Fromelles
Conducting Family Research
There are a number of resources which may assist with your personal research into the service history of family members and others. Many records from the First World War are freely available online and provide a good source of information pertaining to an individual’s circumstances.
Whilst Army is not able to assist with personally commissioned research, we have compiled a list of contacts and search tips for those interested in finding out more about their particular relative.
Please remember the Fromelles project team are interested in hearing from you if your relative was killed in action at the Battle of Fromelles between 19 and 28 July 1916, and is listed with “No Known Grave”. If this fits your profile, please register your details here or by calling (toll free in Australia) 1800 019 090 between 9am and 5pm (AEST) Monday to Friday.
RESEARCH TIPS AND RESOURCES
An individual’s wartime service can be traced using a number of records that are available on various websites.
Service/personnel dossiers are held by the National Archives of Australia. Each dossier (which may vary in length from a few pages to over a hundred pages) contains all extant correspondence relating to the individual. Each dossier usually begins with the Attestation Form completed by the individual at the point of enlistment, and ends with a page (usually two pages in the case of those who died in the war) specifying the war medals that were awarded. There are three stamps representing the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. Where an individual was not eligible for a particular medal, the stamp will be marked ‘N/E’ ‘(Not Eligible). Go to www.naa.gov.au, and enter Record Search. On line 1 enter the individual’s name and service number (if known (e.g. grogan 3114) and on line 4 enter b2455.
The Embarkation Roll lists basic information about an individual at the point of embarkation from Australia: www.awm.gov.au, go to ‘Biographical databases’ and click on ‘Nominal Rolls’.
The Nominal Roll lists basic ‘end of war’ information about an individual: www.awm.gov.au, go to ‘Biographical databases’ and click on ‘Nominal Rolls’.
The Roll of Honour gives details of the burial or commemoration of those who died in the war: www.awm.gov.au, go to ‘Biographical databases’ and click on ‘Roll of Honour’.
After the war a Roll of Honour circular was sent to the next of kin of each member of the AIF who died. Some 40,000 were returned to the War Memorial; they are attached, where available, to the Roll of Honour file of each individual.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists all those who died in the war, together with cemetery reports and photographs of cemeteries: www.cwgc.org.
Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau files contain records of attempts to locate those missing or wounded, and often include statements from ‘eye-witness’ colleagues. These are sometimes contradictory and confused, and must be used with caution: www.awm.gov.au, go to ‘Biographical databases’ and click on ‘Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau files’.
The Official History series edited and partly written by C.E.W. Bean, has been digitized. It’s index is very detailed, and is particularly useful for tracking the activities of particular units: www.awm.gov.au, go to ‘Australians at War’ and click on ‘Australia’s official war histories’.
Each unit maintained a war diary (of varying quality and usefulness), which are being progressively digitized on the War Memorial website: www.awm.gov.au, go to ‘Collection Databases’ and click on ‘Australian Army war diaries’