Gavin Long
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2016) |
Gavin Long | |
---|---|
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1953) Gold Cross of the Order of the Phoenix (1956) | |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Sydney |
Influences | Charles Bean |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Australian War Memorial |
Main interests | Australian military history Second World War |
Notable works | Australia in the War of 1939–1945 |
Gavin Merrick Long
Early life
Gavin Long was born in
Long completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the
Journalist
After his return to Australia, Long worked as a journalist and moved between several newspapers. In 1930 he was made a senior reporter at the
After the outbreak of the
Military historian
In March 1943 Long was appointed general editor of the Australia in the War of 1939–1945, a 22-volume official history of Australia's involvement in the Second World War, on the recommendation of
After the war Long played a key role in the official history project. As well as providing guidance to the other authors, he wrote three of the volumes in the series (To Benghazi (published 1952), Greece, Crete and Syria (1953) and The Final Campaigns (1963). He retired as general editor in 1963 as the project was nearing completion and he did not believe that a full-time editor was required. Long's books were well received by reviewers and his close involvement with the other authors gave the series a unity of purpose and method. Long was appointed an
Long continued to write after his retirement from the official history project. He was a research fellow with the Australian Dictionary of Biography, was part of the team which produced the Australian Government's Style Guide and contributed over 90 articles to The Canberra Times. He also wrote two further military history books, MacArthur as Military Commander (published in 1969) and The Six Years War (1973), which was a concise summary of Australia's involvement in the Second World War. The Six Years War was written well before it was published, but its publication was delayed while the final volumes in the official history series were completed.
Long died of lung cancer on 10 October 1968 at his home in Deakin, Australian Capital Territory, and was cremated.
Notes
- ^ a b "All Saints' College, Bathurst". Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 22 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "LONG, Gavin Merrick". It's an Honour. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
References
- Dennis, Peter (1995). "Long, Gavin Merrick". The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 359–360. ISBN 0-19-553227-9.
- Maclean, Ian (1993). A Guide to the Records of Gavin Long. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. ISBN 0-642-19681-8.
- Stanley, Peter (2003). "Gavin Long and History at the Australian War Memorial". In ISBN 0-313-31083-1.
- Sweeting, A.J. (2000). "Long, Gavin Merrick (1901–1968)". ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 13 January 2008.