NOT ONLY ESCAPEE!

Grey River Argus, 3 May 1944, Page 5

NOT ONLY ESCAPEE!

Lt.-Gen. Bennett

ALLEGES BOYCOTT AGAINST HIM.

(Rec. 10.10.) SYDNEY, May 2. Lieutenant-General Bennett, who to-day returned to civilian life, has replied to one of four reasons which, he states, were given him by the Allied Commander-iii-Chief of the Land Forces in the South-west Pacific, General Sir T. Blarney, for refusing him an operational command. This reason, he said, was that his escape from Singapore had been “ill advised.” ,

General Bennett said that General Blarney had escaped from Greece and General MacArthur from the Philippines before the hostilities had ceased in those areas.

He added that there were three other reasons which General Blarney had given him in May last in refusing him an operational command. They were; (1) Such an appointment would be resented bv the public, as public opinion was against Lieuten-ant-General Bennett. (2) Lt.-Gen-eral Bennett was associated with a failure, meaning the failure to hold Singapore. (3) Younger officers now had experience in jungle warfare, and it was his (General Blarney’s intention) to give them a chance. General Bennett added that these reasons, given by General Blarney, were not the real reasons for refusing him an operational command. ‘‘When this war begun I was senior to General. Blarney,” said Lt. General Bennett. “The same opposition existed then as it does now, with the result that I was superseded in all of the early appointments to the A.l.r. This opposition can be traced back to a time when I wrote certain press articles on defence matters—-at a time when little was being done to prepare for war, which a few could see coming. Bv writing to the press, I committed an unforgivable and unforgettable sin.” . . „_j_ n General Blamev, wiho is in London with Mr. Curtin, has declined to reply to Lieut.-General Bennett’s statements.

GENERAL BLAMEY SILENT LONDON, May 2. General Blarney to-day declined to comment on Lieutenant Genera Bennett’s statements on the reasons for his retirement.