Gavin Long
| Gavin Long | |
|---|---|
Gavin Long in May 1943
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| Native name | Gavin Merrick Long |
| Born |
31 May 1901 Foster, Victoria |
| Died | 10 October 1968 (aged 67) Deakin, Australian Capital Territory |
| Awards |
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 OBE (31 May 1901 – 10 October 1968) was an Australian journalist and military historian. He was the general editor of the official history series Australia in the War of 1939–1945 and the author of three of its 22 volumes.
Gavin Long was born in Foster, Victoria, the eldest of six children of George Merrick Long, a clergyman. He was educated at Trinity Grammar School where his father was headmaster, and All Saints College, Bathurst.
He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Sydney in 1922 and worked as a teacher in 1922 and 1923. After working as a jackeroo in 1924 Long travelled to England in 1925 so that he could marry Mary Jocelyn Britten. During his time in England he worked at Australia House and was married on 5 September 1925. Two weeks after their marriage Long and his wife returned to Australia.
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 Melbourne Argus but was later reduced in rank due to the impact of the Great Depression on the paper. He was appointed a sub-editor at The Sydney Morning Herald in July 1931 and held this job until he was posted to the Herald's London office in 1938.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, Long was a correspondent to the British Expeditionary Force in France and was evacuated from Boulogne in May 1940. In November 1940, he was sent to Egypt where he reported on the 6th Australian Division during its campaigns in North Africa and Greece. Long was recalled to Australia in mid-1941 where he continued writing on defence matters.
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