C. E. W. (Charles Edwin Woodrow) Bean

Born in Bathurst, New South Wales, in 1879, C. E. W. Bean grew up between Australia and England and later worked as a journalist. He became widely known as Australia’s official war correspondent during the First World War, reporting from Gallipoli and the Western Front with a strong focus on the experiences of ordinary soldiers.

After the war, he devoted many years to writing and editing the multi-volume Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. He is also closely associated with the founding idea of the Australian War Memorial, reflecting his belief that the war should be recorded in a way that honored both service and sacrifice.

Bean also wrote books before and after the war, including works drawn from Australian rural life and national history. Remembered as a historian, journalist, and public figure in Australian cultural life, he remains one of the central voices in telling Australia’s story of World War I.