I was surprised. I was not surprised.

Surprised at the news my book Flawed Hero had been twice rejected by the Australian War Memorial as the winner of the Les Carlyon Literary Award despite being so nominated by independent judges – because I did not know it had been entered; the entry facilitated by Allen and Unwin rather than myself.

Chris Masters speaking outside court after Ben Roberts-Smith lost his defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times.Credit: James Brickwood

But once that news was processed, I was not surprised. While Flawed Hero has gained credit in some spheres (it was awarded the 2024 Australian Political Book of the Year prize), within other quarters of the Australian War Memorial it appears to be reviled.

Let me go back to 2017 when I sat down with the then director, Brendan Nelson, trying to nervously broach the subject of Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, MG, and why the memorial should be cautious about making him a centrepiece exhibit.

Having helped curate the Afghanistan galleries, I got on well with Nelson, but this was a delicate subject given Roberts-Smith’s mentor and employer, Seven network........

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