Well done the Aussies!

**Adrian Stevenson** · 01-23-2010, 12:41 PM

Hi Guys, I was contacted by a friend the other night after he discovered a couple of WW1 British Medals which he came across having forgotten about them for many years. He wondered if I could research them for him, as he is not online.

The one named to a British soldier I found via the UK National archives on the medal roll index. You pay £2 to get this info.

The other medal was named however to an Australian soldier. I had not researched any WW1 Aussies before. Well, what a surprise awaited me. His full service record was available online, all 26 pages of it and for free!

Australian War Memorial

Other countries could learn a thing or two about how their records are kept from these guys

Cheers, Ade.

**Alan M** · 01-23-2010, 10:19 PM

thanks for a great link ade

**Adrian Stevenson** · 01-23-2010, 10:26 PM

Hi Al, my pleasure.

I greives me that we (the UK) cannot invest these kind of resources into putting our history online, like the Aussies and the Cannucks. Instead we foster ours out to a private profit making company

I will try and borrow the medal from my friend and do a thread around it. He was going to part with it, as it was not a family item, but now with the history I have discovered, thanks to the archives, he does not wish to sell it. He feels it would be almost profiteering from the soldiers death to make money from it. He is an old school gent.

Cheers, Ade.

**aussie mick** · 01-23-2010, 10:46 PM

Yes Ade,
The AWM has a wealth of information and well worth a visit,i loiter there quite a bit.
I suppose its success is in the fact that the population was relatively small during the Wars.
But i agree,if only the English and the Americans could put something like it together,what a boon it would be for Military researchers.

Cheers Mick

**aussie mick** · 01-23-2010, 10:52 PM

Heres another great site if your interested in Australia at War

Peter Dunn

Cheers

**Richie B** · 01-24-2010, 07:04 PM

by Adrian Stevenson

Other countries could learn a thing or two about how their records are kept from these guys

Cheers, Ade.

Ade

You're right - the Aussies put us to shame with the availability of service records

The only First World War soldier on my local war memorial (in the UK) that I managed to fully research was a man who emigrated to Australia before the war and enlisted over there.

Sadly he was killed although he did manage to marry an English girl, desert (honeymoon purposes I suspect !), return to the front line, get wounded twice. Died aged 24.

Eventful life - almost feels like I know him.

Regards

Richie