Research
Comprising millions of items arranged into dozens of categories, the Memorial's collection can be overwhelming to those encountering it for the first time. To help you find material that is relevant to your research, we've put together some guides that will help you understand the collection and how to use this website's powerful search capability.
Research Guides
- Researching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military service
- Researching names on an honour board
- Local information sources about Australians at war
- New Zealand, 1860
- Sudan, 1885
- South African War (Boer War), 1899-1902
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- British Commonwealth Occupation Force, 1945-1952
- Malayan Emergency, 1950-1960
- Korean War, 1950-1953
- Indonesian Confrontation, 1963-1966
- Vietnam War, 1962-1975
- Peacekeeping
- First Gulf War, 1990-1991
- East Timor, 1999-2003
- Afghanistan, 2001-
- Iraq, 2003-2009
Personal service records (dossiers)
Personal service records are files created for individuals during their military careers. Service records are held in the country of the force with whom your individual served, for example, Royal Australian Air Force records are held in Australia and Royal Air Force records are held in the United Kingdom.
- Personal service records: Australian service
- Personal service records: countries other than Australia
Medals
Prisoners of War and civilian internees
- First World War: Australian prisoners of war
- Second World War: Australian prisoners of war in Europe
- Second World War: Australian prisoners of the Japanese
- Civilian internees in Australia
Unit histories
Maps
- Finding First World War maps: Gallipoli
- Finding First World War maps: Western Front
- Reading map references: First World War, Western Front
Researching a Person
Researching the military service of an individual can involve searching across a number of sources. This short guide will help you identify potential sources of information and help you get straight to the material that's relevant to you.
Researching a Unit
Many of the records held by the Memorial provide illuminating insight into the activities and actions that military units have taken part in. These records can often establish context around the service of an individual. This guide will help you find some of the Memorial's richest sources of information on military units.
Researching an Event
Within our collection, a range of material can be found that will provide valuable information on military events in which Australian's have been involved, from the 1860's through to today.