buried will full military honours at Soputa the next day, with a fly past by B-25s. When next he flew, Herring once again took a B-25 and made a point of requesting the major who had been in charge of the crashed plane to be his pilot.
[44]Mackay became convinced that Herring was becoming increasingly difficult to work with as a result of stress and fatigue and asked Blamey for permission to relieve him. Blamey's response was characteristic: Morshead would be on the next plane.
[45] Yet Blamey maintained his faith in Herring, who retained command of
I Corpson the
Atherton Tableland, where he trained his men for the next operation.
[46] He did not know when or where this would be, so he focused on
amphibious warfare. He created the
1st Beach Group and developed tactics and doctrine for amphibious operations based on his own experience in the
New Guinea Campaign and reports from the
Allied invasion of Sicily. The benefits of his work would be realised in the
Borneo Campaign.
[47][edit]Chief Justiceship and later life
Lady Herring (with hat) looks on as Sir Edmund Herring, the new Chief Justice of Victoria, greets guests at an informal reception in his rooms. Major General C. E. M. Lloyd, Adjutant General, congratulates Herring on his appointment.
General Herring is prepared to accept the appointment and I recommend he be released from the Army. He has had two serious attacks of Malaria. I am afraid that in view of his age, further tropical service may seriously injure his health and that the command may suffer as a result. He has rendered excellent service over four years, mainly on active service in the field.
[48]
It was not quite the end of his military service. Herring was recalled to duty for a year as Director General of Recruiting in August 1950 when the
Korean War spurred efforts to build up the Army again.
[49] In January 1953, Herring was selected as leader of the Australian Services Contingent for the
coronationof Queen
Elizabeth II. This saw Australian soldiers as the
Queen's Guard at
Buckingham Palace on 26 May 1953, with Herring personally taking part in the procession. On 10 July, he was made a Knight of the
Order of St John at Buckingham Palace.
[50] At the same time, Mary was made a commander of the same order for her charity work.
[51]Herring maintained connections with his comrades from both World Wars. On the way back from the coronation, the Herrings stayed with the Eichelbergers in
Asheville, North Carolina. The two generals remained close friends, exchanging regular letters until Eichelberger's death in 1961. In 1962, Herring visited
Richard O'Connor at his home in
Ross. In 1967 and 1971, the Herrings again travelled to America where they were guests of
Dwight Johns and his wife. In 1973, he visited
Washington, D.C. for the annual reunion of MacArthur's staff, and resolved that the next reunion should be held in Australia. He obtained government backing for his idea, and arranged for more than twenty former American generals, including
Leif J. Sverdrup,
Hugh John Casey,
William C. Chase,
Clyde D. Eddleman, and
LeGrande A. Diller, and their wives to visit Australia in 1974, with commemorative functions being held in
Melbourne,
Sydney and
Brisbane. Herring steadfastly believed that MacArthur, like Blamey, was a great commander who was not fully appreciated in his own country.
[52]Herring's twenty years as Chief Justice was a period of significant change and growth in the administration of the law. During his period of office the number of judges on the Court increased from six to fourteen, reflecting the growth in cases. Herring earned a reputation as a fine judge and able administrator. He set up the Chief Justice's Law Reform Committee to try to ensure justice in Victoria's courts was abreast of the times, and a committee for religious observances and services to arrange the religious services marking the opening of the legal year. Herring retired as Chief Justice in 1964 but stayed on as Lieutenant Governor until his 80th birthday in 1972, serving in the position for a record 27 years.
[53] For his service as Lieutenant Governor, Herring was made a Knight Commander of the
Order of St Michael and St George in the
King's Birthday Honours of 9 June 1949.
[54]In a speech given on the occasion of his retiring as Chief Justice of Victoria, Herring said:
And now the time has come for me to lay down my office, but before I do so there are two matters to which I feel bound to draw attention. The first is this, that under the Australian constitution the great common law courts of Australia are the Supreme Courts of the States. Federal Parliament has no power to set up common law courts and so it is to the Supreme Courts of the States the citizen must look for protection from illegal arrest and other encroachments on his liberty. It is to these Courts that he must come for a writ of habeas corpus. These Courts and their prestige must, therefore, at all costs be sustained so that they will continue to attract the finest characters and best legal brains that we can produce. As a community we will pay heavily if we allow our Supreme Court to be relegated to a position of inferiority. The second matter I feel I should mention is that the principle of the independence of the judiciary from the executive is fundamental to our freedom. What happens when this principle is departed from is evident from what is going on in many lands today. We must see to it that our citizens all understand that an independent judiciary is the greatest bulwark of their liberties and their best protection from totalitarian rule.
[55]
While opening the Victorian
Returned Services League Conference shortly before his retirement as Lieutenant Governor, Herring criticised anti-war protesters and praised Australian soldiers who had served in the
Vietnam War. "People who throw stones at Americans," he said, "should stop and think where we would have been in 1942 without the Americans."
[53] Such remarks earned him a rebuke from the then acting State Opposition Leader,
Frank Wilkes, as "untactful" for a representative of the Crown.
[53]Herring again became the subject of controversy in May 1978 when
Barry Jones revealed in
Federal Parliament that during World War II Herring had confirmed death sentences on 22 Papuans convicted of handing over seven Anglican missionaries to the Japanese, which Jones called "the darkest secret in modern Australian history".
[56] The Papuans had been convicted of offences including murder and treason. Herring claimed that they had been treated fairly under the conventions and circumstances applicable in wartime. "I have a clear conscience about it" he said.
[53] The seven missionaries had all been murdered by the Japanese. Four of them were women who had been raped as well. The Papuans had also handed over to the Japanese for execution two planters, six Australian soldiers, and two American airmen, and they had murdered Australian soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion near Kokoda. They were handed over to
ANGAU, which had carried out the executions at Higaturu in September 1943.
[57]
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