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Researching WW1 diggers and nurses

from Sunshine Coast region of Queensland


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2014 was the centenary year of Australia's first deployment of soldiers to Europe to fight in the First World War.

The purpose of the Adopt a Digger Project is to commemorate the centenary by honouring the men and women from the (current) Sunshine Coast region of South-east Queensland who fought in World War One either with the Army, Navy or Airforce. Criteria for a soldier's inclusion is either that he was born in the district, or his next-of-kin was resident in the district, or he enlisted in the district or he is commemorated on a local honour board or memorial. This same criteria applies to our nurses. Since the inception of the project we have decided to include the settlers who took up land at Beerburrum Soldier Settlement from 1916 as the Settlement is such a significant piece of the region's WW1 history. Our criteria dates are 1914 to 1925.

The aim of this website is to create a database which records each soldier's WW1 military history and a brief personal history. This database will be a valuable source of reference for historians, researchers, descendants and school students, and will be a significant contribution to the social and historical military records of Australia, and particularly the  Sunshine Coast region.

We held an exhibition in April 2015 to commemorate the Anzac Centenary and to remember and honour "our boys".

higgins-thomas-cropIt isn’t as difficult as you might think to research a digger. It is possible to get basic details on his military history in half an hour! And by then, I’m sure you will want to know more about this man and his war experiences.

Since the lifting of the privacy embargo, there are now many websites you can search for  information.

Historians - professional and amateur - are continually creating wonderful websites where you can find photographs of soldiers, stories of regiments, detailed battle histories and locations and photographs of war graves.

The first three sites to search for information in order are:

1. The AIF Project  -  http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/index.html

Search by your digger’s name and/or service number to see the following:
Regimental number – Place of Birth – School – Age at enlistment – Religion – Occupation – Address – Marital Status – Age at embarkation – Next of Kin – Previous Military service – Embarkation details & name of ship - Enlistment date – Rank – Unit Name – Fate, either date returned to Australia or details of death and burial.
You can click on Unit Name and be taken to details of his regiment and view names of  the soldiers who served with your digger.

Not bad for a first search! But you can discover so much more.

2. A good second step is to search the National Archives of Australia website
 www.naa.gov.au

On the Home Page select War Service Records, then select World War 1, then select First Australian Imperial Forces personnel dossiers (World War 1 service records). Select Name Search then follow the prompts.

It’s a bit of a rigmarole but well worth it because you can view, save or print the complete digital record of your digger’s military history. Most records are between 30 and 50 pages so there is a great deal of information there.

3. Then you can go to the Australian War Memorial site:  www.awm.gov.au

Select People on the top tab of the Home Page and complete the fields for your search for your digger. You can search the Embarkation Roll, the Nominal Roll and Roll of Honour.

If you select Collections on the top tab you can search for a possible photo of your digger. If you don’t find an individual photo, you might find one of his battalion. Most photos are out of copyright so you can copy and paste them onto your PC. It’s a good idea to reference however – and good manners.

You can also search Unit Histories, Battle Histories and lots more wonderful information. Have a good browse around the AWM website.

4.  And don’t forget Trove,  www.trove.nla.gov.au  a National Library of Australia initiviative where you can search digitized newspapers and a separate Pictures section where you can link to all the photos held at Sunshine Coast libraries, see images and captions.

By now, you should have a great deal of information on your digger and his military service. The RESEARCH WEBSITES link on the Adopt a Digger® website www.adoptadigger.org lists many other websites eg regiment histories, war graves sites, Gallipoli sites and more are being added as they are discovered.

Enjoy your research and thank you for being part of the Adopt a Digger® Anzac Centenary remembrance project.

Chrissy Fletcher
Project Manager