This guide focuses on Australians serving in World War 1. It also includes some information relevant to Great Britain, other Commonwealth nations and other combatant nations. There is a section on nurses and women's war occupations.
According to the First World War page on the Australian War Memorial website from a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of which over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner. The latest figure for those killed is given as 62,000.
The Shrine of Remembrance website states in its History section:
The Shrine of Remembrance was created to meet the needs of a grieving community after the extensive loss of lives in the First World War (1914 –18). 114,000 Victorians enlisted in the First World War. Of the 89,000 who served abroad 19,000 were killed.
The microfiche of Rolls of Honour contain the same information as the online Roll of Honour - see the Online casualty resources box on the right of this page.
Originally published in print and on CD ROM, this database of British casualties is available online on Ancestry.com. You can find it under the UK databases. Ancestry Library Edition is free within the State Library. The database lists casualties of officers and soldiers by regiment. Go to Soldiers died in the Great War on the State Library catalogue and click on the online link. This takes you to the database on Ancestry. If you are outside the State Library, you need to pay to use Ancestry.com directly from their website.
The original edition of Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919 was published in 81 volumes in 1921. It contains the names of over 703,000 individuals. Be aware that it does contain errors, as it was produced very soon after the war.
The Roll of Honour is a record of those who died as a result of the war. Search this Australian War Memorial database by the name of the serviceman. It includes deaths as a result of service while the person was enlisted as a member of an Australian military force or unit which was or could be sent overseas.
It covers the period 4 August 1914 to 31 March 1921, when the AIF was disbanded.
Further resources can be found on the Library catalogue. Use the Advanced search option to combine search terms, for example type World War 1914-1918 in one search box and the word casualties in the next box. You can also select the Subject option with the following terms:
Note that the State Library holds contemporary publications containing statistics which may not be accurate, as statistics have been updated in more recent years. It's important to note the date of publication of the book or pamphlet on the catalogue record. Some of the older publications have been digitised. These catalogue records have a link View Online or an icon (image) on the catalogue record and can be viewed free on your computer.
There is a range of publications on medical care for casualties of the War.
The Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914–1918 is a comprehensive three volume work.
It was published as part of the official history of Australia's involvement in the First World War.
This publication is available online through the Australian War Memorial. The Library holds copies in print.
For a range of books on medical issues during the War, try the subject searches below in the Library catalogue. Go to Advanced Search and select the Subject option. Type in any one of these terms:
