Dr Tom Lewis OAM is a military historian, the author of 23 books, and a public speaker and presenter. He is also a retired naval officer who served in combat; a retired secondary school teacher, pilot, and scuba divemaster. He was the Director of Darwin Military Museum in its redevelopment from 2009 to 2013. His Order of Australia was bestowed on him for services to naval history. He has won numerous prizes for his literary works, including as the national winner of both the 2021 and 2024 Australian Naval Institute's Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prizes, for Teddy Sheean VC, and The Sinking of HMAS Sydney.