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

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 protégé 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.

‘Gavin Long was one of Australia’s most eminent historians, creating, with others, the 22-volume history of Australia in the Second World War. His extraordinary achievement was largely forgotten until Garry Hills rescued Long’s reputation. In this highly readable, moving and generous account of Long’s life, Hills has fashioned a tale that all those interested in the story of Australia will want to read.’ Dr Michael McKernan, Historian

‘Garry Hills has done the right thing by Gavin Long. He succeeds in getting inside Long’s ways of thinking and working, showing that he was indeed “great at heart”.’ Professor Peter Stanley, author of Beyond The Broken Years

‘It is a rare privilege to recommend a book that is both timely and important. Great at Heart is both. Gavin Long’s legacy has waited too many years for a biography worthy of its significance, but the wait is over. I recommend this fine work to all readers – from professional scholars to all who seek to understand Australia’s past. And it’s a ripping read to boot!’ Professor Craig Stockings, Official Historian of Australian Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Australian Peacekeeping Operations in East Timor, UNSW Canberra