1915 – The landing at Gallipoli. 1916 – The Battle of the Somme. 1940 – The Battle of Britain. 1942 – The Battle of Malta. 1945 – Burma’s liberation from Japan. If ever there was one story of an Anzac who encapsulates both World War I and World War II – whose report card reads Read More
Military historian Prof Peter Stanley tells Cassie Mercer how to look for clues in military portraits. Of the 320,000 Australians who served in World War One, around 10 per cent have a portrait that survives to this day – held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Almost double that number of men appear in Read More
One hundred years ago, the Great War ended after four years of death and destruction. Cassie Mercer speaks with author Professor Peter Stanley to understand more about what Australian troops were doing in those last few years of the war. The Great War left an indelible mark on thousands of Australian families. Men and women Read More
Military records can be valuable sources of information for genealogists, helping you to find enlistment dates, learn about famous battles and discover the unique stories of the heroes in your family tree. We’ve put together some tips to help you get the most out of Ancestry’s extensive collection of military records: The best way to Read More
Guest post by Kim Phillips, the historian behind Spirits of Gallipoli In November 2000 when I first walked the beach at Anzac Cove, I had little idea of the effect that visit would have on me, or the journey it would take me on. There is an aura at Anzac, a ‘spirit’. Those who have Read More
“He is all of them. And he is one of us.” Behind all headstones are the stories of our community, of our families, of our history and the Tomb of the Unknown soldier is no different. The man who now rests here met his death in France and for 75 years he rested under a Read More
The Japanese military attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, thrust the United States into WWII. It wasn’t long after that, Australia and New Zealand found themselves also under threat of Japanese attacks. While the majority of Australia’s soldiers fought alongside the British Royal Army against the Germans in the Read More
From Brad Argent, Content Director at Ancestry.com.au February 19th marks the 71st anniversary of the bombing of Darwin in 1942. I asked my nan, Nita (shown in the photo above), what she remembered of the day. At the time of the bombing – just two days after her 23rd birthday – she was pregnant with my Read More
In honour of Remembrance Day, we are giving free access to select military records from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada. The collections will be free to search from 11-13 November, allowing Australians and New Zealanders the opportunity to discover information about their ancestors who served during the Great War. Many Ancestry.com.au members have discovered extraordinary military Read More
We’ve just added nine military collections – almost half a million records – to the Anne Bromell collection of New Zealand historical records. These new collections are outlined below: New Zealand Army WWI Nominal Rolls 1914-1918 New Zealand sent almost 10 percent of its population overseas to do battle on World War I’s killing fields Read More