Lionel Gage Wigmore

Lionel Gage Wigmore (14 March 1899 – 8 November 1989) was an English-born Australian journalist and military historian. He was an author of a number of books on aspects of Australian history, including one of the volumes of the official history series Australia in the War of 1939–1945.

Early life Lionel Wigmore was born in Brockhampton, Herefordshire, in England on 14 March 1899 to Charles Wigmore, a farmer, and his wife Arabella . When Wigmore was 10 years old, the family emigrated to New Zealand, where they settled in Christchurch. He attended the Normal District High School and after he finished his schooling in 1915, he found employment at The Press, a Christchurch newspaper. He later worked at the Lyttelton Times. In 1918, he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force for service in the First World War. However, the fighting ended before he embarked overseas.

Australia In 1922 Wigmore moved to Australia, settling in Sydney. For the next several years, he worked for The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. At various times he reported on motoring, aviation and political matters before moving into sub-editing. For a three-year period, from 1928 to 1931, he was a publicist for the petroleum industry and was a magazine editor.