Hero or Deserter?

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Hero or Deserter? Page 30

by Roger Maynard


  Chapter 4: Attack, Attack, Attack

  1 Bennett, H. Gordon, ‘Report on Malayan Campaign Dec 7–February 15’, Mitchell Library.

  2 Bennett papers and diary, Mitchell Library, Sydney, MLMSS807

  3 Ibid.

  4 Manchester, William and Read, Paul, The Last Lion: Vol 3, Defender of the Realm, Pan Macmillan, London, 2015.

  5 Thompson, Peter, The Battle for Singapore, Portrait, 2005, p. 105.

  6 Gaynor, John, interview, IWM 008246/07.

  7 Winston Churchill, The Grand Alliance, Cassell, London, 1949.

  8 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap 6, p. 100.

  9 Bennett papers and diary, Mitchell Library, MLMSS807

  10 Ibid.

  11 Ibid.

  12 Ibid.

  13 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 75.

  14 Ibid., pp 75–7

  15 Corfield, Justin, & Corfield, Robin, The Fall of Singapore, Hardie Grant Books, 2012.

  16 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 78.

  17 Martin Gilbert, The Churchill Documents, Testing Times, 1942, College Press, Hillsdale, 2014, p. 211.

  18 Maynard, Roger, Hell’s Heroes, HarperCollins, Sydney, 2009, p. 70.

  19 Lodge, A.B., The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1986, p. 75.

  20 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 83.

  21 Maynard, Roger, Ambon, Hachette Australia, Sydney, 2014, p. 27.

  22 Gilbert, Max ‘Eddie’, interview with author, Melbourne, May 2012.

  Chapter 5: ‘It Was a Bloody Show, I Can Tell You’

  1 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 11, p. 214.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Kearney, Des, report to ‘Black Jack’ Galleghan, February 1942.

  4 Thyer. J.H., Report of Operations of 8th Division in Malaya based on narrative prepared by Col. C.H. Kappe; Kappe papers AWM MSS1393.

  5 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 11, p. 214.

  6 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, inter view with author, 24 September 2016.

  7 Penfold, A.W., et al., Galleghan’s Greyhounds, The Story of the 2/30th Infantry Battalion, 2/30th Battalion AIF Association, Sydney, 1979.

  8 Ibid., p. 89.

  9 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, interview with author, 24 September 2016; Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, The Memoirs of Arthur George Kennedy, unpublished, 1977.

  10 Ibid.

  11 Ibid.

  12 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 11, p. 218; Arneil, F., Stand To, ‘Anderson’s Company’, 1954.

  13 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, inter view with author, 24 September 2016.

  14 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, The Memoirs of Arthur George Kennedy, unpublished, 1977.

  15 Arneil, Stan, Black Jack, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1983, p. 93.

  Chapter 6: Kill or Be Killed

  1 Newton, R.W., et al., The Grim Glory: Official History of the 2/19th Battalion, Pt 1, 2/19 Battalion AIF Association, 1st edn, 1975, p. 149.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Ibid.

  4 Ibid., p. 189.

  5 Ibid.

  6 Ibid.

  7 Ibid.

  8 Ibid.

  9 Ibid.

  10 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 11, p. 214.

  11 Ibid., p. 244.

  12 Ibid.

  13 Hackney, Ben, Dark Evening, unpublished.

  14 Ibid.

  15 Ibid.

  16 Ibid.

  17 Percival, Arthur Ernest, The War in Malaya, Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1949, p. 233.

  Chapter 7: ‘If Anyone Tells You They Weren’t Frightened They’re a Bloody Liar’

  1 Harrison, Noel, interview with author, September 2016.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Harrison, Noel, unpublished memoir, loaned to author, September 2016.

  4 Wall, Don, Singapore and Beyond, 2/20th Battalion Association, Cowra, NSW, 1985, p. 26.

  5 Harrison, Noel, interview with author, September 2016.

  6 Mudie, Jack, interview with author, May 2006.

  7 Dietz, Henry, interview with author, June 2006.

  8 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 13, p. 250.

  9 Ibid.

  10 Richardson, Bart, interview with author, 12 October 2016.

  11 Dietz, Henry, interview with author, June 2006.

  12 Maynard, Roger, Hell’s Heroes, HarperCollins, Sydney, 2009, p. 62.

  13 Wall, Don, Singapore and Beyond, 2/20th Battalion Association, Cowra, NSW, 1985, p. 47.

  14 Ibid.

  15 Mudie, Jack, interview with author, May 2006.

  16 Dietz, Henry, interview with author, June 2006.

  17 Collins, Arthur ‘Snowy’, interview with author, June 2006.

  18 Ibid.

  19 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, , chap. 13, p. 251.

  20 Alchin, Don, interview with author, July 2006.

  21 Ibid.

  22 Harrison, Noel, interview with author, September 2016.

  23 Ibid.

  24 Daldry, George, interview with author, Bondi, August 2006.

  25 2/18th Australian Infantry Battalion, www.awm.gov.au/unit/U56061/

  26 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, p. 253.

  27 Lodge, A.B., The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1986, p. 129.

  28 Ibid.

  29 Ibid.

  30 Bennett, H. Gordon, letter to Forde, 27 January 1942, Forde Papers, AA 1974/398; Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, p. 272.

  31 Ibid.

  32 Ibid.

  33 Tsuji, Masanobu, quoted in Wall, Don, Singapore and Beyond, 2/20th Battalion Association, Cowra, NSW, 1985, p. 47.

  34 Richardson, Bart, interview with author, 12 October 2016.

  Chapter 8: A Terrible Revenge

  1 Hicks, Walter, interview with author, June 2012.

  2 Yamamoto, Genichi, Nippon Times, 31 January 1943.

  3 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 19.

  4 Mcilraith, Shaun, ‘The Ambon Battle’, People Magazine, 6 April 1955; ‘Gull Force Ambon’, Reveille, 1 July 1962.

  5 Roger Maynard, Ambon, Hachette, Sydney, p. 54.

  6 Fall of Rabaul, www.ww2australia.gov.au/japadvance/rabaul.html

  7 ‘Rabaul, 1942’, Campaign History, Australian War Memorial.

  Chapter 9: ‘We’ll Blow Them All Away’

  1 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 163.

  2 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 13, p. 283.

  3 Ibid.

  4 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 164.

  5 Wall, Don, Singapore and Beyond, 2/20th Battalion Association, Cowra, NSW, 1985, p. 53.

  6 Lodge, A.B., The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1986, p. 134.

  7 History of 2/18th Australian Infantry Battalion, www.awm.gov.au/unit/U56173/

  8 Lodge, A.B., The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1986; p. 115; Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, chap. 13, p. 258.

  9 Wall, Don, Singapore and Beyond, 2/20th Battalion Association, Cowra, NSW, 1st edn, 1985, p. 52.

  10 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 166.

  11 Ibid.

  12 Ibid., p. 167.

  13 Lodge, A.B., The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1986 p. 141; Bennett to Minister for the Army, 4 February 1942, AB 106/153, PRO.

  14 Byrne, Joe, interv
iew with author, Ramsgate, June 2006.

  15 Collins, Arthur ‘Snowy’, interview with author, June 2006.

  16 Dietz, Henry, interview with author, June 2006.

  17 Ibid.

  18 Daldry, George, interview with author, Bondi, August 2006.

  19 Alchin, Don, interview with author, July 2006.

  20 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 173.

  21 World War II Experiences of W. Holding, www.anzac.dpc.wa.gov.au/Resources/Stories/holding_w_pte_20050225.pdf

  22 Holding, Walter, unpublished memoir.

  23 Ibid.

  24 World War II Experiences of W. Holding, www.anzac.dpc.wa.gov.au/Resources/Stories/holding_w_pte_20050225.pdf

  25 Daldry, George, interview with author, Bondi, August 2006.

  26 Dietz, Henry, interview with author, June 2006.

  27 Houston, Jimmy, unpublished diary courtesy Pamela and Henning Nielsen.

  28 Dietz, Henry, interview with author, June 2006.

  Chapter 10: ‘The Battle Must Be Fought to the Bitter End’

  1 Newton R.W., et al., The Grim Glory: Official History of the 2/19th Battalion, Pt 1, 2/19 Battalion AIF Association, 1st edn, 1975, p. 269.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Legg, Frank, The Gordon Bennett Story, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1965, p. 237.

  4 Ibid.

  5 Ibid.

  6 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 16, p. 341.

  7 Ibid.

  8 Peter Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, Portrait, 2005, p. 316.

  9 Churchill, W., The Second World War, vol. IV, The Hinge of Fate, Houghton-Mifflin, London, 1950, pp. 87–88.

  10 Ibid.

  11 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 16, p. 342.

  12 Wavell, Archibald, Despatch on the Operations in the South West Pacific, 15 January to 25 February 1942, para 27.

  13 Thyer. J.H., Report of Operations of 8th Division in Malaya based on narrative prepared by Col. C.H. Kappe; Kappe papers AWM MSS1393, p. 125.

  14 Cook, John, interview with author, April 2006.

  15 McAuliffe, Mick, interview with author, June 2006.

  16 Chippendale, John, unpublished memoir, December 1997.

  17 Ibid.

  18 Ibid.

  19 Woods, Harry, interview with author, May 2006.

  20 History of 2/13 General Hospital, www.awm.gov.au/unit/U57200/

  21 The Sinking of the Vyner Brooke, www.awm.gov.au/military-event/E302/

  22 Ibid.

  23 Thyer. J.H., report of operations of 8th Division in Malaya based on narrative prepared by Col. C.H. Kappe; Kappe papers AWM MSS1393, p. 163.

  24 Corfield, Justin, & Corfield, Robin, The Fall of Singapore, Hardie Grant, Melbourne, 2012, p. 243.

  25 Ibid., p. 241.

  Chapter 11: Singapore Crumbles – The Getaway Begins

  1 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, interview with author, 24 September 2016.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Ibid.

  4 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, The Memoirs of Arthur George Kennedy, unpublished, 1977.

  5 Ibid.

  6 Ibid.

  7 Ibid.

  8 Ibid.

  9 Ibid.

  10 Ibid.

  11 Ibid.

  12 Ibid.

  13 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 17, p. 368.

  14 Ibid.

  15 Penfold, A.W., et al., Galleghan’s Greyhounds: The Story of the 2/30th Infantry Battalion, 2/30th Battalion AIF Association, Sydney, 1979, p. 216.

  16 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 17, p. 369.

  17 Boardman, Jack, interview with author, August 2016.

  18 Ibid.

  19 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 17, p. 372.

  20 Corfield, Justin, & Corfield, Robin, The Fall of Singapore, Hardie Grant, Melbourne, 2012, pp. 243–4.

  21 Bowden, Vivian Gordon, Australian Dictionary of Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bowden-vivian-gordon-9552

  22 Ibid.

  23 Ibid.

  24 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 17, pp. 376–77.

  25 Corfield, Justin, & Corfield, Robin, The Fall of Singapore, Hardie Grant, Melbourne, 2012, p. 244.

  26 Lee Kuan Yew, The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, Marshall Cavendish, Singapore, 1998, p. 46.

  27 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 213.

  28 Ibid.

  29 Corfield, Justin, & Corfield, Robin, The Fall of Singapore, Hardie Grant, Melbourne, 2012, p. 245.

  30 The Percival Report, 1948, www.pows-of-japan.net/articles/107.html

  31 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 246.

  32 Ibid.

  33 Hall, Timothy, The Fall of Singapore 1942, Methuen Australia, 1983.

  34 Legg, Frank, The Gordon Bennett Story, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1965, p. 252.

  35 Ibid.

  36 Leasor, James, Singapore: The Battle that Changed the World, House of Stratus, Cornwall, 2nd edn, 2001, p. 264.

  Chapter 12: ‘I Could Not Fall Into Japanese Hands’

  1 Bose, Romen, Secrets of the Battlebox, Marshall Cavendish, Singapore, 2005, p. 43.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 191.

  4 Smith, Colin, Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II, Penguin Books, Melbourne 2005, p. 546.

  5 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 192.

  6 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 17, p. 378.

  7 Ibid.

  8 Thompson, Peter, The Battle for Singapore, Portrait, 2005, p. 341.

  9 Corfield, Justin, & Corfield, Robin, The Fall of Singapore, Hardie Grant, Melbourne, 2012, p. 656.

  10 Ibid.

  11 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, chap. 17, p. 379.

  12 Ibid.

  13 Ibid., p. 378.

  14 Ibid.

  15 Chippendale, John, unpublished memoir, December 1997, p. 4.

  16 Bennett, H. Gordon, miscellaneous drafts and notes, Mitchell Library, box 22, item 1.

  17 Ibid.

  18 Ibid.

  19 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 195.

  20 Bennett, H. Gordon, miscellaneous drafts and notes, Mitchell Library, box 22, item 1.

  21 Legg, Frank, The Gordon Bennett Story, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1965, p. 255.

  22 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 195.

  23 Ibid., pp. 197, 198.

  24 Ibid.

  25 Legg, Frank, The Gordon Bennett Story, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1965, p. 255.

  26 Ibid.

  27 Ibid.

  28 Bennett, H. Gordon, Why Singapore Fell, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1944, p. 201.

  29 Ibid.

  30 Legg, Frank, The Gordon Bennett Story, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1965, p. 257.

  31 Ibid., p. 256.

  Chapter 13: Deserters or Stragglers?

  1 Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957, chap. 17, p. 387.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Ibid.

  4 Ibid.

  5 Wavell, A.P., Commander-in-Chief, India Command, letter to British War Cabinet, 1 June 1942.

  6 Elphick, Peter, letter to author, 9 October 2016.

  7 Anonymous, letter to Peter Elphick from member of 4th Anti-tank Regiment.

  8 Nelson, Hank, Prisoners of War: Australians under Nippon, ABC Enterprises, Sydney, 1985, p. 18.

  9 Murdoch, Keith, Adelaide Advertiser, August 1942.

  10 Ibid.

&nb
sp; 11 Bott, Eric, letter to Peter Elphick, January 1993.

  12 Stephen, S., letter to Peter Elphick, 12 January 1993.

  13 Elphick, Peter, Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress, Coronet Books, London, 1995, p. 449.

  14 Ibid., p. 475.

  15 Ibid.

  16 Elphick, Peter, Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress, Coronet Books, London, 1995, p. 476; PREM 3/168/7 PRO.

  17 Ibid.

  18 Boardman, Jack, interview with author, 11 August 2016.

  19 Richardson, Bart, interview by author, 12 October 2016.

  20 Harrison, Noel, interview with author, 27 September 2016.

  21 Ibid.

  22 Iliffe, James, interviewed for Australians at War, May 2002.

  23 Cornford, Roydon, interview with Chris Masters, ABC Four Corners, March 2002.

  24 Elphick, Peter, Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress, Coronet Books, London, 1995, p. 454.

  25 ABC Four Corners, March 2002.

  26 Elphick, Peter, Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress, Coronet Books, London, 1995, p. 479.

  27 Ibid.

  28 Ibid.

  29 Edward Docker and Lynette Silver, Fabulous Furphies: 10 Great Myths from Australia’s Past, 1997

  Chapter 14: Inside Changi

  1 Richardson, Bart, The Army As I Saw It, self-published, 2014.

  2 Daldry, George, interview with author, Bondi, August 2006.

  3 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, The Memoirs of Arthur George Kennedy, unpublished, 1977.

  4 Ibid.

  5 Ibid.

  6 Wall, Don, Singapore and Beyond, 2/20th Battalion Association, Cowra, NSW, 1985, p. 110.

  7 Timbs, Kevin, interview with author, Dapto, May 2006.

  8 Collins, Arthur ‘Snowy’, interview with author, June 2006.

  9 Maynard, Roger, Hell’s Heroes, HarperCollins, Sydney, 2009, p. 106.

  10 Sweeting, A.J., Prisoners of the Japanese, p. 511, in Wigmore, Lionel, The Japanese Thrust, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957.

  11 Ibid.

  12 Gaudry, Alan ‘Butch’, What it was like to be a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese 1942–1945: Memoirs of the POW experience, 22nd Brigade Headquarters Association, 15 June 1998, pp. 6, 7.

  13 Boardman, Jack, unpublished memoir, p. 25.

  14 Richardson, Bart, interview with author, 12 October 2016.

  15 Harrison, Noel, interview with author, 27 September 2016.

  16 Kennedy, Arthur ‘Bluey’ George, interview with author, 24 September 2016.

  Chapter 15: All at Sea

  1 Legg, Frank, The Gordon Bennett Story, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1965, p. 257.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Ibid.

  4 Ibid.

 

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