Ian McGibbon
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Ian Callum McGibbon (born 7 December 1947) is a New Zealand historian, specialising in military and political history of the 20th century. He has published several books on New Zealand participation in the First and Second World Wars.


Biography

Born on 7 December 1947 in
Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New ...
, McGibbon was educated at
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1968, Honours the following year and in 1971, he graduated with a Master of Arts degree with distinction, majoring in history. His career as a historian began with an appointment in 1971 as the Defence Historian at the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, where he worked for eight years. In 1979, he started work for the
Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), or in te reo Māori, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling law ...
in the Historical Publications Branch. From 1982, he was the only staff member dealing with military history and produced the official history of New Zealand's involvement in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. In 1994 he earned a Doctor of Letters, also from Victoria University. He later was General Editor (War History) at the
Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...
. His primary area of interest is New Zealand military history and politics, with particular focus on 20th-century warfare. In the
1997 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1997 Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 1997 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 1997 for New Zealand.New Zealand list: Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingd ...
, McGibbon was appointed an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...
, for services to historical research. From 2010 to 2014, McGibbon was a participant in the Joint Historical and Archaeological Survey of the Anzac Battlefield, working alongside historians and archaeologists from Australia and Turkey; he edited ''Anzac Battlefield: A Gallipoli Landscape of War and Memory'', the resulting publication from the Cambridge University Press.


Publications

McGibbon's publications include: Author *''Blue-Water Rationale: The Naval Defence of New Zealand 1914–1942'' (1981) *''The Path To Gallipoli'' (1991) *'' New Zealand and the Korean War :: Volume I: ''Politics and Diplomacy'' (1992) :: Volume II: ''Combat Operations'' (1996) *''The Western Front: A Guide to New Zealand Battlefields and Memorials'' (2001) *''Gallipoli: A Guide to New Zealand Battlefields and Memorials'' (2005) *''Kiwi Sappers: The Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers' Century of Service'' (2002) *''New Zealand and the Second World War: The People, the Battles and the Legacy'' (2004) *''New Zealand’s Vietnam War: A History of Combat, Commitment and Controversy'' (2011) *''New Zealand's Western Front Campaign'' (2016) Editor *''Undiplomatic Dialogue: Letters Between Carl Berendsen and Alister McIntosh, 1943–52'' (1994) *''Unofficial Channels: Letters between Alister Mcintosh and Foss Shanahan, George Laking and Frank Corner 1946–1966 '' (1999) *''Oxford Companion To New Zealand Military History'' (2000) *''One Flag, One Queen, One Tongue: New Zealand and the South African War'' (2003) *''New Zealand's Great War: New Zealand, the Allies and the First World War'' (2007) *''ANZAC Battlefield: A Gallipoli Landscape of War and Memory'' (2016)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGibbon, Ian Historians of World War I Historians of World War II Military historians 20th-century New Zealand historians Living people 1947 births Victoria University of Wellington alumni People from Dannevirke New Zealand public servants Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit 21st-century New Zealand historians