Tom Lewis

Dr Tom Lewis OAM Military Historian

Dr Lewis is a former naval officer, now a consultant military historian as well as a best-selling author. Dr Lewis served for 20 years in the Royal Australian Navy, during which time he saw active service in Baghdad, Iraq, where he led American forces, and in East Timor.

 

As a museum director he led two museums to new success; the Royal Australian Naval College Historical Collection in Jervis Bay – for which services he received the Order of Australia Medal; and the Darwin Military Museum in the Northern Territory, where he was Director for five years.

 

Tom is the author of 14 history books, including many detailing northern Australian history in WWII. In May 2016 he added Honour Denied - Teddy Sheean, Tasmanian Hero to the list. In February 2017 The Empire Strikes South: Forgotten Honourable Warriors was published. This work details all of the Japanese aircrew who died in combat actions across the Top End in WWII - and will revise our understanding of the full nature of that air war. It reveals there were more air raids for the two years of combat than previously thought. In Feb 2020 a children's guide - Darwin Bombed - about the first Darwin air raids was released by Avonmore Books.

 

Tom’s other recent works are Lethality in Combat, (from the Army History Unit through BigSky Publishing) which discusses the reality of battlefield combat, with implications for modern war; and Carrier Attack, an extensive technical analysis of the first Darwin raid, revealing many unknown aspects of that attack, published in October 2013.  In 2014 he was awarded the Charles Darwin University Essay Prize in the NT Literary Awards – which saw over 430 entries – for his article: “The Myth of Government Cover-up in the first Darwin Raids.”

 

Dr Lewis is in popular demand from radio and television stations across Australia for his insightful comments on military history and how it intersects with modern-day life.  He has appeared in several documentaries, and is a regular speaker to community groups on military history. After working on The Borella Ride, for which he was the Lead Historian, he was engaged as Military Historian on The Territory Remembers, the NT Government's commemoration of 75 years since the first air attack on Darwin. Later in 2017 he was the historian for two overseas military history tours.

 

Dr Tom Lewis was awarded the OAM in 2003. Later decorations include the Australian Active Service Medal; the Iraq Campaign Medal, and in 2007 the United States Army Commendation Medal. He lives in Darwin, and enjoys – when he is not writing – astronomy, collecting antique swords, and tournament chess. Dr Lewis is married with two daughters. 

 

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