Gilbert Dyett

Who was Gilbert Dyett?

Sir Gilbert Joseph Cullen Dyett CMG was an Australian World War I veteran of the Gallipoli Campaign, who was President of the Returned and Services League of Australia for 27 years, from 1919 to 1946.

Dyett also served as Dominion President of the British Empire Services League from 1921 to 1946, and was secretary of the Victorian Trotting and Racing Association for 30 years from 1919 to 1949.

He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1927, and was made Knight Bachelor in 1934.

He died in 1964, aged 73, following a long illness.

In 2003, a display on Dyett was created for the Eternity Hall at the National Museum of Australia. A collection of Dyett's memorabilia was unveiled in 2006 by Dyett's nephew at a dinner to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Bendigo and District branch of the Returned Services League. The collection, normally housed in a vault, includes war medals and photographs, as well as Dyett's writings.