Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 6, 2026

Robert Lyman

Robert Murray Lyman is a British military historian. He has published a number of popular books on the Second World War.

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Robert Lyman

MBE FRHistS
Born (1963-01-13) 13 January 1963
New Zealand
OccupationMilitary historian
LanguageEnglish
EducationScotch College Melbourne, University of York (BA), King's College London (MA), University of Wales (MA), Cranfield University (BA), University of East Anglia (PhD)
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst
SubjectModern history
Website
www.robertlyman.com

Robert Murray Lyman MBE FRHistS (born 13 June 1963) is a British military historian. He has published a number of popular books on the Second World War.12

Biography

Education

Born in New Zealand,3 Lyman was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne and joined the British Army at the age of 18. He was commissioned into the Light Infantry from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1982 and left the army as a Major.4

Career

Following his career in the British Army, Lyman has published over 16 books on the Second World War in Europe, North Africa and Asia. He regularly appears on TV and radio and reviews books for newspapers and magazines.5 His presentation of the case for Field Marshal Sir William Slim won a National Army Museum debate in 2011 for Britain's Greatest General and his case for Kohima/Imphal won a National Army Museum debate in 2012 for Britain's Greatest Battle.67 Lyman regularly gives lectures at organisations such as the National Army Museum, and he is also a battlefield guide.89

Lyman has been a trustee of the Kohima Educational Trust since 2004, and chairman between 2008 and 2016.10

He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Lyman was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to military history and charity work in Nagaland.11

Published works

Book Year Published Other
Slim, Master of War 2004 Constable & Robinson ISBN 978184529226312
First Victory 2006 Constable & Robinson ISBN 978184529108213
Iraq 1941 2006 Osprey ISBN 978184176991214
The Generals 2008 Constable & Robinson ISBN 978184529491515
The Longest Siege: Tobruk, the Battle that Saved North Africa 2009 Macmillan ISBN 978023071024516
Kohima, 1944 2010 Osprey ISBN 978184603939317
Japan's Last Bid for Victory 2011 Praetorian ISBN 978184884542818
Bill Slim 1994 Osprey ISBN 978184908528119
Operation Suicide 2012 Quercus ISBN 9780857382405 20 Translated into French
Into the Jaws of Death 2013 Quercus ISBN 978147123980921
Jail Busters 2014 Quercus ISBN 978147127502922
The Real X-Men 2015 Quercus ISBN 978178429474823
Among the Headhunters 2016 Da Capo ISBN 978030682467824
The Rise of the Third Reich 2018 Amberley ISBN 978144568726125
Under a Darkening Sky 2018 Pegasus ISBN 978168177736826
A War of Empires 2021 Osprey ISBN 147284714827
Operation Jericho 2022 Osprey ISBN 147285206028
Victory to Defeat 2023 Osprey ISBN 147286086129
Korea: War Without End 2025 Osprey 30

Other contributions

  • Wrote a chapter in Professor Gary Sheffield's book The Challenges of High Command (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).31
  • Wrote the foreword to David Rooney's Stilwell, The Patriot.32
  • Contributed to General Sir Richard Dannatt's biography Leading from the Front.33
  • Contributed to Jeffrey Archer's second volume of the Clifton Chronicles, The Sins of the Father.34

Broadcasts

  • Historian on Who Do You Think You Are documentaries for Alan Cumming and Nicky Campbell.35
  • He was the historical consultant to the BBC for the VJ Day ceremonies in 2015 and 2020.36
  • He contributed to the documentary series Narrow Escapes of WW2.37
  • In October 2024 he was interviewed by Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster on Triggernometry podcast, with regards to the Pacific in World War 2.38
References

References

  1. "Robert Lyman". The Viney Agency. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  2. "Robert Lyman". Amazon UK. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  3. https://thevineyagency.com/robert-lyman/
  4. "Robert Lyman". 21 April 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. "The Battle for Fallujah Matters Again". Bloomberg. Bloomberg News. June 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. "National Army Museum debate in 2012 for Britain's Greatest Battle". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  7. "National Army Museum debate in 2011 for Britain's Greatest General". BBC. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  8. "National Army Museum". Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  9. "Battlefield Guid". Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  10. "KET". Kohima Educational Trust. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N29.
  12. Slim, Master of War. Littlebrown.co.uk. 31 January 2019. ISBN 9781845292263. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  13. First Victory. Littlebrown.co.uk. 31 January 2019. ISBN 9781845291082. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  14. "Iraq 1941". Osprey Publishing. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  15. The Generals. Littlebrown.co.uk. 31 January 2019. ISBN 9781845294915. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  16. "Tobruk: The Longest Siege". Panmacmillan. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  17. "Kohima 1944". Osprey Publishing. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  18. "Japan's Last Bid for Victory". Praetorian. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  19. "Bill Slim". Osprey Publishing. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  20. "Operation Suicide". Quercus Books. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  21. "Into the Jaws of Death". Quercus Books. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  22. "Jail Busters". Quercus Books. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  23. "The Real X-Men". Quercus Books. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  24. "Among the Headhunters". Da Capo Press. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  25. "The Rise of the Third Reich". Da Capo Press. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  26. "Under a Darkening Sky". Pegasus. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  27. "A War of Empires". Osprey. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  28. "Operation Jericho". Osprey. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  29. "Victory to Defeat". Osprey. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  30. https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/osprey-blog/2025/korea-war-without-end/
  31. "The Challenges of High Command". SpringerLink. Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  32. "Stilwell, the Patriot". Skyhorse Publishing. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  33. "Leading from the Front". randomhouse.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  34. "The Sins of the Father". jeffreyarcher.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  35. "Who Do You Think You Are". BBC. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  36. "VJ Day Commemorations". The Times. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  37. "Narrow Escapes of WW2". IMDB. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  38. "The War in the Pacific: How WWII Changed the World Forever - Dr Robert Lyman". YouTube. 13 October 2024.
External links