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How to research a WWI soldier

There are a couple of very good resources available for researching Australians who served during WWI. The web sites of the Australian War Memorial (AWM) (http://www.awm.gov.au/) and the National Archives of Australia (http://www.naa.gov.au/) are amongst the best in the world for this type of research. The data available from these institutions is free which is very uncommon.

To enable you to research a WWI soldier here are some directions:

National Archives of Australia

• The most information can be gained from an individual's service record. All WWI service records have been digitised and are available free via the NAA web site.
• Click here: http://www.naa.gov.au/

1. On the NAA home page click on ‘Search'. There are two ‘Search' links, one at the top and one at the bottom of the page.
2. On the Search page click on ‘Record Search'.
3. On the Record Search page click on ‘Search Now as a guest'.

You will then be presented with a series of search boxes. The more information you can provide will narrow the search. In the ‘Keywords' box enter the Regimental Number and the Surname. Hopefully this will get a return for only one record.

The search can be further narrowed by putting the years of WWI in the ‘Dates' box. Click on ‘Search' at the bottom of the page.

The Search Results page will provide you the number of matches. Click on ‘Display'.

All matches will be displayed. Scroll down until you find the record you are searching for.

At the bottom right hand corner is a blue ‘r' and ‘View digital copy'. Click on ‘View digital copy' and the record will open.

The full file can be viewed page by page and printed from this site. Having the file reproduced by the NAA and sent to you will incur a charge.

Australia War Memorial

The AWM web site has two main data bases for look up information on soldiers.

• Click here: http://www.awm.gov.au/

The first is the Nominal Roll. To access:

• Click on ‘Biographical Databases'.
• Click on ‘Nominal Rolls'.
• Click on ‘First World War Nominal Roll'.

The next page has a search box. Enter the surname you are looking for.

You will then be presented with a series of links that have the first names divided into pages.

Click on the required page and the original nominal roll in PDF format will open.

The second is the Embarkation Roll. To access

• Click on ‘Biographical Databases'.
• Click on ‘Nominal Rolls'.
• Click on 'First World War Embarkation Roll'

The next page has a search box. Enter the full name of the person you are researching.

You will be presented with a series of links of the name you entered. If you know the regimental number this will help.

Click on the name you are looking for.

You will be presented with a summery and a link to a PDF file of the embarkation roll which has more information.

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