Information sheets

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Australians at war: casualties as a result of service with Australian units

Deaths as a result of service with Australian units

There are a number of sources from which casualty statistics can be drawn. The figures below, the number of deaths as a result of service with Australian units, are derived from the Roll of Honour.

Questions of eligibility for the Roll of Honour are determined solely by the Memorial’s Council, and have been considered many times over the years by Council and before it by the Memorial’s Board. When a name has been approved by Council as eligible for addition to the Roll of Honour, that name is added on Remembrance Day each year.

Dates for inclusion on the Roll of Honour for the First World War are 4 August 1914 to 31 March 1921. For the Second World War they are 3 September 1939 to 30 June 1947. In all other cases, the dates for inclusion are the same as the date of the conflict.

Conflict Dates of conflict[1] Number of deaths
New Zealand 1860–61 Nil
Sudan 1885 9
South Africa 11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902 589
China 6 August 1900 – 25 April 1901 6
First World War 4 August 1914 – 31 March 1921 61,508
Second World War 3 September 1939 – 30 June 1947 39,767
Malayan Emergency 16 June 1948 – 31 July 1960 39
Korean War 27 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 340
Indonesian Confrontation 24 December 1962– 11 August 1966 15
Malay Peninsula 19 February 1964 – 11 August 1966 2
Vietnam War 3 August 1962 – 29 April 1975 521
Thailand 25 June 1965 – 31 August 1968 2
Somalia 20 October 1992 – 30 November 1994 1
East Timor 16 September 1999 – 18 August 2003 2
Afghanistan 11 October 2001 – present 1 (4)[2]
Iraq 16 July 2003 – present 2
Total   102,804 (102,807[3])

[1] Dates for Roll of Honour eligibility purposes
[2]Three names are yet to be added to the Roll of Honour for Afghanistan
[3]Total including three names yet to be added to the Roll for Afghanistan

 

Other casualties as a result of service with Australian units

 

Statistics are difficult to use with complete certainty. Military statistics are particularly difficult to quantify because of definitions relating to country of service, type of casualty, whether sustained in operational or non-operational areas and availability. From time to time evidence becomes available which may change previous statistics: such changes are usually assessed on a case by case basis. The sources from which statistics are drawn help to establish the reliability of those figures. This table brings together available statistics from a variety of official and non-official sources including nominal rolls, the Official Yearbook of the Commonwealth of Australia (No. 37, 1946 and 1947) and also the Oxford Companion to Australian Military History (Peter Dennis, et al, OUP, 1995).

 
Conflict Dates Number enlisted Wounded Prisoners of war
New Zealand (Anglo–Maori) 1860–61 Crew of HMVS Victoria 1860–61
Approx 2500 enlisted in the NZ Waikato regiments 1863-69		 Accurate figures not available Accurate figures not available
Sudan 1885 770 New South Wales contingent 3 -
South Africa (Boer War) 11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902 16,463 (Colonial and Commonwealth contingents) 538 100
China (Boxer Rebellion) 6 August 1900 – 25 April 1901 560 in NSW, SA and Vic colonial naval contingents Accurate figures not available Nil
First World War 4 August 1914 – 31 March 1921
416,809 enlisted AIF (includes AFC)
324,000 AIF members served overseas
9,000 RAN
155,000 (all services)
4,044
397 (died while captive)
Second World War 3 September 1939 – 30 June 1947
691,400 men AIF & militia
35,800 women AIF & militia
45,800 men RAN
3,100 women RAN
189,700 men RAAF
27,200 women RAAF
66,553 (all services)
8,184 against Germany
22,376 against Japan
8,031 (died while captive)
Malayan Emergency 16 June 1948 – 31 July 1960
7,000 Army
no figures RAN
no figures RAAF
20 -
Korean War 27 June 1950 – 27 July 1953
10,657 Army
4,507 RAN
2,000 RAAF
1,216 29
1 died while captive
Indonesian Confrontation 24 December 1962– 11 August 1966
3,500 Army
no figures RAN
no figures RAAF
9 -
Vietnam War 3 August 1962 – 29 April 1975
42,700 Army
2,825 RAN
4,443 RAAF
2,398 -
Gulf War 17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991 750 Figures not available Nil
Peacekeeping   No figures available No figures available -
TOTAL     225,737 34,730