Bean, Charles

Official war historian C.E.W. Bean was born in New South Wales, but completed his education in England. He returned to Australia in 1904 and began to practice law, but opted for a career in journalism instead, in 1908.
In September 1914 he won a ballot held by the Australian Journalists Association to become Australia’s official war correspondent, narrowly defeating Keith Murdoch. He travelled with the first contingent of the AIF to Egypt and landed at Gallipoli on 25 April.
During his time with the troops, he became a passionate advocate for the idea of a museum to remember the war, and became a driving force behind the creation of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. He was also responsible for writing the detailed history of Australia’s involvement in the War, which is available online at the Australian War Memorial site. http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/first_world_war/