Hero or Deserter?
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Jim Kennedy and his family for helping to introduce me to his father, Arthur, whose memoir and recollections were so important. Henning and Pamela Nielsen, stepdaughter of Jimmy Houston, whose diary is one of the most detailed records of POW life I have come across. David Boughton and members of his family for sharing Dudley Boughton’s diary. Jack Mudie’s daughter, Jenny; Lindy Cooper, Don Alchin’s daughter.
Bart Richardson, whose sharp memory revealed so much. Jack Boardman, whose recall was as fine-tuned as his piano skills. And Noel Harrison whose detailed thoughts of those dark days were as vivid a few days before he died as they were 75 years previously. Christine and Alan Curteis, without whose blessing I would have been unable to access so much of Gordon Bennett’s material. Likewise, the Sydney Morning Herald’s, RSVP column, which helped me track down Joan Bennett.
My agent, Margaret Gee, who never gave up on the idea for this book. Alison Urquhart, my publisher at Penguin Random House, my editor, Catherine Hill, and copy-editor Anne Reilly.
And last but not least, Anthony and Dorothea Tom, who revealed to me that Joan Bennett was still alive at the age of 99 and thereby helped to bring this book to a fitting close.
Finally, my thanks to my wife, Vivienne, and my family, whose support and encouragement was invaluable.
Roger Maynard is a broadcaster, journalist and foreign correspondent and the author of eight non-fiction books.
He has been based in Australia for the past three decades and previously worked for the BBC in the UK. He has also written extensively for the London Times, the Independent and the South China Morning Post.
More about him and his work can be found at www.rogermaynard.com.au
Also by Roger Maynard
Ambon: The Truth About One of the Most Brutal POW Camps in World War Two and the Triumph of the Aussie Spirit
Milat
Hell’s Heroes: The Forgotten Story of the Worst POW Camp in Japan
Fatal Flaw
Where’s Peter?
Life at the Top: Triumphs, Travails and Teachings of Australia’s Top Business Leaders
Milat: Belanglo, the Next Chapter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Penguin Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Hero or Deserter?
ISBN 9780143783930
First published by Ebury Australia in 2017
Copyright © Roger Maynard 2017
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
An Ebury book
Published by Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060
www.penguin.com.au
Addresses for the Penguin Random House group of companies can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com/offices.
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Maynard, Roger, author
Hero or deserter?: Gordon Bennett and the tragic defeat of 8th division / Roger Maynard
ISBN 978 0 14378 3 930 (ebook)
Bennett, Henry Gordon, 1887–1962
Australia. Army. Division, 8th – History
Capitulations, Military
Governmental investigations – Australia
Escapes – Singapore
Generals – Australia – History
World War, 1939–1945 – Campaigns – Singapore
Cover design by Adam Yazxhi, Maxco
Front cover image by Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images
Front and back cover image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial (009249/01)
Maps by Alicia Freile, Tango Media Pty Ltd
Ebook by Firstsource