Lionel Gordon Short was born at London in 1885, the 8th of 10 children to Charles and Elizabeth Short, and the third child to be born in England rather than Australia. He was educated at grammar school in England, spent 5 years as an apprentice in process engraving and had matriculated to Melbourne University. Before joining the war, he was employed as a reporter for the Melbourne newspaper The Argus and spent 5 months at officer school at Broadmeadows camp.

Short was appointed to the Australian Imperial Force as a second lieutenant on the 17 January 1916, assigned to the 23rd Battalion and embarked for Suez with the 11th reinforcements aboard RMS Malwa on the 21 March 1916. After briefly being part of the 1st Anzac entrenching battalion, he was taken back on strength to the 23rd Battalion and promoted to lieutenant at the end of 1916.

In April of 1917 Short came down with trench fever and was given 14 days leave in England to recover. He did not return to the 23rd battalion in France until November 1917 as he had spent the intervening months as a commander of the anti-gas school at Windmill Hill camp in England and as part of the short lived 67th Battalion.

During the attack on Mont St. Quentin on 1st September 1918, he led his platoon forward in the face of intense machine gun fire with conspicuous gallantry and determination, capturing 50 prisoners. On the advance being held up, he made a most daring reconnaissance alone and in daylight, and as a result was able to lead his men forward to an important position with a minimum of casualties. For this action short was given and Military Cross.

He served with the 23rd Battalion past the end of the Armistice in November of 1918 until January 1919 when he became a museum officer as part of the Australian War Records section. He returned to Australia in December 1919 as a honorary captain.

After the war Short continued to work as a reporter for the Australian consulate press throughout the 1930’s and 40’s, and moved to New York where he was listed the New York correspondent for the London Daily Mail with many of his articles being published in the Australian newspapers. Lionel Gordon Short died on 31 October 1973 at Somerset, England.