Letters from Henry Gordon Bennett to his brother, Alfred Edward Bennett, relating to his experiences as a commanding officer with the A.I.F., 24 June 1915-1916

MLMSS 10307

fonds

24 June 1915-1916

9643309

0.01 metres of textual material (1 folder) - manuscript, typescript

Henry Gordon Bennett (1887-1962), army officer and businessman, was born on 16 April 1887 at Balwyn, Melbourne. Bennett was a decorated World War I Gallipoli veteran and promoted as the youngest general in the Australian Army.
Reference:
Library correspondence file

By descent to author's great-nephew

A collection of four letters written by Henry Gordon Bennett to his brother, Alfred Henry Bennett during World War One, 24 June 1915-1916. The letters detail Bennett's experiences as a commanding officer with the Australian Imperial Force at the landing of Gallipoli, Pozieres, Messines, and Ypres. The day-to-day life of troops on leave and at the front is also covered.

Letter one is five pages long and includes a description of Bennett's experiences at the Gallipoli landing in April 1915, 24 June 1915.
Letters two and three are each one page long and written while Bennett was on leave in Weymouth, England awaiting deployment, 27 January and the 1 February 1916.
The fourth letter appears to be incomplete with no opening page and is undated. The three remaining pages refer to action in Pozieres, Messines, and Ypres, and include a description of gas warfare in the trenches, ca. 1916.

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Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Date of late 1916 has been ascribed to undated letter based on the internal contents.