remained with his men until the end, completed all formalities in connection with the surrender, and then took the opportunity and risk of escaping.}} Within the military, particularly its senior echelons, Bennett was criticised for leaving his troops. In April 1942, he was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of III Corps in Perth. At the time, this was an important post, but by 1943, as the possibility of a Japanese invasion of Australia faded, it became a backwater. Bennett was told by Blamey that he would not be given another active command, and he transferred to the Reserve of Officers in May 1944. He soon published his account of the Malayan campaign, Why Singapore Fell, which was critical of Percival and other British officers, although his opinions were later challenged by several Australian officers, including Callaghan. Blamey unsuccessfully tried to prevent the book's publication. Upon retirement from active service, Bennett began writing for a Sydney newspaper and as a correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He remained concerned about his soldiers, though, and met the first group of recently freed 8th Division prisoners of war when they arrived in Sydney on the transport Manunda''. For their part, the majority of his former soldiers welcomed him, some even hung a sign over the side of the ship, which read: "We want Bennett". They later put it in his car as a gesture of their support. Postwar inquiries The controversy over Bennett's actions became public in mid-1945, when the war ended and Percival and Callaghan were released from Japanese captivity. Percival, who had never got on with Bennett, wrote a letter accusing him of relinquishing his command without permission. Callaghan delivered the letter to Blamey upon his release and Blamey convened a court of enquiry under Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, and Major Generals Victor Stantke and George Wootten, which found that Bennett was not justified in handing over his command, or in leaving Singapore. Veterans of the 8th Division, who were generally loyal to Bennett, protested against this finding. In November 1945, Prime Minister Ben Chifley appointed a Royal Commission under Justice G. C. Ligertwood. The Commission concluded that Bennett had disobeyed Percival's order to surrender. Lodge wrote: In 1948, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Fry, a military lawyer, published the opinion: "The Royal Commissioner based his report on an interpretation of international law, and did not discuss General Bennett's action from