Official History, 1939-45 war, biographical files

This series was compiled by Gavin Long, General Editor, Official History, 1939-45 War, and was the result of his requesting and gathering biographical information on individuals for possible inclusion in the histories. Details sought included dates and places of birth, their town or district, profession before the war and any important appointments during the period 1939-45. The bulk of papers in AWM76 are responses by individuals to Long’s requests.

Items in this series were certainly part of the material accumulated in the War History Section for the Official Histories. No documentation exists of their formal transfer of them to the Australian War Memorial (AWM), however it was most likely soon after Long’s death in October 1968, when his personal records were donated to the Memorial.

Content

Additional to the biographical material in the series, items B1 to B529 includes miscellaneous papers such as newspaper and journal articles, letters from next of kin, photographs and extracts relating to war service and military careers. Some of the papers appear unrelated but may be of general interest to researchers. Examples include:

· Item B375, Florence Nightingale Medal

· Item B395, Pensions

· Item B447, Siege Brigade, 1916-18

· Item B501, A journal article The Australian War History Tradition

· Item B502, War Service Homes

Items A1 to A25, also contains an alphabetical listing, and some service detail, of interesting members of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) who also served in the Second AIF.

System of arrangement and control

AWM 76 is arranged in two parts:

Items A1 to A25: Personal and service detail of interesting members of the Second AIF.

For example, Item A25 includes Lieutenant K R Hudspeth becoming the first Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) officer to be awarded two bars to a Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).

Items B1 to B529: Biographical files running in alphabetical order from Item B1 (surnames beginning with A), through to Item B528 (surnames beginning with Y and Z). Item 529 is a sample folder of biographical files.

Using the series

The series provides additional personal information to that contained in AWM168, (Official History, 1939-45 War, biographical cards), so researchers looking for more detail on an individual would be best to consult this series (AWM76).

Given the arrangement, the best way to find items in the series is to use a keyword search (using surname) on the RecordSearch database.

Sources

AWM administrative file, AWM76 Series dossier

Maclean, Ian 1993, A guide to the records of Gavin Long, Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

• AWM76 B87 - Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files - Cape T F, Caple J H, Caple S S, Capp H, Cardy J A, Carew-Reid O McK, Carey D W, Carey F R, Carey J V A, Carey J W, Carey T K, Carey W G
• AWM76 B448 - [Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files] Silcock H I, Silcock S G, Sillcock R R, Silk E J J, Silly B J, Silva G, Silverman H N, Silverman J S, Silvester F W, Sim S, Simes K O, Simes R H, Simmie J E, Simmons J J
• AWM76 B93 - [Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files] Catterns B W T, Caunter J A L, Cavanagh C E, Cavanagh C O, Cavanagh C R R, Cavanaugh J, Cavanough M, Cavenach T J O, Cawthorn W J, Cawthorne C H, Cazalet P G L, Cenotaph (London)
• AWM76 B240 - [Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files] Heward H M, Hewit E J, Hewitt E J. Hewitt E J, Hewitt G, Hewitt G V, Heugh H H, Hewitt J S, Hewitt K H, Hewitt L R, Hewlett H B, Heyen G H
• AWM76 B56 - [Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files] Boswell J W H, Botham W G, Bott M S, Bouch A D, Boucher M C W, Boucher M W S, Bougainville, Boully H, Boulter T A M, Boulton A N, Boulton W S, Boulton W T
• AWM76 B321 - [Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files] Masson I H, Masters J, Masters P A, Matchett L T, Mather J V, Mather M V, Matheson D G M, Matheson G, Mathews M, Mathews R L, Matson W I, Mathew D H, Mathews A E, Matthews G A
• AWM76 B278 - [Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files] Kelly J T, Kelly M J, Kelly R A, Kelly R A N, Kelly R L F, Kelly W H, Kelly W P, Kelso P W A, Kemmis V D, Kemp D G, Kemp D W C, Kemp G E, Kemp K M, Kempnich A W J
• AWM76 B379 - [Official Historian 1939-1945 War, biographical files] Oates A J R, O'Brien C B, O'Brien J J, O'Brien J P, O'Brien J W A, O'Brien L C, O'Brien V K, O'Bryen T J C, O'Connell K E, O'Connor B R D, O'Connor C A, O'Connor D, O'Connor E D, O'Connor N T