WW1 service records online
Records
of men and women who served with the Australian army in World War 1 are
preserved in the National Archives. In a three-year preservation
project, it has recently completed digitising 376,000 of these service
records. As a gift to the nation, all of these records became available
on the National Archives web site during the month, at www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/gift-to-the-nation.html.
Holding on to our history – that’s what the
National Archives of Australia does. We care for valuable Commonwealth
government records and make them available for present and future generations
to use. Our recordkeeping standards help government to account to the
public, ensuring that evidence is available to support people’s rights
and entitlements and that future generations will have a meaningful record
of the past.
The
launch of the new collection received a great deal of media publicity
and the site has since been attracting heavy traffic. This will settle
down in due course, but in the meantime you may experience delays.
How do I find a WW1 service record?
Go
to NameSearch. Enter the family name of the service person - make sure
it is the name used at enlistment. Select World War I from the dropdown
menu. Search. Display the results of your search. If there are too
many, you can refine this search result, and then enter the person's
given names and/or service number. Use the link to 'View digital copy'.
The range of records online includes those for the First
Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF), Australian Flying Corps,
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, Royal Australian
Naval Bridging Train, Australian Army Nursing Service, as well as Home
or Depot units for personnel who served within Australia during WW1.
Typical
contents of a file are the attestation paper completed at enlistment,
giving a deal of personal and family information; the service and
casualty form, showing details of the soldier's service, including
movements, transfers, promotions, sickness, injuries etc; and military
correspondence with a soldier's next-of-kin, including notification of
wounds or death, awards and medals, etc.
You can of course print
yourself a copy of an online record of interest, without charge.
Alternatively, you can order online a complete photocopy from the
National Archives, for a standard price of $25 ($28 for purchases from
outside Australia). The originals of any relevant records can also be
viewed, at the National Archives reading room in Canberra.
Much
more detail about service records is available on the National Archives
site, which is continually expanding. Family historians will find it
worth a regular visit, to re-check for family names of interest.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2006
This
work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this
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Fax: (02) 6212 3914
Email: mementoed@naa.gov.au
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