Born in Sydney to a middle-class English migrant family, Childe studied classics at the University of Sydney before moving to England to study classical archaeology at the University of Oxford. There, he embraced the socialist movement and campaigned against the First World War, viewing it as a conflict waged by competing imperialists to the detriment of Europe's working class. Returning to Australia in 1917, he was prevented from working in academia because of his socialist activism. Instead, he worked for the Labor Party as the private secretary of the politician John Storey. Growing critical of Labor, he wrote an analysis of their policies and joined the radical labour organisation Industrial Workers of the World. Emigrating to London in 1921, he became librarian of the Royal Anthropological Institute and journeyed across Europe to pursue his research into the continent's prehistory, publishing his findings in academic papers and books. In doing so, he introduced the continental European concept of an archaeological culture—the idea that a recurring assemblage of artefacts demarcates a distinct cultural group—to the British archaeological community.
Born in Sydney to a middle-class English migrant family Childe studied classics at the University of Sydney before moving to England to study classical archaeology at the University of Oxford There he embraced the socialist movement and campaigned against the First World War viewing it as a conflict waged by competing imperialists to the detriment of Europe's working class Returning to Australia in 1917 he was prevented from working in academia because of his socialist activism Instead he worked for the Labor Party as the private secretary of the politician John Storey Growing critical of Labor he wrote an analysis of their policies and joined the radical labour organisation Industrial Workers of the World Emigrating to London in 1921 he became librarian of the Royal Anthropological Institute and journeyed across Europe to pursue his research into the continent's prehistory publishing his findings in academic papers and books In doing so he introduced the continental European concept of an archaeological culture—the idea that a recurring assemblage of artefacts demarcates a distinct cultural group—to the British archaeological community