Families across the country have been invited by the National Library of Australia to dig into the Library’s vast collection of military history to begin a research for past family members, friends and relatives and the roles they played when serving our nation.
Encouraging people to learn more about how their ancestors, the Library said the research guides it held and offered were a great place to start from.
“Read our family history research guide on military ancestors,” the Library said.
“This guide contains links to genealogy information you can access in our reading rooms or online with your Library card, as well as other Australian websites with military research centres and historical information,” it said.
“The Library also has muster books and pay lists in our collections that are helpful for tracking down family members who have served.”
The Library said people whose focus was on World War One could try its research guide section on finding soldiers from that period.
It said another essential resource was Trove, an online source of information from the Library’s collections, as well as the collections held in museums and organisations across Australia.
“Trove has millions of pages of Australian historical newspapers dating back to 1803, which carried news of enlistments, troop movements, war reports and even letters from the front during many armed conflicts,” it said.
“Trove also has collections of diaries and personal papers from many people who served with or had links to the military.
“All searching and access is free, no signup required.”
The Library said that people could also send questions to its library team if they were looking for something specific or needed more research help.
The National Library’s research guide on military ancestors can be accessed at this PS News link, Trove at this link, and information on how to get in touch with a librarian at this link.
