Olson, Wesley, 1960-

Wesley John Olson (born 1960), known as Wes Olson, is an independent researcher and author based in Perth, the capital of Western Australia. His work has concentrated on Australian military history during both World Wars. Olson researched the loss of HMAS Sydney in World War II for nearly a decade before publication of his first book in 2000 by UWA Publishing, after which he became recognised as an independent authority on the ship and its lost crew. His research proved of great importance in the eventual location of the wreck and that of its adversary the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran in 2008. One of Olson's most notable works about World War I is his history of Western Australian involvement in the Gallipoli campaign of the first world war. This work was followed in 2018 by Olson's account of the cruise of the German raider SMS Emden in 1914. A feature of Olson's works is his use of contemporary diaries (from friend and foe alike), leading to a sense of 'being there' in and around the action, bringing both the heroism and horrors of war from the perspective of both sides in the conflict into stark and immediate focus.