Ben Chifley and Bernard Montgomery

An untitled picture on display in the Chifley Home and Education Centre leads to an investigation of a visit by Field Marshal Viscount Bernard Montgomery to Australia in 1947 and a meeting with Prime Minister Ben Chifley.

One of the items on display in the former home of Ben Chifley (Prime Minister of Australia, 1945- 1951) is a framed photograph showing Chifley in conversation with an unnamed figure in military uniform. At first glance the unnamed figure appears to be Field Marshal Viscount Bernard Montgomery, though visitors to the museum have suggested alternatives, such as US General Douglas MacArthur or Field Marshal Jan Smuts of South Africa. Both these suggestions are clearly wrong. In the first place, the unidentified figure is wearing a British uniform, so obviously not the American general Douglas MacArthur. In the second place, neither MacArthur nor Smuts bears any resemblance to the individual in the photograph. So, is it really Viscount Lord Bernard Law Montgomery, the victor of El Alamein? When did Montgomery meet with Ben Chifley, if indeed he ever did, and where? A very little amount of investigation reveals the answer to these questions, and even more detail. The original picture can be found in the archives of the Sydney Morning Herald, on page 1 of the late edition, Thursday 3 July 1947, under the heading VISCOUNT MONTGOMERY'S BUSY DAY IN CANBERRA. There are four pictures featured on page 1. The picture (now displayed in the Chifley Museum, Bathurst) is captioned A happy study of Lord Montgomery with the Prime Minister, Mr. Chifley.

The other three illustrations in the Sydney Morning Herald show some of Montgomery's activities on the second day of his visit to Canberra. These included a visit to the Australian War Memorial, a welcome from ex-service men and women at the Capitol Theatre, Manuka, and a visit to Parliament House, where he attended a meeting of the Cabinet. He would certainly meet Ben Chifley then and, given that there are no earlier reports of a meeting between Chifley and Montgomery on this visit, the photograph could have been taken then.  

An interesting detail of the meeting between them, however, is contained in a British Pathe newsreel, now held in the National Film and Sound Archives and available on Trove. This shows Montgomery's arrival by air, his meeting with the Governor-General at Yarralumla, his visit to the Australian War Memorial, and, more importantly, a press conference at Parliament House, in which Montgomery and Chifley stand side by side. At this conference Montgomery reminiscences about his earlier life in Tasmania, and suggests that he might be made an honorary Australian. This causes some hilarity between the two men, and their friendliness is shown by the accompanying still images taken from the newsreel.

Montgomery and Chifley certainly met on a number of occasions during the three days of Montgomery's visit to Canberra, and it is difficult to determine a precise time when the picture was taken, nor is the location of the picture obvious. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Montgomery, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, had arrived in Canberra, after a 10 hour non-stop flight from Darwin, on Tuesday 1st July and was welcomed by the Governor-General, Mr. McKell, at Government House, Yarralumla that same afternoon. There is no mention of Chifley's presence on that occasion, nor is there any evidence that Montgomery visited the Lodge. This can't be ruled out, of course, and it is also possible that the picture may have been taken at the Kurrajong hotel, where Chifley also tended to stay when in Canberra.

On the following day, Thursday 3rd July, Montgomery inspected a parade of cadets at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, then departed by air for Melbourne. According to the newspaper account, this was the most important part of Montgomery's visit to Australia. He held talks with the Australian Military Board on Australia's part in a master plan for Empire defence. After this, Montgomery visited each of the capital cities before departing for New Zealand.

REFERENCES

Sydney Morning Herald, 3rd July 1947, page 1.

Pathe Newsreel, Wednesday 2nd July 1947.National Film and Sound Archives. Film ID 2401.32, Media URN 66575