Unit Histories - Family Research

Image: Patches of Australian Army Units.

Most infantry battalions and light horse regiments, as well as a number of other units and formations, commissioned unit histories after the war. While resident Australia in the Great War historian Graham Wilson says,"some of these works are almost useless, due to lack of meaningful content", he says many more are a rich source of information on the people in the unit and what the unit did.

To see if a unit history has been written, go to the AWM’s website (www.awm.gov.au), click on "War History", then click on "Units", then click on "First World War" and select the unit you are interested in and if a unit history has  been published the details will be listed at the bottom of the AWM’s entry. Note, only infantry battalions and light horse regiments, plus a  handful of other units, are currently available to search. If the unit you're looking for is not published you can also do a ‘Collection’ search of the AWM’s collections database.

If you get stuck or want more information you can contact Graham through Military Voice.

About Graham:

Graham served 26 years in the Australian Regular Army, retiring in 1996 as a Warrant Officer Intelligence Analyst. Following five years as a civilian intelligence officer in the Department of Defence, he transferred to the Defence Department’s Directorate of Honours and Awards where he worked for 10 years in the support and policy areas; the latter as Staff Officer Historical Research. Graham retired from the Public Service in February 2011 and now works as a historian. Graham is active in a number of historical and militaria societies and is a prolific author of historical articles; he has been published in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA and has received a number of awards for military history writing. He has published two books, 'Bully Beef and Balderdash' and 'Dust Donkeys and Delusions'. His latest book due for release shortly.