Henry Gordon Bennett CB CMG DSO (1887 - 1962)

Ancestors

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 formative years 1.2 The Great War 1.3 life between wars 1.4 Second World War 1.5 that decision 1.6 post military life 1.7 Honours and awards 2 Sources 3 See also

Biography

Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett CB CMG DSO VD was a veteran of both the Great and Second World Wars. In the former war he became Australia's youngest general, at 29 years of age. He was General Officer Commanding 8th Division during the Malaya-Singapore campaign and when the order came in February 1942 to surrender all forces in Singapore. Outside the Army, Bennett worked on behalf of veterans, was an accountant, owned a textile warehouse and was an orchardist.

formative years

Henry Gordon Bennett, who always went by his middle name of Gordon, was born on 16th April 1887 in the State School House Balwyn, Victoria (Australia). ^[1][2] He was the sixth surviving child of George Bennett, a Cape Town-born school teacher, and second child of George's second wife, Harriet Bentley. He attended Balwyn Public School, where his father was schoolmaster, and then Hawthorn College.

From school, George gained employment as an actuarial clerk with (then a non-profit) insurance company Australian Mutual Provident (AMP) Society.

In 1908 Bennett enlisted in the Militia as a part-time citizen soldier. He was soon commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, followed by promotion to Lieutenant. He was appointed adjutant of the 5th Infantry Battalion in 1912, upon promotion to Captain.

The Great War

On 19th August 1914, at the outbreak of The Great War, upon promotion to Major, Bennett was appointed second-in-command of the 6th Infantry Battalion, which was part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Division. ^[3] It was with the 6th Battalion that Bennett landed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. He was later appointed commanding officer of the 6th and promoted Lieutenant Colonel.

For his service at Gallipoli, during which he was wounded, Bennett was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) on 8th November 1915 ^[4] and Mentioned in Despatches (equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry) twice. He subsequently led the 6th Battalion through the Battle of Pozières on the Western Front in July 1916.

Whilst on leave from the Western Front at Chelsea, England on 16th November 1916, Gordon married Bess Agnes Buchanan. ^[5] Engaged since just prior to the war, Bess was accompanied by her father to England to catch up with Gordon.

On 3rd December 1916, he was given command of the 3rd Infantry Brigade and promoted to Brigadier General, becoming, at 29, the youngest general in the Australian Army (Brigadiers were no longer included as Generals after 1919). For his service on the Western Front, on 1st January 1918 Bennett was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), ^[6] appointed Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 3rd June 1919 ^[7] and Mentioned in Despatches a further six times. Following the war he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

life between wars

Upon his return to Australia with Bess and with their then ten-month old daughter, Joan, the Bennetts initially lived at Canterbury, Victoria, while Gordon sought to return to civilian life. Considering he was now a decorated general, he couldn't go back to his old job. When offered a position in the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney, New South Wales, the family readily moved interstate.

Bennett soon after established his own accountancy business, which prospered quickly, and they set up their home in Rose Bay, overlooking Sydney Harbour. Shortly afterward, he purchased a textile factory and worked as a clothing manufacturer; before being appointed chairman of the New South Wales Repatriation Board in 1922, in which role he was able to help returned soldiers.

Bennett was appointed one of three city commissioners from 1927 to 1930 when the New South Wales government sacked the Sydney City Council for corruption.

Bennett remained active in the military, continuing to serve as an officer in the militia. He served as commander of the 9th Infantry Brigade. In 1930, he was promoted to Major General and appointed to command the 2nd Division. He was awarded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration (VD) for twenty years' service as a militia officer.

Second World War

At the outset of the Second World War, Bennett was junior only to Sir Brudenell White and Sir Thomas Glasgow, and was in no doubt that, if an Australian expeditionary force were raised, he would be its commander. He was therefore furious when Major General Sir Thomas Blamey (an ex-regular officer with whom he had clashed) was appointed to head the 6th Division and later the Australian Imperial Force. The oversight was due to his 'outspokenness' of Australian regular officers and that he would not be capable of serving as a subordinate to the British commander in Malaya. He was similarly overlooked for command of 7th Division. Instead, he was given command of establishing the Volunteer Defence Corps, the Australian version of the British Home Guard. However, in August 1940, he was appointed commander of the newly formed but ill-fated 8th Division and despatched to Malaya. ^[8]

By all reports, when facing the Japanese army in Malaya from December 1941, the 8th Division fought bravely and with several successes. Nevertheless, it had to keep withdrawing as other units faltered and to avoid being surrounded as the Japanese advance overpowered. ^[9] On 15th February 1942, appreciating that General Arthur Percival was about to order all Allied forces to surrender, Bennett decided that it was his duty to escape from Singapore and communicate his knowledge of Japanese tactics to military authorities. He handed over command of the 8th Division to Brigadier Cecil Callaghan and, with a small group of junior officers and European civilians escaped, arriving in Melbourne on 2nd March. In the April, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and given command of III Corps in Perth; at that time an important post; but as the probability of a Japanese invasion of Australia faded, it became a 'backwater'. In May 1944, Bennett was told by Blamey that he would not be given another active command, and was transferred to the Reserve of Officers. He was aged 57 years. For this second war he was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and the Australia Service Medal 1939-1945.

that decision

Bennett's action in relinquishing his command and escaping Singapore that night has been debated ever since and has coloured his incredible achievements from the earlier war. On the release of prisoners of war in 1945, a letter from Percival which accused Bennett of 'unlawfully vacating his command' was passed to Blamey. A military investigation found that Bennett had relinquished his command without permission. The reaction of his defenders caused the federal government to establish a Royal Commission. While never questioning Bennett's personal courage, Commissioner, Sir George Ligertwood KC concluded that his action had been unjustified. Bennett's biographer, Brett Lodge, has reflected: "his wish to lead the Australian army, a consuming aspiration which had been sharpened by not being given an early command. His prejudice against regular officers and his ambition clouded his professional judgement at the most important point in his career. When his most cherished goals were in tatters, he convinced himself that blame for his failure lay with others." ^[10]

Bennett was further at loggerheads with Blamey over his published account in 1944 of the Malayan campaign, Why Singapore Fell; which was largely an apologia.

post military life

Bennett wrote a number of articles on military topics and served on the board of a number of companies.

Retiring from the public eye, Bennett became an orchardist, purchasing a property and living at Glenorie in the Hills district on Sydney's north western fringe until 1955, when he sold his orchard and moved to nearby Dural. He travelled to Singapore in 1957 with his wife to attend the opening of the Kranji War Memorial and then in 1960, travelled to Japan to meet with officers who had fought in Malaya.

He passed away, aged 75 years, on 1st August 1962 at home in Dural. He was granted a state funeral at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, following which his remains were cremated. ^[11] He was survived by his wife and daughter.

Honours and awards

In order of precedence:

• Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB)
• Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
• Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
• Mentioned in Despatches on eight occasions
• 1914-1915 Star
• British War Medal
• Victory Medal
• 1939-1945 Star
• Pacific Star
• Defence Medal
• War Medal 1939-1945
• Australia Service Medal 1939-1945
• Volunteer Officer's Decoration (VD)

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #8492/1887
2. ↑ note that some secondary sources incorrectly state his birth date as 15th April
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: Henry Gordon Bennett; accessed 10 Mar 2019
4. ↑ Australian Honours: CMG; accessed 23 Feb 2022
5. ↑ UK FreeBMD Dec qtr 1916, vol 1a, page 965
6. ↑ Australian Honours: CB; accessed 23 Feb 2022
7. ↑ Australian Honours: DSO; accessed 23 Feb 2022
8. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: NX70343 (N76069) Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett
9. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 8th Australian Division; accessed 8 May 2018
10. ↑ Lodge, A B. 'Bennett, Henry Gordon (1887–1962)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1993; accessed online 8 May 2018
11. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #22907/1962

See also

• Lodge, A B. 'Bennett, Henry Gordon (1887–1962)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1993; accessed online 8 May 2018.
• Wikipedia profile: Gordon Bennett; accessed 8 May 2018.