Australian service records available online

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/06/1036308356039.html

Service records of Aussies who served in WWII go online

Canberra

November 6 2002

With just a few keystrokes, it's now possible to access the service details of anyone who served in Australia's defence forces during World War II.

The National Archives of Australia today unveiled the long-awaited nominal roll of more than a million men and women who served at home and abroad during World War II.

The launch was the culmination of a massive effort to transfer key details from 60-year-old, often hand-written paper records into an electronic format.

The database contains basic biographical details of each person such as their full name, date of birth, enlistment and discharge dates, rank, any gallantry awards and whether he or she was a prisoner. ...

Further service details are listed on the original paper records, now maintained in the archives' repository in Canberra and copies are available at a modest cost.

Navy service records typically comprise one or two hand-written cards, while army and air force records can run to numerous typed and hand-written pages.

Veterans Affairs Minister Danna Vale said the roll drew on the service records of all Australians who enlisted during the war to provide a valuable snapshot of the nation's wartime history.

"Generations of Australians will now be able to easily access information on the wartime service of family members," she said.

World War Two Nominal Roll website

http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/

[ 29. November 2002, 10:39 AM: Message edited by: Crapgame ]