2nd AIF (Australian Imperial Force) and CMF (Citizen Military Forces) unit war diaries, 1939-45 War

Accession Number	AWM52
Collection type	Official Record
Object type	Official Record
Conflict	Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright	Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain This item is in the Public Domain
Copying Provisions	Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction.

Description

This series comprises the War Diaries created by the units of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and Citizen Military Forces (CMF) during the Second World War. While on active service, Army headquarters, formations and units were required to keep unit war diaries recording their daily activities. These diaries were arranged by unit and covered the period of one month at a time.

The content of the war diaries generally consist of war diary or intelligence summary sheets located at the beginning of each diary which record the date of each entry, the unit's location, a summary of events and any remarks or references to appendices. The appendices, which make up the larger part of each diary, may include orders, despatches, instructions, reports, telegrams, and decisions taken; daily situation reports; staff duties; accounts of operations; changes in establishment or strength; and a summary of information received.

The content of individual war diaries depends on the unit concerned and their functions and daily activities. Overall, however, the main factor controlling the contents and quality of contents of a particular diary remains the skill, dedication, and enthusiasm of the officer who was in charge of compiling it.

More information can be found in the introduction to the series.

Please note: This series is currently being digitised. All items in this series will be digitised and the links added as the digital versions become available. The order in which links appear may not always reflect the series order or item number order of the original records.
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