| Victor Sellheim | |
|---|---|
| File:File:AWM H05751 Victor Sellheim.JPG | |
| Born | May 4, 1866 |
| Died | January 25, 1928 (aged 61) |
| Place of birth | Balmain, New South Wales |
| Place of death | Norfolk Island |
| Buried at | Kingston Cemetery, Kingston, Norfolk Island |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch |
Queensland Defence Force Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1896–1927 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George |
Major General Victor Sellheim CB, CMG (4 May 1866 – 25 January 1928) was an Australian military officer during the Second Boer War and World War I.[1]
Early life[]
Sellheim was born on 4 May 1866 in Balmain, the eldest son of Philip Frederic Sellheim and his wife Laura Morisset. He was educated at the Brisbane Grammar School and was a surveyor afterwards. Sellheim married Susan Howell-Griffith on 7 December 1890.[1] He enlisted in the Kennedy Regiment, where he received a second lieutenant's commission in 1892 and was promoted to captain the next year.[2] As the regimental adjutant, he obtained a permanent commission in the Queensland Defence Force in 1896.[1] After attending courses in the United Kingdom, Sellheim served in the Second Boer War as an officer attached to British units and the chief of staff of Harry Chauvel's Mounted Infantry, taking part in the Battle of Belmont and the Battle of Modder River.[3] He later joined the Queensland Mounted Infantry during the advance on Pretoria. For his services during the war, Sellheim was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath[4] and also Mentioned in Dispatches.[5] After the Boer War, Sellheim was shifted through various staff appointments and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in December 1909 and appointed the Quartermaster General to the Australian Military Forces in 1912. Promoted to colonel in 1913, he became the Adjutant-General in August 1914.[1]
World War I[]
Sellheim served as the head of the administrative staff in the 1st Division of the Australian Imperial Force.[6] He did not have a good relationship with his superior, Major General William Bridges[1][7] and as a result Bridges did not deal directly with Sellheim on administrative matters.[6] Sellheim organized a base for the AIF in Cairo and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1916. AIF Administrative Headquarters was moved to England in May. Sellheim was replaced by Robert Anderson in August and was sent back to Australia to become the Adjutant General again. He was again mentioned in dispatches [8] and also appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.[9]
Later life[]
Promoted to major general in January 1920, Sellheim became the Quartermaster General as well as the Adjutant General as a result of decreasing defence expenditures due to the end of World War I. He resigned his positions in January 1927 to become the administrator of Norfolk Island, but died of heart failure on 25 January 1928, and was buried in the cemetery Kingston, Norfolk Island. Sellheim's maternal grandfather, James Morisset, had served as commandant of Norfolk from 1829 to 1834.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Hill, A.J. (1988). "Sellheim, Victor Conradsdorf Morisset (1866–1928)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Volume 11. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. pp. 565–567. ISBN 9780522842364. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/sellheim-victor-conradsdorf-morisset-8385.
- ↑ "Major Victor Sellheim". http://www.bwm.org.au/site/Victor_Sellheim.asp. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
- ↑ Edgar, Peter (2011). Sir William Glasgow: Soldier, Senator and Diplomat. Newport: Big Sky Publishing. ISBN 9781921941634.
- ↑ "Honours and Awards: Victor Conradsdorf Morisset Sellheim | Australian War Memorial". https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1508159/. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
- ↑ "Honours and Awards: Victor Conradsdorf Morisset Sellheim | Australian War Memorial". https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1508162/. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Connor, John (2011). Anzac and Empire: George Foster Pearce and the Foundations of Australian Defence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 61. ISBN 9781107009509.
- ↑ Stevenson, Robert C. (2013). To Win the Battle: The 1st Australian Division in the Great War, 1914–18. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 60. ISBN 9781107028685.
- ↑ "Honours and Awards: Victor Conradsdorf Morisset Sellheim | Australian War Memorial". https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1508161/. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
- ↑ "Honours and Awards: Victor Conradsdorf Morisset Sellheim | Australian War Memorial". https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1508160/. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
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