How did Australia’s most decorated military leader become so loathed, & is his negative reputation unfair?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Brent Taylor to discuss the distinguished yet controversial career of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey. The man Robert Menzies chose to lead the Australian Army in World War Two, and who equally received the full backing of John Curtin. Yet, a figure who has since been subject to an extensive smear campaign for allegedly accusing the heroes of the Kokoda Track of ‘running like rabbits’.

Brent D. Taylor is an engineer and businessman, specialising in quantitative research and statistics, including benchmarking studies for management in the private and public sectors. His focus on Thomas Blamey stems from a keen long-term interest in military history and high-impact leaders, having previously written three books on what drove extreme achievers. He is a member of Military History & Heritage Victoria and has been mentored on by senior military officers in authoring Blamey: The story of Australia’s greatest general. Brent lives in Richmond in Melbourne.