Great at Heart Gavin Merrick Long, Australia's official Second World War historian

In Great at Heart Gavin Long finally gets the biography he richly deserves. While Charles Bean is the subject of several major biographies, this is the first life story of his acolyte, war correspondent and editor and principal author of the official history of the Second World War, Gavin Long. In Great at Heart Garry Hills traces Long’ s career as a newspaper correspondent during the 1920s and as a defence correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald until the outbreak of war in 1939. The book covers Long’ s experiences as a war correspondent attached to the British Expeditionary Force in Europe until the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940 and then with the 2nd AIF in North Africa, the Middle East and Greece. In 1941, when Charles Bean began advocating for an official history of the war then in progress, he was influential in having his proté gé Long appointed General Editor – a role Long discharged with considerable dedication, courage and self-sacrifice between 1943 and 1963, overseeing the development of all 22 volumes and writing three of them himself.

Garry Hills is the President of the Queensland Air Museum, Australia’ s largest and most diverse aviation collection dedicated to preserving Australia’ s aviation heritage. After many years as a local church pastoral minister, with a degree in theology, he dedicated himself to the primary care needs of his disabled son, a period in his life which he considers the most consequential. His passion for the preservation of history extends to a profound admiration for Gavin Long, whose quiet, self-effacing dedication is evident in the legacy he gave the Australian people.

Foreword Introduction 1 – To crystallise the facts 2 – My dear Long 3 – Newspaperman, arts critic and defence commentator 4 – Our own correspondent 5 – A fairly strenuous time 6 – Before it is too late 7 – A true and faithful record 8 – Assembling the narratives 9 – His devoted staff 10 – The generation that belongs to this war 11 – Criticisms of Gavin Long and the official history Epilogue: His final campaigns Acknowledgments Bibliography Notes Index