Anzac connections

Bringing historic documents from the Australian War Memorial’s archive to all Australians

This backgrounder provides information on the Australian War Memorial’s Anzac connections project. This major web development project will not only progressively deliver newly digitised collections to the website but also aims to improve search and discovery on the site and to provide ways for people to interact with the collection. The project has been established to mark the 2015 centenary of the landings on Gallipoli.

More than 150 collections of private records relating to Australians who served in the First World War are now online. These contain a wealth of stories about ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary events of the war. The historic collection offers a chance for all to discover the experiences of our servicemen and servicewomen in their own words; the letters written home in neat copperplate, the scribbled messages jotted down before battle. There are also private diaries, unit diaries, memoirs, and postcards belonging to soldiers, sailors, and airmen of all ranks: privates, officers, and nurses as well as journalists and observers. Each offers the personal perspective of someone who was actually there.

The project will continue to release more digitised collections, data, and web developments throughout 2014 and 2015.

A sample of stories and accompanying photographs from Anzac connections has been selected for media use. This selection includes the newly digitised history of a serving Australian from most states. The selection also provides examples of Christmas-themed stories.

These stories and others can be accessed via the Australian War Memorial’s media portal.