General Bridges

As Australia’s most senior commander, General William Throsby Bridges was the only ANZAC to be returned to Australia for burial during World War One. 

General Bridges was shot and killed by a Turkish sniper at Gallipoli. Originally buried in Egypt, his remains were exhumed and returned to Australia for a state funeral in September 1915. Crowds gathered outside St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne and lined train stations along the processional journey to Canberra.

Photo: General Bridges Funeral procession - State Library of Victoria