The CEW Bean Prize for Military History fosters the study of Army military history and heritage at the tertiary level. The prize, named after prominent Australian military historian Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean (1879-1968), was established in 2004 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Australian Army History Unit. The Prize is aligned with the biennial Chief of Army History Conference.
The prize is rigorously assessed by a panel of experts appointed by the Army. Winners are notified at the conclusion of the assessment and all applicants receive feedback from the assessors.
The prize consists of:
- $500
- an inscribed medallion
- return travel and accommodation (where possible) to attend the Chief of Army History Conference and the Conference dinner.
How to apply
The Australian Army History Unit invites applications from Honours, Masters and PhD students who have completed and submitted their thesis for examination to an Australian university in the previous three calendar years. For example, the 2025 prize will be open to all theses submitted in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Postgraduate theses submitted in the Honours Division are eligible for submission at a later stage.
The application form, thesis, examiners’ reports, and all enquiries are to be submitted to aahu.conference@defence.gov.au.
CEW Bean prize recipients
- 2023 – Nick Anderson (Postgraduate Division): ‘Getting the House in Order: Tactical Intelligence in the South-West Pacific Area’
- 2022 – Prize not awarded
- 2021 – Prize not awarded