Vale esteemed historian, author and journalist Les Carlyon AC

On behalf of the Council and staff, Director of the Australian War Memorial Dr Brendan Nelson has expressed his deep sadness at the passing today of pre-eminent historian, author, journalist and long-serving Memorial Council Member, Mr Les Carlyon AC.

“Les Carlyon was a giant of a man who gave our nation many gifts. Perhaps his greatest contribution is his two tomes - ‘Gallipoli’ and ‘The Great War’. In these works he immersed himself in the letters, diaries and writings of the men and women who served, fought suffered and died,” Dr Nelson said.  

“He walked the battlefields and the emotional pilgrimage through the cemeteries now home to thousands of our dead. He brought their stories to life with a rare richness that has given us a detailed knowledge of - and a deeper understanding of what it means to be an Australian.

“Les Carlyon made an towering contribution to the deliberations of the Council of the Australian War Memorial. When he spoke all would listen, reflecting the respect in which he was held and the endless wisdom of his contribution,” he added.

Mr Carlyon was born in northern Victoria in 1942 into a family steeped in horses and racing. He had a distinguished career in journalism, having been editor of The Age, editor-in-chief of the Herald and Weekly Times group, a frequent contributor to The Bulletin, and visiting lecturer in journalism at RMIT University.

As one of Australia’s most respected journalists, he received both the Walkley Award (1971 and 2004) and the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award (1993). He also won the Carlton & United Best Australian Sports Writing Award three times. Les wrote a number of books on sport and Australian history. His history book, Gallipoli (published in 2001), was a best-seller in Australia and Britain. His successor volume, The Great War (2006), recounted the story of Australian forces on the Western Front in France and Belgium. It was joint winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History in June 2007 and was awarded both the Australian Book Industry’s Book of the Year and the Non-fiction Book of the Year prize in July 2007.

Mr Carlyon served on the Council in successive terms since May 2006 until the time of his passing. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in June 2014 for “eminent service to literature through the promotion of the national identity as an author, editor and journalist, to the understanding and appreciation of Australia’s war history, and to the horseracing industry”.