Roger Maynard is a Sydney based journalist and author. His latest book Hero or Deserter: Gordon Bennett and the Tragic Defeat of the 8th Division offers an account of one of the most controversial episodes in Australian military history.
Major-General Gordon Bennett played a decisive role in the defence of Malaya and Singapore in World War II and is best remembered for his escape by boat from Singapore in the dying days of the Japanese invasion, which led to the imprisonment of 15,000 Australian servicemen.
In this comprehensive history of the 8th Division and its fighting men, Roger Maynard investigates their conflicted leader, whose reputation as an outstanding soldier was shattered by war’s end. He also examines Bennett’s legacy through the prism of today’s military standards to establish whether he was, indeed, a hero or deserter.