When Meredith Atilemile was a little girl, she would visit the Australian War Memorial with her father and listen to stories about her grandfather who served on Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War. Decades later, she became a voluntary guide at the Memorial and learnt that her great uncle had also served, becoming the signals officer for Brigadier General H.E. “Pompey” Elliott. 

My heart stops. There he is.

At the end of another endless click of the mouse – it’s him. Harry. My grandfather. Hiding in plain sight on the Australian War Memorial website.

“I found you,” I say out loud.

On 20 November 1917,  Lieutenant John Clifford Peel wrote a letter that would become the inspiration for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Don Barnby celebrated his 21st birthday while on patrol in Vietnam.

While Melissa Smith knew her great-grandfather was considered one of the finest shearers of the 20th century, little was known about his brother who served during the First World War.

They’ve been described as some of Australia’s most ‘sacred places’ and can be found in cities and towns around the country. Now, a National Register of War Memorials aims to record the locations of every publicly accessible memorial in Australia.

Maxwell James Trengove was born on 9 December 1911 at Kadina, South Australia, to parents William Nathaniel Trengove and Matilda Alice Trengove (née Axford).

In the grounds of the Memorial, between the main building and Anzac Hall, visitors can find one of the propellers of the first HMAS Australia. It’s an interesting artefact at first glance, but scratch the surface of its history and it becomes even more fascinating.

Steve Hooke was just 19 years old when he was sent to Vietnam – more than 40 years later, he is a voluntary guide at the Memorial.