A leader of men

Desert Sands, Jungle Lands: A biography of Major General Ken Eather
By Steve Eather. Allen & Unwin. 236pp. $35.
Reviewer: PTE John Wellfare

At the outbreak of World War II, Ken Eather formed and took command of the 2/1st Battalion, 2nd AIF. He rose through the ranks during the course of the war and was eventually promoted to Major General in 1945.

The author of his biography, Steve Eather, is a distant relative of the WWII officer and an ex-RAAF serviceman.

Desert Sands, Jungle Lands follows MAJGEN Eather’s service from battles at Bardia and Tobruk through to commanding 11 Division in the campaign against the Japanese garrison at Rabaul.

Eather’s biography is well set out in a simple, chronological style with plenty of diary and letter extracts to give the reader an insight into the commander’s thoughts.

This is where the book’s demographic becomes narrower. MAJGEN Eather was an officer in a time when a distinct class gap existed between enlisted and commissioned ranks.

The occasionally narrow views expressed by him in the letter extracts may frustrate some enlisted personnel, while officers will likely be inspired by his leadership style and sense of responsibility for his men.

Essentially Desert Sands, Jungle Lands is the story of a leader and will be of most interest to leaders or aspiring leaders.

While not necessarily appealing to all, MAJGEN Eather’s biography certainly a story worth telling and provides a reliable insight into the nature of leadership and warfare in his time.