Rhys Crawley

Rhys Crawley is a Senior Lecturer in History at UNSW Canberra, specializing in military and intelligence history with particular expertise in Australian military operations. He serves as the author of the Official History of Australian Operations in Afghanistan, 2005-2010 and maintains active research collaborations with international institutions.

His educational background includes a BA Hons from the University of Wollongong and a PhD from the University of New South Wales.

Crawley's research interests span military history, intelligence history, Australian military history, the war in Afghanistan, special operations, First World War operational history, military logistics, espionage, and domestic security intelligence. His work demonstrates particular strength in analyzing official military histories and intelligence operations through primary source documentation and archival research.

His publications show consistent focus on Australian military engagements across different historical periods, with particular emphasis on the Gallipoli Campaign and Cold War intelligence operations. His recent work continues this trajectory with publications extending through 2025.

• 2018 Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) Best Foreign Intelligence Book of the Year Award for The Secret Cold War: The Official History of ASIO, 1975-1989

Crawley has secured significant research funding including the Netherlands and Afghanistan 2001-2021 project (2024-2025), Supplies over the shore: logistics and Australian littoral operations (2023), and the ARC Linkage Project memorySCAPE (2021-2023). He supervises students in Military History, War Studies, Defence Studies, Contemporary Operations, and Intelligence Studies.

His current research activities include international collaboration with Dutch institutions including the Netherlands Institute for Military History and the Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies.