Conclusion

Summary

Given that Berryman had such a significant influence on Australia's military campaigns in the Second World War, the question remains: why has he received so little recognition? Beside the obligatory neglect of staff officers and his major campaigns in the historiography, one of the great inhibitors to Frank Berryman being a more widely understood figure in Australian history was his battle with publicity. As one newspaper commented 1948, ‘He is not a dashing figure in peacetime…he had a permanent soldier's dislike of publicity. Perhaps that is why some of his war exploits escaped the spotlight.’

Until late 1944 Berryman had always approached the media with suspicion and was circumspect about his own lack of publicity. In 1943 he noted in his diary, ‘The less one says to the press the better.’ Earlier in the same year, after his wife had expressed her dissatisfaction over the lack of publicity he was receiving in comparison to some of his fellow officers, he wrote,

I note from your letter you are disappointed that I was not mentioned by name – next to our C-in-C [Blamey]. I suppose I had more to do with the conception and large scale planning than anyone [Operation Postern]. Publicity is a transient thing…& pompousness worse – I try to avoid both – the fact that I have the complete confidence of my C-in-C in all matters is my reward & such things as awards etc are a matter for him in his own good time if he thinks fit…let's be big about these things. […]