Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page i DESERT SANDS JUNGLE LANDS Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page ii Also by Steve Eather 6 Squadron (RAAF) 50th Anniversary History ‘Target Charlie’: Australian Air Operations in Vietnam ‘Magpie Strike’: 2 Squadron (RAAF) in Vietnam Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force Odd Jobs: RAAF operations in Japan, Korea, Malaya, the Berlin Airlift and at Malta 1946–1960 Get the Bloody Job Done: The Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight in Vietnam Cover photo: Brigadier Ken Eather discusses the tactical situation with Major General Allen from his headquarters (a rock partially covered with a sheet of canvas) at Ioribaiwa Ridge, mid September 1942. It is possible that this very telephone conversation, photographed by one of his troops, is the one in which Eather asked for and received permission to withdraw to Imita Ridge, thus precipitating the Australian Army’s most significant command crises of the war. Photo courtesy of the Army History Unit via Captain Owen Eather Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page iii DESERT SANDS JUNGLE LANDS A biography of Major General Ken Eather, CB, CBE, DSO, DSC BY STEVE EATHER Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page iv First published by Allen & Unwin in 2003 Copyright © Steve Eather 2003 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the pubisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Eather, Steve. Desert sands, jungle lands: a biography of Major General Ken Eather. Includes index. ISBN 1 74114 182 6. 1. Eather, Ken, 1901–1993. 2. Generals – Australia – Biography. 3. Soldiers – Australia – Biography. I. Title. 355.331092 Set in 12 pt Granjon by Midland Typesetters, Maryborough, Vic. Printed by Ligare Book Printer, Sydney 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page v About the author Steve Eather was born at Newcastle in 1961, the son of an RAAF armament fitter. He moved around Australia with his family as a child, also spending three years in Malaysia. As he grew older he developed a strong interest in Australian history. In 1979 Steve joined the Royal Australian Air Force and served in military logistics including seven years with an F111 bomber squadron. While still serving he became a curator at the RAAF Museum, Point Cook and, with Phillip Collins of Index Communi- cations, played a pivotal role in developing that institution’s highly successful Heritage Gallery. Since transferring to the RAAF Reserve and leaving full-time military service in 1995, Steve has made a successful career in the museum industry and has been employed at Werribee Park Historic Mansion, Scienceworks Museum and Museum Victoria in a variety of capacities. He has a Graduate Certificate in Environment and Heritage Interpretation from Deakin University and is currently the Assistant Manager of Museum Victoria’s Moreland Annex artifact storage facility. v Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page vi Dedication This book is dedicated to the soldiers of the 7th Division—the unfor- tunately named ‘Silent Seventh’, so-called because of the lack of publicity they received in World War II. These gallant troops served in many bitter campaigns and played a pivotal role in protecting Australia from the Japanese threat. vi Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations and terms xiii Foreword xvii Preface xix 1 Early days 1 2 A call to arms 10 3 The North African Campaign 24 4 Syria: A promotion and a homecoming 44 5 Imita Ridge and the last line of defence 59 6 Taking the offensive on the Kokoda Track 81 7 Gona: A fight to the last man 105 8 The capture of Lae and the Markham and Ramu Valleys Campaign 129 9 Balikpapan: A final fight 155 10 Overlord of a Japanese bastion 165 11 A celebration of victory 179 12 Farewell to all that 189 Postscript 206 Appendix I Command assessments 207 Appendix II Promotions and command appointments 213 Appendix III Honours and awards 215 Notes 219 Bibliography 227 Index 234 vii Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page viii Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page ix Acknowledgments It goes almost without saying that preparing a book such as this required the support and assistance of many organisations and indi- viduals. I gratefully acknowledge the contribution of: Mr John Allen (the son of Major General A.S. Allen); Corporal ‘Hook’ Anderson (editor of Forever Forward, the newsletter of the 2/31st Battalion Association, NSW); The Army Museum; Mr Ron Austin of Slouch Hat Publications (for permission to reproduce material from ‘From Kokoda to the Sea’); the staff of the Australian War Memorial—Ms Akemi Inoune, Major General Steve Gower, the director, for kindly giving permission to quote from the official history of the Australian Army in World War II and the Research Centre staff); Dr Jack Beale (former chairman of the Board of Trustees, Water Research Foundation of Australia); Mr Col Begg (Agriculture New South Wales); the editor of Black & Blue (the newsletter of the 2/25th Battalion Association); Lieutenant Colonel John Burrell (2/1st Battalion); Ms Lyndal Maree Caffrey; Mr George Carlia and Mrs Jen Carlia (my brother and sister-in-law for looking after me on my unexpected research trips to Sydney); Mr Neville Carlyle (secretary of the 2/31st Battalion Association, NSW); Central Army Records Office, Ms Averil Condren (former Abbotsleigh school archivist); Private Gerald Connelly (2/25th Battalion); Wing Commander R.C. Cresswell, DFC; Mr David Crotty (Australian War Memorial); Major General Paul Cullen, AC, CBE, DSO, ED, FCA (2/2nd Battalion); Mr Phillip Dandy; Colonel Wally Delves (2/1st Battalion); Mr Bill Eather (my father, for pushing me along when I needed it and providing support and useful suggestions); Lieutenant Terry Fairbairn (2/1st Battalion); Ms Julie Gleaves (Abbotsleigh school archivist); Corporal Barry Hennessy (2/1st Bat- talion); Mrs Kathy Hicks (Water Research Foundation of Australia); Professor David Horner (Australian National University, for his ix Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page x DESERT SANDS, JUNGLE LANDS support and permission to quote from ‘Crisis of Command’); Private John Hurwey (11th Australian Division); Wing Commander Rollo Kingsford-Smith, DSO, DFC (Australian Victory March Contin- gent for access to and permission to quote from his memoirs); Mr Konishi Hirofumi (Japanese war veteran); Mr Frank McCosker (2/35th Battalion Association); Sergeant Patrick Lowry (2/1st Battalion); Professor Tim McCormack (University of Melbourne); the late Sergeant Moriki Masaru (144th Japanese Regiment, for access to and permission to quote from his memoirs); Museum Victoria Library and especially Ms Sandra Winchester and Ms Val Hogan; National Archives of Australia Melbourne Office and in par- ticular Mr Mark Brennan; the National Library of Australia and especially Ms Anna Skurowski; the staff of the Library Of New South Wales; Mr Paulo De Nicolo (Embassy of Italy, Canberra); Mr Nev Quick (Museum Victoria); Mrs Mildred Reynolds (my aunt and a noted genealogist, author, family historian and editor of the Eather Family Newsletter); the Returned Services League of Australia (Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria Divisions); Captain M.L. Roberts (2/31st Battalion); the editor of Queensland RSL News; Private Lou Smith (11th Australian Division); the staff of the State Library of Victoria; Associate Professor Yone Sugita; Ms Midori Treeve (for facilitating access to Sergeant Moriki’s memoirs); Captain N.H. Travers (2/1st Battalion); Ms Elizabeth Triarico; Ms Kellie Ward (Australian National University Legal Office); Private Julian ‘Doc’ Waters (2/25th Battalion, for access to and permission to quote from his memoirs); and the staff of the Wyndham City Library. My special thanks go to Mr Lex MacAulay, noted author on military topics. Lex’s deep-seated knowledge of the allied military intelligence gathering service, the Papuan Campaign and the Aus- tralian War Memorial’s collection has been of great assistance. Dr Chris Coulthard-Clark, a senior researcher at the Australian War Memorial, read the manuscript, offered advice and provided support and encouragement throughout. The Army History Unit also provided substantial support for my project. I was very fortunate to receive a research grant from this body, which enabled me to make a lengthy research trip to the Australian War Memorial. Others who have greatly assisted me by proofreading the manu- script include Kristen Thornton (Defence Science and Technology x Desert Sands—PAGES 8/7/03 1:12 PM Page xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Organisation, who repeatedly read drafts and provided tremendous support); Mrs Norma Thornton; Ms Rebecca Marsh; Flight Lieu- tenant Dave Muscat; and Mr Rod Gray (Museum Victoria). Brigadier Phil Carey (historian of the Royal New South Wales Regiment) also proofed the manuscript and provided an interesting command assessment on Ken’s career. Mr Rob McWilliams (Museum Victoria) undertook the extraordinary task of translating part of the official history of Italy in World War II, thereby provid- ing a fascinating insight on the Italian perspective of the battles of Bardia and Tobruk.