Research your family history

The Shrine doesn't hold individual service records for members of the Australian armed forces. If you'd like to find out about your personal connections to service and sacrifice, we suggest the following resources:

Researching people

National Archives of Australia (NAA): Individuals' war service records (digital copies) can be viewed online for free. Hard copy records can be requested for a small fee.

Department of Veterans Affairs: Nominal Rolls list members of Australia's defence forces who served during different conflicts.

Australian War Memorial: A broad search tool to find records and material related to an individual.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Browse known war grave locations for Commonwealth forces in the First and Second World Wars.

Genealogical Society of Victoria: Expert advice and access to research tools to promote family history education. Membership required to search their family history records.

Researching medals

Defence Honours and Awards: Information about the Australian and Imperial honours and awards systems from the Boer War to the present day. Identify medals in your possession. Click Imperial Awards on the menu to browse medals for the First and Second World War, up to 1975.

If you believe a relative was not issued a service award (medals) you may lodge a claim through the Department of Defence.

Replica medals can be purchased from our shop and worn on special ceremonial days like Anzac Day and Remembrance Day in recognition of another’s military service.

Note:

• Currently serving and ex-service personnel wear their own medals on the left side of their chest above the heart.
• Medals awarded to another person are worn on the right side of the chest.

War heritage and history: vic.gov.au/war-heritage-and-history

Books in our Shop

The Shrine Shop stocks books that can help with research projects and best practices when caring for memorabilia.

Digging for Diggers is an illustrated explanation of the process for researching the military history of an Australian First World War ‘Digger’.

Caring for your Wartime Memorabilia by the Department of Veterans Affairs introduces the basic concepts of handling and proper storage for the ephemera in your collection.

More useful websites

• First World War Embarkation Roll - lists the names and dates of all service men and women who left Australia
• Roll of Honour - lists the names and dates of all Australians killed on active service
• Australian War Memorial's collection database - search for private records including photographs and letters
• Unit diaries for the First World War, Second World War, Korean War and South-East Asian conflicts online through the Australian War Memorial
• Discovering Anzacs: Search the service records of Australians who served in the Boer War and the First World War.
• Department of Veterans Affair's Nominal Rolls - Search for information on Australians who served in the Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the First Gulf War.
• Department of Defence's Defence Honours and Awards website - Discover information on the different awards and medals given to Australian service men and women.
• Search Trove (NLA) for newspaper articles and reports on war and peacekeeping.
• Navy History
• Australians at War
• Battle to Farm: WWI Soldier Settlement Records in Victoria (PROV)
• The Kokoda Track (DVA)
• Australian Honours and Awards
• Overseas Memorial Search
• National War Memorial (Ministry for Culture and Heritage - New Zealand)

These links are provided information purposes only; their inclusion here does not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Shrine of Remembrance of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organisation or individual. The Shrine of Remembrance bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links.