Greener, Herbert Leslie (1900 - 1974)

Summary

Herbert Leslie Greener was a man of many talents. He was a journalist, author of both adult's and children's books, an artist and illustrator, and a gifted epigraphist. He was also a teacher of creative writing for Adult Education in Tasmania - an organization he was Foundation Director of. While a prisoner-of-war in Changi camp Greener illustrated the children's book The Happiness Box which fellow prisoner David Griffin had written as a Christmas present for the children in the camp. Hebert Greener made numerous trips to Egypt throughout his life, where he worked mainly for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor. He also wrote nine books, many of which were based on his war or Egyptian experiences.

Details

After graduating from England's Royal Military College (1918), Greener spent five years as an officer in the Indian Army. This was followed by some years working as a journalist and artist in New Zealand and Australia. Greener moved to Paris in 1927 to study art then went to Egypt where he taught art and French at Victoria College in Alexandria. In 1936 he returned to Australia and took up journalism again. During the second world war Greener enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and was sent to Malaya as captain and divisional intelligence officer of the 8th Division (1941). Twelve months after arriving he was captured by the Japanese and sent to the Changi Prisoner-of-War Camp in Singapore.

When released from Changi and back in Australia, Greener took up journalism again and began writing two books about his war experience (He Lived in My Shoes & No Time to Look Back). He also became Foundation Director of the Adult Education in Tasmania and taught creative writing. In 1954 he resigned from that organization to concentrate on freelance writing and broadcasting. He returned to Egypt and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor to continue his epigraphic work. Later he worked for the Ikhnaton Temple project run by the University of Pennsylvania. He returned to Australia, and Tasmania in 1968.

Chronology

1918

Education - Royal Military College at Sandhurst, UK

c. 1918 - c. 1922

Military service - Officer in the Indian Army

1927 - 1928

Education - Art studies at the Académie Julian in Paris

1931 - c. 1935

Career position - Epigraphist at Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor, Egypt

1936 - 1958

Life event - Moved to Australia (Sydney)

1940 - 1945

Military service - War service with the Australian Imperial Force

1942 - c. 1945

Life event - Prisoner of war at Changi, Singapore

1945

Career position - Returned to Australia and transferred to the Reserve of Officers

c. 1945 - c. 1949

Career position - Journalist in Sydney

1947

Career event - The Happiness Book, published in Sydney

1948

Career event - He Lived in My Shoes, published

1949 - 1954

Career position - Foundation Director of Adult Education in Australia

1950

Career event - No Time to Look Back, published in New York

1951

Career event - Moon Ahead, published in New York

1957

Career event - Wizard Boatman of the Nile, published in London

1957

Award - Commonwealth Literary Fellowship received

1958 - 1967

Career position - Epigraphist with the Epigraphic Survey Department of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Luxor, Egypt

1962

Career event - High Dam Over Nubia, published in London

1966

Career event - The Discovery of Egypt, published in London

1968

Career position - Chairman of the Tasmanian Historical Society

1971

Career event - Ross Bridge and the Sculpture of Daniel Herbert, written with Norman Laird, published in Tasmania

1975

Career event - Tea for a Stranger, posthumously published

1976

Career event - Discovering Egypt with Leslie Greener, posthumously published in Tasmania

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

• Herbert Leslie Greener - Records, 1908 - 1974, MS 5925; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Giordano, Margaret, 'Greener, Herbert Leslie (1900-1974)' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 14 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1996), p. 344. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140366b.htm. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21539048. Details
• 'Greener, Herbert Leslie (1900-1974)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1463783. Details