Our Anzac heroes - Part V

We remember our country’s Anzac heroes as Albany counts down to next year’s centenary commemoration of the departure of convoys from King George Sound.

It could be said that the Bennett family’s proud military tradition began with the enlistment of two brothers in the Australian Imperial Force at the outbreak of the Great War.

At 19 years of age Private Cyril Arthur Bennett 1204 sailed from Fremantle on December 14, 1914, aboard the transport Kyarra A55, one of the troopships comprising the Second Convoy.

He served with the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital.

His older brother Roy also enlisted, serving with the 10th Light Horse Regiment.

Cyril was employed as a clerk in the family’s grocery business, Bennett and Burnside in Fremantle.

Established in 1902 by his father Phillip and partner William Burnside, the store was located in Adelaide Street near the Town Hall.

Building a reputation as purveyors of fine locally produced and imported foods, the business was considered one of the best grocery and hardware stores in Fremantle. Not only was an extensive customer base established in Perth, with a branch opening in Subiaco, orders from country clients were welcomed with a promise of careful packaging and prompt delivery.

One of 10 children, Cyril was born in Fremantle and educated at Fremantle Boys School.

In 1909 he was awarded dux of the school, winning the headmaster’s special prize. He joined the cadets and was training as a senior cadet at attestation.

Leaving Fremantle, the 2nd ASH sailed to Egypt, quickly establishing medical facilities to accommodate an outbreak of disease and infection.

By April 24, 1915, the unit was positioned at Lemnos with orders to supply medical officers and personnel for the transports stationed nearby.

The horrendous outcome of heavy casualties at Gallipoli saw hospital ships engage in the critical evacuation of thousands of wounded from Gaba Tepe on the peninsula to Alexandria.

After Gallipoli, Cyril was attached to the assistant director of medical services staff and served with the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance in the Middle East.

He advanced through the ranks, being promoted to Staff Sergeant in 1917.

Cyril had spent more than four years abroad with the AIF, but his war service did not end with his discharge in 1919.

In 1940 he re-enlisted in the army, serving with the 8th Australian Casualty Clearing Station and 103 Convalescent Depot at Ingleburn.

Gaining a rank of lieutenant on enlistment, he served as a quartermaster and was promoted to captain in 1941.

He remained with the 2nd AIF until 1946, volunteering for service in the demobilisation period.

Cyril returned to the family business at the end of World War I for a short time before moving to Melbourne for work.

He married there and returned to WA in 1925, securing work with the State Steamship Line as chief steward.

After World War II, Cyril was employed as an accounting officer with the Ordnance Depot at Midland and remained there until retirement in 1956. Cyril died in 1981 aged 87 years and is memorialised in the Garden of Remembrance at Fremantle Cemetery.

He is remembered by his family as a quietly spoken “gentle giant” and while he had a strong sense of duty, he was admiring of the Turks, regarding them as honourable men and soldiers, unlike Churchill.

Cyril’s brother, Trooper Roy Bennett 365, embarked at Fremantle with the 10LHR in February 1915.

At 23, he also worked in the family business as a bookkeeper.

On August 29, during the final phase of the notorious August Offensive, Roy was mortally wounded at Hill 60.

He died in Egypt on September 11, 1915, and was buried at the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery.

Continuing the family’s military association were Cyril’s sons, Phillip and Peter.

A highly decorated Duntroon graduate, General Sir Phillip Harvey Bennett, AC KBE DSO (Companion of the Order, The Order of the British Empire – Knight Commander, Distinguished Service Officer – Companion) gained postings to Japan, Korea and Vietnam, among others.

His distinguished career culminated with his appointment as the Chief of the Defence Force 1984-1987 and Governor of Tasmania in 1987.

He now lives in Canberra.

Phillip’s younger brother Peter also attended Duntroon, choosing to pursue a post-war career with the Royal Australian Air Force as a navigator.

Albany woman Sue Bennett-Ng, 64, is the only daughter of Cyril.

She recalled that despite his impressive military record, her father opposed conscription.

“During the First World War there was a referendum conducted and I remember dad saying all his mates at Gallipoli voted against it because none of them wanted young people sent to war against their will,” Mrs Bennett-Ng said.

“For many men it was an adventure and they enlisted because they felt Australian values and way of life was under threat, but they also felt conscription was a terrible thing in that you couldn’t force people to take part in war.”

Mrs Bennett-Ng said as such, her father was faced with a difficult situation many years later when the Vietnam War began.

“During the Vietnam War when he was quite an old man, my brother Phillip was leading the first task force into Vietnam while I was protesting on the streets in Perth as part of the moratorium,” she said.

“He supported me in that, as well as Phillip, which must have been hard for him.”

If you have an Anzac in your family, contact Sue Smith at Albany History Collection on 9841 9327.