StreetMorshead AvenueSuburbCarlingfordDetailsBrigadier Morshead commanded the 18th Brigade in the western desert African campaign in 1941. He was a strict disciplinarian, known to his troops as "Ming the Merciless" after a comic strip character, and was very proud of his troops. He was Commander of the Australian Division, his 9th Division was to defend the Tobruk fortress. The men improved the Tobruk defences while Rommel pushed his commanders to seal off the fortress and "bounce" its defenders from their positions. If he failed to capture the position, 2,000 tons of supplies, a daily requirement, would have to be trucked by road from Benghazi. Born in 1889, Ballarat, Victoria, Morshead was a captain in the 2nd Battalion at Gallipoli, commanded the 33rd Battalion A.I.F. in France, and was awarded the D.S.O. and Legion d'honneur. He was highly respected for his defence of Tobruk and Alamein.
