Participation in wars
Scope of collection
Participation in wars covers the activities and experiences of Australian servicemen and women in conflicts and peacekeeping missions at home and around the world, with particular emphasis on New South Wales units and individuals. It includes the impact of Australian participation in war on life in Australia with a special focus on life in New South Wales.
Collecting aims and intentions
The Library aims to collect historic and contemporary material which documents the experiences and activities of the Australian armed services in war, conflicts and peacekeeping deployments, both at home and overseas, from the establishment of the colony.
Particular emphasis is given to the experience of war by New South Wales people and units, including its effects on the people of New South Wales. Australian military feats and achievements at home and abroad are recognised, as is the development of nationalistic sentiment in documents that reflect national pride and patriotism resulting from participation and contributions of Australians in major wars and conflicts overseas. Generally the level of Australian participation in a war informs the strength of the collection.
From 1920, the Australian War Memorial has undertaken to preserve the original records of Australian military involvement in wars and the Library has emphasised collecting materials originating in New South Wales.
Existing collection
- Extensive range of Australian and overseas newspapers recording Australian military participation and involvement, and the activities of the population
- Military and regimental histories, including military journals and regimental newsletters, and the publications of professional and volunteer units, and support organisations and societies
- Biographies and personal narratives documenting experiences of war
- Bibliographies and indexes identifying sociological, historical and political information concerning Australian involvement in wars
- Government publications such as parliamentary papers and debates documenting the events leading up to military involvement and reporting on Australian military activities
- Call-to-arms posters, leaflets and other war ephemera as well as an extensive collection of peace pamphlets protesting war
- Pamphlets, leaflets, circulars and other ephemera relating to Australia's military involvements including conscription and the anti-war movement focusing on the home front; ephemera collected on Australian participation in World War 1 for example, relates to recruitment, patriotic propaganda, conscription, Red Cross services, servicemen's dependents, returned servicemen's associations, repatriation, memorial services, patriotic societies, war loans and women and the war effort.
- Diaries, papers, correspondence, oral histories, images and maps along with medals and stamps commemorating participation and specific achievements associated with Australian combatants and military campaigns, particularly up to the period of and including the first World War, 1914-1918
- Electronic resources, including online databases and access to Internet sites identified on the Library's Internet links page under the heading Military history, presenting a diverse range of military experiences
Some examples of unique or significant items
- Diaries of World War l and ll servicemen and women are a particular subject strength and include:
- Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal, at Gallipoli landing.
Mitchell Library: MLMSS 2739
- Private Edwin Flanagan.
- Private John Giles, captured and imprisoned by Germany in July 1916, diary July-December 1916, letters to his father 1916-1919, photographs taken in prisoner of war camp.
- Diary of Dorothy Jenner while a civilian prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, written on toilet paper (Bronco brand).
Mitchell Library: MLMSS 5184
- The happiness box, a children's book written by David Griffin and illustrated by Leslie Greener while prisoners of war at Changi and buried under the ground in Changi jail for safekeeping.
Mitchell Library: MLMSS 5428
- New South Wales officers and men of the AIF and the Australian Naval Forces, 1918-19 portrait collection.
- Watercolours by Leslie Hore of Gallipoli, and the Western Front
- World War I sketches by George Lambert.
Mitchell Library: PXD 53, PXA 2374
- Exhibition of war photographs taken by Frank Hurley, 1917-1918.
- Australian Official Photographs of World War I.
- Official World War II photographs of Australia's Pacific campaign.
- World War I recruiting posters.
Dixson Library: DL Pg 65
- Great Britain - Army Passchendale to Warneton 1:10 000 battle maps, 1917. Mitchell Library: MT3 234.33/1917/1; a printed Ordnance Survey Ypres battle map with manuscript notes by 2nd Australian Field Artillery Brigade 1916.
Mitchell Library: M2 234.33/1916/1
- Comprehensive collection of the works of military historian C.E.W. Bean, Official history of Australia in the war of 1914-1918.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission publications.
- James McClelland's recording the past for the future series of reference books.
Special collections
- Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) microfilms from the War Office and Colonial Office detailing colonial regiments in Australia, military settlement and military planning
- Nominal rolls and armed forces registers produced on microfiche, microfilm or CD-ROM by the Australian War Memorial
- Peace pamphlets
To print or download this document, a PDF version is available.
|