WWI & Australian military history

A useful starting-point for general archival research of Australian military history is the National Archives of Australia research guides – enter the term ‘military’ in the search field to refine your results.

Your next port of call might be the Australian War Memorial website. The website is a rich source of information about specific conflicts, terminologies and people. Examples of documents held by the Australian War Memorial include:

• World War I official histories
• Information on army structures
• Unit diaries

You can also find information specific to Victorian military service on the Victorian Government website.

If you’re interested in undertaking research on particular soldiers, such as your great-great-grandfather, there are a number of approaches to take:

• Nominal rolls list members of Australia's defence forces who served during particular conflicts. A handy short-cut to the rolls is hosted by the Federal Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
• The Australian War Memorial can help you ‘Research a Person’.
• The National Archives of Australia holds defence and war service records. World War I records are extensively available online, while World War II records are partially online and may be ordered.
• Trove, hosted by the National Library of Australia, facilitates searches for newspapers, maps, books, images, historic music, archives and more.

Finally, another good source of general information on military history is the museum collection. Today museums typically have at least some of their collections online – the Museums Victoria Collections Online may be a useful starting point, and you could also browse the Australian War Memorial collection online.

While the Shrine of Remembrance is synonymous with the military history of Australia, traditionally it is not a collecting institution, although it does hold a small collection of objects for display purposes.

Beyond Australia, most nations hold national military collections, often in national museums, and some battlefields have museums specific to those conflicts. International collections that may be of particular interest include the National Army Museum and the Imperial War Museums in the UK.

If you have a collection of material you need advice on managing, the Victorian Government has information guides. AMaGA Victoria also provides workshops and resources on managing collections.