Robert John O'Neill AO (1936-2023) was an Australian historian and academic of the highest stature. He served at various junctures not only as Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) here at ANU, and Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), based in London, but was also Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford from 1987 to 2000. He was this nation’s third Official Historian. The 2024 Robert O'Neill War Studies Lecture, delivered by Professor Craig Stockings, tackles the difficult issue of ‘Official Histories’, with a focus upon the current series regarding Australian Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Australian Peacekeeping Operations in East Timor, and the sometimes-difficult, often-fraught, and ongoing process of producing it.

About the speaker
Craig Stockings is a Professor of History, and Head of School at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra. His areas of academic interest concern general and Australian military history and operational analysis. He has published a history of the army cadet movement in Australia entitled The Torch and the Sword (2007), and a study of the First Libyan Campaign in North Africa 1940-41: Bardia: Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac (2009). He has also edited Zombie Myths of Australian Military History (2010) and Anzac’s Dirty Dozen: 12 Myths of Australian Military History (2012). In 2013 he co-authored an in-depth study of the Greek campaign - Swastika over the Acropolis: re-interpreting the Nazi Invasion of Greece in World War II; and co-edited Before the Anzac Dawn: A Military History of Australia to 1915. His most recent book, published by CUP in 2015 is an investigation of turn-of-the-century imperial defence entitled: Britannia’s Shield: Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Hutton and Late Victorian Imperial Defence. He is concurrently appointed as the Official Historian of Australian Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Australian Peacekeeping Operations in East Timor, is general editor of all six volumes of the series, and has authored the first: Born of Fire and Ash: Australian Operations in response to the East Timor crisis 1999-2000, Volume 1: Official History of Peacekeeping Operations in East Timor, UNSW Press.

About Robert O'Neill
Emeritus Professor Robert O'Neill AO was Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre from 1971 to 1982 and remains an active part of the academic community. One of the world's leading experts on strategic and security studies, O'Neill previously served as Director, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London (1982-1987); Chichele Professor of the History of War at Oxford University (1987-2000); Chairman of the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (1995-2001); and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Imperial War Museum (1997-2001). In remembrance of his invaluable contributions, it is with great sadness that we note the passing of Emeritus Professor Robert O'Neill AO in 2023, leaving behind a profound legacy in the field of Strategic Studies.

Agenda

6.30-7.30pm - Academic lecture
7.30-8pm - Networking drinks and canapés

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