Australian War Memorial

This is a guide to researching Australian involvement in the Korean War (1950-53), and the service men and women who served in it. It outlines the sources available in the Research Centre of the Australian War Memorial or through the Memorial's Website.


Records of Australians who served

Service Records
The Memorial does not hold personal service records. Sources for copies of service records of Korean War soldiers are outlined in Information Sheet 20.

Korean War Nominal Roll
The Department of Veterans' Affairs' Preliminary Nominal Roll of Australian Veterans of the Korean War (1999) lists those who served. It comprises separate lists for Army, Navy and Air Force and includes service number and unit (or ship).

Roll of Honour database
The Roll of Honour database is searchable through the Memorial's Website. It lists Australian soldiers who died in the war between 29 June 1950 and 27 July 1953. It is derived from official records and provides service number, rank, unit, place and cause of death, and Roll of Honour panel number.

Roll of Honour Circulars, Japan and Korea (AWM237:item 67)
The 'circulars' are printed forms with information provided for the preparation of the Roll of Honour by families of soldiers who died. As well as service information, they include the town or district and state with which the soldier was 'chiefly associated'; his birthplace, parents, date and place of death; cemetery details; and details of the relative or person providing the information. Of the 339 Australians who died during the war, there are completed forms for 310.

Medals and Awards
The Official Records series AWM88 (Governor-General's office's honours and awards files) provides information about medals for gallantry for both the Second World and Korean Wars. Copies of recommendations for awards are usually, though not always, included. There is a list of awards for operations in Korea in AWM113 (item 15/8/2). There are comprehensive lists (but not citations) of awards to Australians in Ashley Cunningham-Boothe, Marks of Courage (1991), available in the Reading Room. Information Sheet 18 provides contact points for enquiries about medal entitlements.

Army, Navy and Air Force lists
The Navy Lists (complete) and Army Lists of Officers of the Australian Military Forces (incomplete) comprise periodically issued lists of officers, giving details of service. They are indexed and available in the Reading Room. Air Force Lists issued by the RAAF are not held for the Korean War period.

Other Biographical Sources
There are references to some soldiers in Official and Private Records (see below). For example, biographical information collected by the Official Historian on particular individuals is held in Official Records series AWM89. Published unit histories often contain nominal rolls, lists of those who died, and lists of those who received gallantry awards. There are photographs of some soldiers on the Memorial's photographic database, and sometimes individuals will appear in group photographs without being named.


Korean War - General Historical Sources

Official Records
The Memorial's Official Records collection, comprising records created by the Australian Navy, Army and Air Force, can be searched on the National Archives of Australia's RecordSearch database, available on its Website. The Official Records series most relevant to the Korean War are:

Private Records
There are almost fifty privately donated collections (searchable on the Collections database) comprising personal letters, diaries, souvenirs, photographs and other documents and memorabilia documenting the experiences of individual soldiers who served in Korea. They include some operational and other official records, extracts from personal service records and citations for gallantry awards. Memoirs and historical accounts written after the event are also held. The collection includes the papers of such notable figures as Australian General J G N Wilton (commander of 28 British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade) (PR82/119), the medical officer Major B H Gandevia (3DRL/3351 and PR82/125) and the war correspondent James Smyth (PR00928); and a copy of the U.S. Presidential Citation awarded to 3RAR (EXDOC151).

Books and Serials
The Memorial's book and serial collection includes more than 350 items covering various aspects of the Korean War, including the Australian involvement. Details of these can be found in the Books database. Official publications, scholarly works on political, diplomatic and operational history, biographies and memoirs, unit histories, technical manuals, polemical and propaganda works, newspapers, and unit and association journals are held. The most comprehensive account of the Australian involvement is Robert O'Neill's official history, Australia in the Korean War 1950-53, Volume 1 Strategy and Diplomacy, and Volume 2 Combat Operations (1981-85), available in the Reading Room. There are unit histories of 3RAR, 77 Squadron, 28 Commonwealth Brigade and 1st Commonwealth Division. An incomplete set of the Division's The Crown News is also held. A Korea War reading list (Information Sheet 53) is available from the Research Centre.

Photograph, Sound, Film and Art Collections
There are currently approximately 6,000 images on the Memorial's photograph database illustrating all aspects of the Australian involvement in the Korean War. About 100 images of art works are available on the art database. Both databases are accessible through the Memorial's Website. Over forty Korea-related films and thirty sound recordings are held. Footage of 77 Squadron Meteor aircraft training and P-51 fighter operations, and Cinesound's Battle in Korea are notable items in the film collection. Copies of photographs, art works, film and sound recordings may be ordered from the Research Centre (Information Sheet 4).

Maps
The collection includes 1:50,000 scale topographical maps dating mainly from 1945-1951 covering most of the Korean peninsula. There are a smaller number of 1:25,000 and larger scale (1:250,000 and 1:500,000) maps. A variety of 'special maps' (including some road maps and city, town and port plans; overprints of enemy defences; US Air Force Aero Approach charts; aerial photographs and tracings; and operational maps, such as those used by 3RAR for operational planning and by RAN aircraft) are also held.

Special Collections
The Leaflet collection includes psychological warfare and recruitment material, instructions to soldiers and escape aids. A small number of items in the Souvenir collection relate to Korea.


Non-AWM Sources

Official records documenting the political, diplomatic and other non-operational aspects of the war are held by the National Archives of Australia. Full unit war diaries of 27th and 28th Commonwealth Brigades and 1st Commonwealth Division are held by the Public Record Office, Kew, UK.


Research Centre opening hours

Online services
10 am to 5 pm (9 am to 5 pm during ACT school and public holidays)

Reading Room services
10 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday
1 pm to 5 pm, Saturday
Closed Sunday and ACT public holidays


Contacts

Website: http://www.awm.gov.au
Telephone: (02) 6243 4315
Facsimile: (02) 6243 4545
Email: info@awm.gov.au


For a list of other information sheets available on this site go to the Research Centre pages.

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