National Archives of Australia Military Records

The National Archives of Australia recently announced they had digitised over 1 million World War II military records.

Army records from World War II usually include:

• attestation (enlistment) form, setting out personal details such as age, next of kin and former occupation
• service and casualty form (Form B103), giving details about units and postings, injuries and disciplinary charges
• discharge form, summarising the person's service (not included in all cases)
• head-and-shoulders photograph may be included
• other documents or correspondence sometimes included

The Archives also hold other record sets related to wartime service and defence, many of which have also been digitised and made available free on their website.

These record sets include:

• civilian service
• courts-martial
• merchant navy
• munitions workers
• soldier settlement
• veterans’ cases
• war crimes
• war gratuities
• war graves
• defence administration and policy

These are in addition to the World War I military records which have already been digitised and available on the NAA site.

World War I service records usually include:

• an attestation paper – completed on enlistment, listing next-of-kin, employment, marital status, age, place of birth and a physical description
• a service and casualty form – 'Form B103', showing movements and transfers between units, promotions and details of injuries and treatment
• military correspondence – between the Department of Defence and the soldier's next-of-kin notifying of wounds or death, awards and medals and asking questions on the whereabouts of a service member

So take a look at all these records (and MORE) that are availabe FREE through the National Archives of Australia.