Tom Lewis (author)

Thomas Anthony Lewis
OAM
Thomas Anthony Lewis OAM
Born	1958
Nationality	Australia
Occupation(s)	Popular Military Historian and Author

Last updated December 12, 2024

Thomas Anthony Lewis, OAM (born 1958) is an Australian author, popular military historian, public speaker, and former naval officer. An author since 1989, Lewis worked as a high school teacher, and served in the Australian armed forces for 20 years, seeing active service in Baghdad during the Iraq war, and working in East Timor. In June 2003, Lewis was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for meritorious service to the Royal Australian Navy, particularly in the promotion of Australian naval history.^[1]^[2]

Career

After reconstituting the Royal Australian Naval College Historical Collection, with which his Order of Australia is largely connected, Lewis was the Director of the Darwin Military Museum from 2009 until April 2014, when he took up full-time research on several World War I and II projects. Amongst these are his role as Lead Historian and Creative Designer for The Borella Ride, the re-enactment of the journey of Albert Borella VC to sign up for military service in 1915.

Lewis was also Lead Historian for The Territory Remembers, a project of the Northern Territory Government to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first attacks on Australia during the Second World War.

Lewis is the author or co-author of 22 books, all of which are popular works of military history except for one which charts the Tasman Bridge disaster – he was raised largely in Tasmania, although born in London. He was the editor of Headmark, the Journal of the Australian Naval Institute, from 2005 until 2016. He is the Australian correspondent for the UK magazine Warship World. His most recent works are The Sinking of HMAS Sydney: Living, Fighting and Dying in WWII cruisers(Big Sky, 2023) and Cyclone Warriors - the Armed Forces and Cyclone Tracy (Avonmore, 2024, for the 50th commemoration of the 1974 disaster)

From 2013-2020 Lewis was the Chairman of the Order of Australia Association (NT). From 2015-2018 he was the Chairman of the Northern Territory Place Names Committee. In 2018 he was elected an alderman of the City of Palmerston, until August 2021. Lewis has been a high school teacher in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Academic qualifications

Lewis holds the qualifications of Doctorate of Philosophy in Strategic Studies (Charles Darwin University 2004); Master of Arts in American Science Fiction and Cold War Politics (University of Queensland 1993); Diploma of Education (University of Tasmania 1984); and Bachelor of Arts in English (University of Tasmania 1983).

Books

Darwin Sayonara , Boolarong, 1991 – children's novel centred on the events of WWII in Darwin, Australia, 1942.
Wrecks in Darwin Waters, Turton and Armstrong, 1991 – details the ship and aircraft wrecks, many from attacks in WWII and Cyclone Tracy in 1974, that may be found in waters near Darwin, Australia.
Sensuikan I-124, Tall Stories, 1997 – dealing with the sinking of IJN submarine I-124 by HMAS Deloraine.^[3]
A War at Home, Tall Stories, 1999 – about the Japanese attacks on Darwin on 19 February 1942.^[4]^[5]
By Derwent Divided, Tall Stories, 2001 – tells the story of the Tasman Bridge disaster in the state of Tasmania, and the subsequent maritime events.^[6]
Australian Naval Leaders. A study of nine naval officers of the Royal Australian Navy, with analysis of their careers and effectiveness. RAN College, 2006.
10 Shipwrecks of the Northern Territory. (Co-author, Edited by Paul Clark). Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, 2008.
Captain Hec Waller – a Memorial Book. (Co-author, Edited by John Waller). Drawquick Printing, 2008.
Zero Hour in Broome. Avonmore Books, South Australia, 2010. Analyses the second biggest air raid, in terms of fatalities, ever made on Australia.
Darwin's Submarine I-124. Avonmore Books, South Australia, 2011. A study of the combat action of 20 January 1942 which sent this 80-man submarine to the seabed, where it remains intact outside Darwin today.
The Submarine Six. Avonmore Books, South Australia, 2012. Biographies of the six men after whom the Collins-class submarines were named: Robert Rankin, John Collins, Emile Dechaineux, Hec Waller, Teddy Sheean, and Hal Farncomb.
Lethality in Combat. Big Sky Publishing, Australia, 2012. A study of the reality of battlefield behaviour, across six wars. Examines battle enthusiasm, prisoner-taking, and actions against civilians as combatants, and shows the reality is far more grim than usually understood.
Carrier Attack Darwin 1942: The Complete Guide to Australia's Own Pearl Harbor. Avonmore Books. 2013. ISBN 978-0-9871519-3-3.,^[7] co-authored with Peter Ingman. A forensic study of the first air raid against Australia, which took place on 19 February 1942. With many appendices disproving many of the myths of the raid.
Honour Denied – Teddy Sheean, A Tasmanian Hero. Avonmore Books, South Australia, 2016. A study of the last fight of HMAS Armidale, and the action taken by Teddy Sheean which many argue should have been rewarded with a Victoria Cross.
The Empire Strikes South. (Avonmore, 2017); a study of Japanese air activity over Northern Australia in World War II. Includes appendices of all aircraft shot down and airmen killed in the war.
Darwin Bombed. (Avonmore, 2020); A Young Person's Guide to the Japanese attacks of 19 February 1942.
Atomic Salvation. (Big Sky/Casemate, 2020); How the A-Bomb Attacks Saved the Lives of 32 Million People.
Eagles over Darwin. (Avonmore, 2021); The defence by the United States Army Air Forces of northern Australia in 1942.
Teddy Sheean VC. (Big Sky, 2021); The story of Sheean; HMAS Armidale, and the battle for a Victoria Cross. (Winner of the 221 national Australian Naval Institute Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize)
Medieval Military Combat. (Casemate, 2021); Battle Tactics and Fighting Techniques of the Wars of the Roses.
Australia Remembers 4: The Bombing of Darwin 1942 (Big Sky, 2022)
Attack on Sydney - the 1942 Submarine Raid - an 80 year Commemoration Perspective (Big Sky, 2022)
Bombers North - RAAF, USAAF and Dutch operations from northern Australia in WWII (Avonmore, 2023)
The Sinking of HMAS Sydney: Living, Fighting and Dying in WWII cruisers(Big Sky, 2023)
Cyclone Warriors - the Armed Forces and Cyclone Tracy (Avonmore, 2024)

Forthcoming:

The Secret Submarine (Big Sky, 2025)

Related Research Articles

HMAS Sheean is the fifth of six Collins-class submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS Castlemaine (J244/M244/A248), named for the city of Castlemaine, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially crewed and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS Latrobe (J234/M234), named for the town of Latrobe, Tasmania, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

During the Pacific War the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force conducted air raids on the Australian mainland, domestic airspace, offshore islands, and coastal shipping, attacking at least 111 times between February 1942 and November 1943. These attacks came in various forms; from large-scale raids by medium bombers, to torpedo attacks on ships, and to strafing runs by fighters.

The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in Darwin Harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java during World War II.

USS <i>Peary</i> Clemson-class destroyer

USS Peary (DD-226) was a Clemson-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was commissioned in 1920 and sunk by Japanese aircraft at Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, on 19 February 1942.

There was considerable Axis naval activity in Australian waters during the Second World War, despite Australia being remote from the main battlefronts. German and Japanese warships and submarines entered Australian waters between 1940 and 1945 and attacked ships, ports and other targets. Among the best-known attacks are the sinking of HMAS Sydney by a German raider in November 1941, the bombing of Darwin by Japanese naval aircraft in February 1942, and the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. About 40 Allied merchant ships were damaged or sunk off the Australian coast by surface raiders, submarines and mines. Japanese submarines also shelled three Australian ports and submarine-based aircraft flew over several Australian capital cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Sheean</span> Royal Australian Navy sailor

Edward "Teddy" Sheean, was a sailor in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War. Born in Tasmania, Sheean was employed as a farm labourer when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in April 1941. Following training at HMAS Derwent and the Flinders Naval Depot, he was posted to Sydney, where he joined the newly commissioned corvette HMAS Armidale in June 1942. Sheean served aboard Armidale as she took part in escort duties along the eastern Australian coast and in New Guinea waters. In October he transferred with the ship to Darwin, where Armidale was tasked with assisting Australian operations in Timor.

HMAS <i>Coonawarra</i> Royal Australian Navy base in the Northern Territory

HMAS Coonawarra is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base located in Darwin, Northern Territory, and is home to seven fleet units of the RAN. The current commander is Captain Moses Raudino, ADC, RAN.

The town of Broome, Western Australia, was attacked by Japanese fighter planes on 3 March 1942, during World War II. At least 88 civilians and Allied military personnel were killed.

HMAS Armidale (J240), named for the then town of Armidale, New South Wales, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

SS <i>Zealandia</i> (1910) Australian cargo and passenger steamship sunk in the bombing of Darwin

SS Zealandia, nicknamed "Z", was an Australian cargo and passenger steamship. She served as a troopship in both World War I and World War II. Zealandia transported the Australian 8th Division. Her crew were the last Allied personnel to see HMAS Sydney, which was lost with all hands in 1941. Zealandia was sunk in the air raids on Darwin of 19 February 1942.

The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time.

I-124, originally named Submarine Minelayer No. 52 and then named I-24 from before her launch until June 1938, was an I-121-class submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. During the latter conflict, she operated in support of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines and was sunk during anti-shipping operations off Australia in January 1942.

Attacks on continental Australia during World War II were relatively rare due to Australia's geographic position. However, axis surface raiders and submarines periodically attacked shipping in the Australian coastal waters from late 1940 to early 1945. Japanese aircraft bombed towns and airfields in Northern Australia on 97 occasions during 1942 and 1943.. Beginning in January 1942 through to the end of the war, Japan attempted its invasions of the Territory of New Guinea and the Territory of Papua, both of which were under Australian rule at the time.

HMAS Melville is a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) shore base located in Darwin, Northern Territory, in Australia. The base was in use between 1935 and 1974.

HMAS HDML 1321, also known as Rushcutter was a 58-ton Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HMDL) of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by Purdon & Featherstone, Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania and commissioned into the RAN on 11 November 1943, being the first Australian-built HDML to be commissioned and the last HDML in RAN service. She was assigned to Z Special Unit and delivered commandos for the 1945 ill-fated raid on Muschu Island. She was later reclassified as a Seaward Defence Boat and put into reserve after the war. She was recommissioned as HMAS Rushcutter in 1953 and used as an unarmed training vessel for the Royal Australian Naval Reserve and Australian Navy Cadets until 1970. Paid off in August 1971, she was converted to pleasure craft MV Rushcutter and is now based in Darwin.

Stokes Hill Wharf is the main wharf for the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia and is named after Stokes Hill, adjacent. The hill itself was named in 1839 by the commander of HMS Beagle, after its previous commander, Captain Pringle Stokes.

The Fujita salvage operation was a two-year marine salvage operation of World War II shipwrecks in Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory of Australia from 1959 to 1961.

Naval Base Darwin was a United States Navy base built during World War II at Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The first US operations at Darwin was Naval mine depot, built to supply Australia with mines to support the Pacific War. As the US Navy expanded in the Island hopping campaign, Naval Base Darwin expanded to include a Port Darwin submarine base, PT boat Bases, and other facilities. US Navy operations started in 1942 and ended after the war in 1945.

References

↑ "Lieutenant Thomas Anthony Lewis". It's an Honour. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
↑ "Talk with Dr. Tom Lewis OAM" (PDF). Northern Territory Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
↑ David M. Stevens. "Japanese submarine operations against Australia 1942–1944". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
↑ "Quarterly Newsletter Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine " (PDF). The Australian Association for Maritime History, March 2000.
↑ A War at Home Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Lewis, Tom (September–October 2002). "Deterrence, Capacity and Skill Retention" (PDF). Australian Defence Force Journal (156). ISSN 1320-2545 . Retrieved 12 March 2008.
↑ Willson, Robert (18 April 2014). "The Darwin raid that changed Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald . Review of Carrier Attack: Darwin 1942 (2013), by Tom Lewis and Peter Ingman. Retrieved 20 February 2021.

External links

http://www.navalinstitute.com.au/

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[1] "Lieutenant Thomas Anthony Lewis". It's an Honour. Retrieved 8 November 2021.

[2] "Talk with Dr. Tom Lewis OAM" (PDF). Northern Territory Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.

[3] David M. Stevens. "Japanese submarine operations against Australia 1942–1944". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 12 March 2008.

[4] "Quarterly Newsletter Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine " (PDF). The Australian Association for Maritime History, March 2000.

[5] A War at Home Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine

[6] Lewis, Tom (September–October 2002). "Deterrence, Capacity and Skill Retention" (PDF). Australian Defence Force Journal (156). ISSN 1320-2545 . Retrieved 12 March 2008.

[7] Willson, Robert (18 April 2014). "The Darwin raid that changed Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald . Review of Carrier Attack: Darwin 1942 (2013), by Tom Lewis and Peter Ingman. Retrieved 20 February 2021.

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