George Odgers

George James Odgers
Born	29 March 1916 Perth, Western Australia
Died	2008
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Soldier, journalist and historian
Known for	Military histories

George James Odgers (1916–2008) was an Australian soldier, journalist and military historian. Odgers served in the Australian Army as a private soldier and non-commissioned officer; and later in the Royal Australian Air Force becoming a group captain. He was one of the authors of the official history of Australia in World War II, Australia in the War of 1939–1945.

Odgers was born in Perth, Western Australia, on 29 March 1916. He was the youngest of eight children and the first of his parents' children to be born in a hospital. The family struggled financially through the Great Depression, but Odgers was able to attend Perth Boys High School and later worked his way through the University of Western Australia and University of Melbourne where he completed a master of arts.

After completing university Odgers started working at the Melbourne Argus in 1940. He left the newspaper to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) later that year. After completing some air crew training he was ruled out of flying duties on medical grounds and instead joined the Army's Australian Imperial Force. As a member of the Army he served in the New Guinea and Borneo Campaigns, reaching the rank of sergeant. Following the war Odgers was successful in joining the RAAF and spent time with Australian forces during the Korean War, Malayan Emergency and Vietnam War, eventually rising to the rank of group captain. During his time in the Air Force he was a member of the RAAF War History Section.

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