Monash's Letters: Insights into the Life of a Military Leader

A correspondence of eleven letters from John Monash to Ada Benjamin (nee Krakowski): 1911 to 1926, during the turbulent and hugely consequential years that included his service during World War One, John Monash (1865 - 1931) maintained a correspondence with his 'Old Flame' Ada Krakowski (1864 - 1937). Monash had married Hannah Victoria ('Vic') Moss in 1891 and they had one child, Bertha. Ada Krakowski had married Samuel Benjamin, (whom she had met at the Melbourne Jewish school in the 1870s) and following his death in 1911, Alfred Bagshaw. The following letters, several accompanied by their original envelopes, survived in the hands of Ada's children until a few years ago and are now available for the first time, more than a century after the correspondence took place. The contents provide several fascinating insights into the life of one of Australia's most important military men, who also made a significant contribution in civilian life.