Bennett, Gordon William – WX335
Major Gordon Bennett, one of the battalion’s most outstanding leaders, gave men of all ranks the same respect they gave him, except on the occasion, as a Captain, he broke his own rules when dealing with an order by a pompous British Major ,after the exhausted battalion, reduced to eight offi cers and 128 other ranks, out of the original 625, had been withdrawn from action a few days before the defeat of the Japanese at Gona.
After 98 days of continuous fi ghting on the Kokoda Trail, half starving with only a daily ration of tinned bully beef and hard biscuits, all of them were so sick and lethargic they were physically incapable of doing anything for more than 10 minutes at a time, yet still carried the fi ght to the Japanese and fought off constant counter attacks.
Some with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees lay in trenches full of water to try and bring their temperatures down.
When fi nally withdrawn from battle on December 4, 1942, the men faced a fi ve-mile walk to an airfield at Soputa where they were to be airlifted to Port Moresby. By the time they arrived they could hardly walk another step. They took off their heavy packs, fell to the ground and, to a man, went to sleep.
Soon after, a British Major woke Captain Bennet telling him some of his men had to take guard duty in case of a Japanese attack. Bennett gave the Major a
After 98 days of continuous fi ghting on the Kokoda Trail, half starving with only a daily ration of tinned bully beef and hard biscuits, all of them were so sick and lethargic they were physically incapable of doing anything for more than 10 minutes at a time, yet still carried the fi ght to the Japanese and fought off constant counter attacks.
Some with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees lay in trenches full of water to try and bring their temperatures down.
When fi nally withdrawn from battle on December 4, 1942, the men faced a fi ve-mile walk to an airfield at Soputa where they were to be airlifted to Port Moresby. By the time they arrived they could hardly walk another step. They took off their heavy packs, fell to the ground and, to a man, went to sleep.
Soon after, a British Major woke Captain Bennet telling him some of his men had to take guard duty in case of a Japanese attack. Bennett gave the Major a
Major Gordon Bennett (right) with Battalion
C.O. Lt. Col. Tom Cotton.
steely response, saying: “We have been guarding you lot against the Japanese on the Kokoda Trail for the past three months, so go to hell and don’t wake me again.”
Bennett, a grazier, was aged 27 when he was among the fi rst West Australians to rush to enlist after the outbreak of World War II in September, 1939, as indicated by his service number WX335. He enlisted on November 7 and joined the 2/33rd
Battalion as a Lieutenant on the fi rst day the battalion was formed at Tidworth, England, in 1940. He was promoted to Captain as Officer Commanding B Company for the invasion of Syria, where his outstanding leadership and gallantry led to his award of a Military Cross, in particular for his actions near Kheibe when his company was isolated from the battalion for two days and repulsed repeated attacks by French cavalry and infantry, and infl icted heavy losses on the enemy.
His citation read: “He displayed initiative, resource, leadership and physical endurance of a high order.” Bennett again showed all of those qualities in guiding and leading B Company during the “hellhole” Kokoda campaign.
In early 1943 he was placed in administrative command of the Battalion as Adjutant and later promoted to Major as second-in-charge of the Battalion, to Lieutenant Colonel Tom Cotton, for the final action of the war, the recapture of Balikpapan, Borneo.
As a reward for his long and highly valued service he was among the fi rst offi cers to return to Australia, and receive his discharge on October 11, 1945.
After the war he returned to his grazing interests in Western Australia, including holding senior positions with the Australian Wool Board.
His citation read: “He displayed initiative, resource, leadership and physical endurance of a high order.” Bennett again showed all of those qualities in guiding and leading B Company during the “hellhole” Kokoda campaign.
In early 1943 he was placed in administrative command of the Battalion as Adjutant and later promoted to Major as second-in-charge of the Battalion, to Lieutenant Colonel Tom Cotton, for the final action of the war, the recapture of Balikpapan, Borneo.
As a reward for his long and highly valued service he was among the fi rst offi cers to return to Australia, and receive his discharge on October 11, 1945.
After the war he returned to his grazing interests in Western Australia, including holding senior positions with the Australian Wool Board.