If you are viewing this page on a Secured Network, you will not be able to see the webpage podcast player, so the best way to listen to the podcast is either on this page from a civilian PC, visit this page on your mobile phone or download the podcast episode either on an Android podcast player like Castbox or Podcast Addict or on the Apple Podcasts Player from iTunes.
As we transition to look at some vignettes of Leadership in Malaya, we pause to look at the composition of the 8th Division.
The Commander, Bennett, was a CMF soldier, as were the 3 BDE COMDs. In Malaya, only LT COL Boyes, CO of the 2/26th Bn was PMF. The 8th had more regular officers than the 6th Division, which was the first 2 AIF Division to be raised.
We look at Walter Brown VC. He was awarded his VC at Villers-Bretonneux and rejoined the Army to serve in WW2.
We discuss the 8 Bn COs to look at the differences between the COs and how that affected each of the Bns. We ponder the difference between authority and leadership.
The story of LT COL ‘Black Jack’ Galleghan
LT COL Black Jack Galleghan was given command of the 2/30th after 4 previous attempts to get a Bn to command. Was it a case of 5th time lucky or was there a dearth of talent in the officer pool?
Was he a martinet? How did he deal with a mutiny across the entire Battalion?
He expected unwavering loyalty from below but was scant in offering to his superiors.
The role of the 2IC, Gentleman George Ramsay, and the role he played in managing Galleghan.
The Ambush at the Gemencheh Bridge
We moved onto the conduct of the ambush at Gemas. How were the Japanese shaped into playing into the ambush?
B Coy was chosen by lot to conduct the ambush. What actions did Galleghan take that minimised the impact of the ambush?
Was Galleghan hamstrung by the lack of training in combined arms?
We look at his moral courage in his inability to engage the Japanese with Artillery at Gemas. Why was this and is it fair?
Galleghan had abandoned his wireless equipment! Why did he do this?
He certainly was a colourful character. When he ‘requisitioned’ telephone cable from a passing Indian Signals SGT, he told the SGT that it had been taken by ‘Colonel Ned Kelly of Australia.’
Galleghan came into his own as the Commander of Australian troops at Changi. This is an interesting example of how a leadership style’s effectiveness is set in the context of the situation of where it is exercised.
