First go emhs.org.au. Click on WW1; click on People; choose a serviceman whose details have not been recorded and write down his full name and service number. You’ll need this for accessing his war records.
- National Archives of Australia
The National Archives have digitised the enlistment details and army record for every World War 1 soldier.
- Open up NAA website
- On the front page, click on War Service Records
- On the next page, click on World War 1
- At the bottom of the page, you will find First imperial Forces dossiers (World War 1 records) Click on this
- The next page , click on Name Search. Fill in the surname of the soldier you have chosen. If this is an uncommon name – less than twenty volunteers of that name, bring up the list; if more than this, go to Refine Search Result, fill in the full name and service number. When you find your soldier, click on the book symbol to the right on the same line. This is the digitised record and will give you his full service details.
- The Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial site is useful for several reasons.
- If the soldier died on active service, scroll down to the Research list on the front page.
- Click on Roll of Honour and you will find details of where his death occurred and where his memorial plaque is placed.
- Under Australian Military Units, you can find out details of the history and experiences of that unit during the war. This is particularly interesting if your only information from his record is that he died in France – the unit history will tell you where they were at particular times during the war. Then, if you want to know more about the battle, go to Google.
- If wounded severely or dead, you could also try the Red Cross records. These have eye-witness accounts of what happened to him.
- Trove
Bring up the Trove website, then click on Australian Newspapers Online. This is useful for finding personal notices, information about addresses or more information about the individual. Fill in his name and see what comes up; fill in the address he lived at and perhaps you’ll find something interesting. If there’s a huge number of items attached to that name, you could refine your search by restricting it to family notices. If he had some strong attachment to a country town or region, it may be worth choosing to find you information from local newspapers only.
- Mapping Our Anzacs
- Mapping our Anzacs website
- On the front page, you will find a map of Australia. Put your cursor on Victoria and then click. You’ll get a map of Victoria covered with red flags.
- Expand the map by, using your cursor. Click on where you think Melbourne is – East Melbourne counts as part of Melbourne. Bring up the list and see if your soldier is on it. Click on to view his details.
- Australian Dictionary of Biography
ADB website can be useful if you have a well-known person, because it will give you his whole biography, including war service.
It’s always worth trying to find someone simply through bringing up Google and putting in the whole name of your soldier.
- Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com is useful for checking electoral rolls in the post-war period.
Other useful sites if you are pursuing an East Melbourne connection are the Sands and McDougall directories, on-line at the State Library in Swanston St., and the Rates Books, on-line at the East Melbourne library, upstairs in the History Room. Library staff can help with this.