Showing posts with label Shauna Hicks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shauna Hicks. Show all posts

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Expert Q&A :: Getting the best from the State Library of NSW

For our Expert Q&A on Thursday, December 6 we had Tracy Bradford and Elise Edmonds from the State Library of New South Wales answering questions on how to get the best from the State Library of New South Wales collection. Thanks again to Tracy and Elise for their time and responses.

Please find the transcript of the Q&A and links below.

Don't forget our Expert Q&As happen every Thursday night on the Inside History Magazine facebook page.

When: NSW - ACT - VIC - TAS: 8:30-9:30pm AEDT | QLD: 7:30-8:30pm | WA: 5:30-6:30pm | NT: 7:00-8:00pm | SA: 8:00-9:00pm

Top tips from Tracy Bradford on using the SLNSW collections:
  1. Our website is a great starting point for information about the Library and our collections. From the home page you can directly access the printed books catalogue and the Manuscripts, Pictures and Oral History catalogue. The Library’s askalibrarian service is also a great starting point, and this service can also be accessed directly from our home page. This is a free Information Request Service. 
  2. Sometimes cataloguing terms don’t always align with the way we might describe something, so think laterally when devising your catalogue search. Also look out in the catalogue record for subject headings and ‘see also’ references which might lead you to other records related to your research interests.
  3. Sometimes you may need to broaden or narrow your search terms to find more information. For example, if you are researching WWI, a broad search terms might be ‘World War (1914-1918)’. Narrowing the search to particular campaigns (e.g. ‘Gallipoli Campaign (1915)’ or ‘Western Campaign (1914-1918)’ will help refine the search.
Summary of links from the Q&A:

From the SLNSW Holtermann collection: the view of Circular Quay from Dawes Battery

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Transcript of Expert Q&A - Getting the best from SLNSW: 

Our Expert Q&A with the State Library of New South Wales team starts in 15 minutes at 8:30pm AEDT. Tonight we’ll be discussing how to get the best from the SLNSW collection. Please ask your questions in a comment below and Tracy and Elise will answer in a comment.

Q. From Linda: Thanks to the link from Inside History, I had a look by searching for Gippsland in the image catalogue, and there is quite a bit there. In Victoria, local history collections around the state are increasingly returning items to their most appropriate area, if they do not fit their own collection policy - often in the hope someone will some day give them something they consider more suited to them. Do the state libraries have a similar exchange/repatriation policy? In other words, if there were no other considerations (such as part of larger collection), if the SLNSW had a diary written totally in Victoria, by a Victorian, would it offer it to the State Library of Victoria? What sorts of considerations would come to bear on making a decision such as that?
A. Elise: Hi, @ Linda, that's a very interesting question... We don't really have this type of policy... Particularly with our WW1 diary collections, we purchased many of these directly after the War from all around the country. We wouldn't necessarily return these back to the original state... however these days, if we are offered material from Victoria, or another state, we would refer people to the State Library in that state.
A. Tracy: @Linda, increasingly digitisation will allow us to 'virtually repatriate' collection material, as it will be available for researchers not just interstate but internationally as well.
A. Linda: Thank you for that - I probably wasn't thinking WWI diaries, which were mainly written outside the country anyway, and are of national significance. Probably I was thinking more of things such as domestic diaries. I am trying hard to think what else fits - possibly manuscript material. So thank you - I think you have answered the question, and I appreciate that that happens.
A. Elise: @Linda, yes, it's a really interesting question. It's certainly not something that we do regularly here at SLNSW...

Comment: IHM: Welcome everyone, thanks for joining us tonight. Please welcome Tracy and Elise from the State Library of New South Wales to tonight's Q&A.
Comment: IHM: Remember to keep refreshing your browser to see the answers as they appear. 
A. Linda: Hello Tracy and Elsie - so glad you have come to talk with us. Thanks IH for the opportunity.
A. Leonie: Welcome Tracy and Elise!
A. Elise: Thanks! Hi.
A. Tracy: Hi everyone. It's great to be here and I'm looking forward to an interesting discussion.

Q. From Leanne: I would like to know if or when the Sunday Telegraph in Sydney for 1940 to 1945 are going to be put on trove. If not, what would be the easiest way of being able to get copies of a article that was in five of the 1940 Sunday paper and one article for each other year... In Feb 1940 the headline of the article was - 'He is two months old this week. The 1940 Baby.' Although I have all of the original photos that the newspaper took. I only have two of the actual articles. The rest were too damaged, beyond repair... the baby in the articles, is my dad.
A. Elise: Hi, @Leanne Ferguson, it doesn't look like the Sunday Telegraph is currently available to be searched on Trove... There is a list of upcoming newspapers listed here on the National Library's website: http://www.nla.gov.au/content/newspaper-digitisation-program
A. Elise: however @Leanne, you could check the microfilm version of the newspaper. Here is our catalogue record for the newspaper: http://library.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/o2812563 You could also always request an inter-library loan of the specific microfilm reel, via your local public library.

Comment: Sharon: Hello all, sorry I'm a bit late... just about to catch up on the posts and then will think up some Q's!
Q. From Sharon: Can you give some tips for searching for a particular person? Are there special unknown things that often bring up results?
A. Elise: Hi @Sharon, you can always try typing in the persons last name into our catalogue - to see whether we hold diaries/letters/photographs by or about them... http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/SimpleSearch.aspx
Q (b): From Sharon: Thanks Elise. Sadly nothing for my relative. Would you be interested in WW1 postcards? I'm not the holder of the collection.
A. Elise: @Sharon, we can always get the person to send a couple of photographs of the material to us - that's usually the first step for us in appraising material... They can send the photos and information to us here: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about/collections/donations.html
A. Sharon: Thanks Elise.

Q. From Margaret: I have my father's WW1 war diaries and I would like to see them preserved. Does the state library take them? I'm a Mosman local. Thank you.
A. Tracy: The State Library of NSW has been collecting WWI diaries and personal papers since 1918, thanks to the foresight of the Principal Librarian of the time, WH Ifould. We have one of the most significant collections of its type in Australia, and still actively collect this material. We are always very interested in discussing acquisitions with people who are looking for a 'forever home' for their treasured papers. There is a donations page on our website: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about/collections/donations.html

Q. From Joan: What newspapers are online for counties such as Devon or Lincolnshire?
A. Elise: @Joan, here at the State Library we do subscribe to many online databases, which include British newspapers from the 18th and 19th century. Here is the list of databases that might help you... http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/eresources/browse.cfm?subjects=6165
Q (b): From Joan: Thank you. I presume we just use our card number to access them?
A. Elise: @Joan, yes, you'll need a Library card to login to these at home, or you can come into the Library to search them.

 Q. From IHM: Q. from twitter. Will you have your entire WW1 war diaries collection digitised for 2014?
A. Tracy: The State Library has launched two multi-million dollar projects which will provide unprecedented, world-wide access to our state and nation’s most iconic and historically significant documents and objects, including our WWI collection of diaries, personal letters, pictorial material, posters and ephemera. The WWI collection will be digitised, and the diaires and letters transcribed, in time for the Centenary of the outbreak of the war.
A. Elise: @Inside History Magazine... here is a diary that has recently been digitised. Thomas Ray Crook's and the transcript for the whole diary is also accessible under each thumbnail image.... and is linked here: http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/_transcript/2011/D12349/a4630.htm#a4630008

Q. From IHM: Following on from Sharon's Q. What would be your top tips for using the SLNSW collections? What would be your top tips for using the SLNSW collections?
A. Tracy's top tips: 
  1. Our website is a great starting point for information about the Library and our collections. From the home page you can directly access the printed books catalogue and the Manuscripts, Pictures and Oral History catalogue. The Library’s askalibrarian service is also a great starting point, and this service can also be accessed directly from our home page. This is a free Information Request Service. 
  2. Sometimes cataloguing terms don’t always align with the way we might describe something, so think laterally when devising your catalogue search. Also look out in the catalogue record for subject headings and ‘see also’ references which might lead you to other records related to your research interests.
  3. Sometimes you may need to broaden or narrow your search terms to find more information. For example, if you are researching WWI, a broad search terms might be ‘World War (1914-1918)’. Narrowing the search to particular campaigns (e.g. ‘Gallipoli Campaign (1915)’ or ‘Western Campaign (1914-1918)’ will help refine the search.

 Q. From Linda: Speaking of cataloguing terms - do you have your own thesaurus, with specific terms tailored to Australia/NSW. If you do, it wouldn't be online, would it?
A. Elise: @Linda, we use the Australian Pictorial Thesaurus to describe our Pictures material http://www.picturethesaurus.gov.au/search.html and the Library of Congress subject headings (Pictures and manuscripts material)
Q (b): From Linda: Thank you for that - I just went searching for one of my interests at the minute, which is a snake oil salesman by the name of Joseph Shires. I couldn't pick up anything in the picture thesaurus that covers snake oil salesmen, and I don't know if it is uniquely Australian term. I have trouble finding Mr Shires, as he has one of those surnames such as Black, Green, White, Shingles, Little and Wood, where the word turns up in everything. Any search tips for him?
A. Elise: @Linda that is a very tricky term... I'm not sure if it is uniquely Australian, but it may require a bit more investigation...
A. Linda: Thanks Elise - always interested in the perspective of others. Not that I was really hoping to find any snake oil salesmen in your catalogue. But you never know.
A. Elise: @Linda, the only other term I can think of is con man... but that's not coming up...
A. Linda: Neither is Quackery - one reference in 1970. Strange there is no Quackery in your records.
A. Wendy: Linda, would 'travelling salesman' perhaps be a term used for a snake oil salesman?
A. Linda: @Wendy - not sure - the vast majority of travelling salesmen were not quacks. Must talk to you about this bloke - think he was through your way in the 1860s.
A. Linda: The other thing is this bloke was not so much as salesman as an entertainer - using the "experiments" he put on to sell his remedy. Really hard to define him with a subject term - or find similar people using a subject term. He was actually referred to at the time as a "snake charmer" - but that's not in there either. Oh, the fun you can have with subject headings!

Q. From IHM: Elise, Tracy, what is your favourite story you’ve found in the SLNSW collections?
A. Tracy: Favourite story? So many to choose from! One of my favourites is a WWI digger called Arthur Hall, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery at Peronne in September 1918. His diary was donated to the Library in October 2011 by his son. Arthur was from a tiny place called Coolabah in north-west NSW, and following the war was a very active member of his local community. He was a man of few words, as his diary attests, very humble and modest about the bravery which lead to him receiving the VC. Arthur's is our only VC winner's diary to date. http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=949742
A. Elise: One of my favourite collections is a collection of photographs by a Sydney doctor who served at Gallipoli: Herschel Harris. His photographs have all been digitised and you can browse them all via the catalogue record: http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=69814
A. Tracy: There's a great photo in our collection of Arthur Hall VC on the day of his investiture at Buckingham Palace: http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/album/ItemViewer.aspx?itemid=971188&suppress=N&imgindex=1
A. Elise: Another nice little collection that has recently been digitised includes a sock knitting pattern from WW1 - produced by the Australian Comforts fund and called The Grey Sock... http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=910142
A. Linda: Sock pattern sounds interesting - one collection I work with has the published kitting book from the Comforts Fund in WWII. Probably the same one, reissued - good to think a little more about its beginnings.
A. Elise: @Linda, yes, probably quite similar. We had a Library volunteer follow the pattern and she made a pair of very comfortable woollen socks...
A. Sharon: Love the Grey Sock book, patterns and photos! Great collections!
A. Linda: We have an interest in those socks. We had a woman who for the duration of WWI knitted two pairs of socks a week, and made two singlets and two shirts, for the entire war, while three of her brothers and her fiancee were killed in action. She just kept knitting and sewing, and did the same in WWII. She never married, and willed the sewing machine that she used in WWI to the museum. I guess she would have worn out the knitting needles.

Q. From Leonie: My question is... How would I trace his lineage? I have a John/James Castle-convict arrived aboard the Scarborough-First Fleet b abt 1759 d 1803. He is mentioned in Capt Tenches diary of being an industrious person - classified as a Husbandman. He was classed as Independant, and off the Gov. supplies by 1790s. The only mention of his death is via the Sydney Gazette in 1803. Simeon Lord advertises his goods and chattels for sale stating that he had died. I have also been to State Records to try and glean more information from his very early probate-nothing there about his lineage. I have also searched the Old Bailey Records, and also the Hawkesbury Historical Society, and every other one within the region to find out more about him. He was noted as working at Puddle Dock in London at the time of his arrest. I'm hoping you may be able to help?
A. Elise: @Leonie a starting point might be our research guide - how to search for NSW convicts, which is accessible here: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/research_guides/convicts/index.html, however it sounds as though you have already done a lot of research... You can always send us a query through our Ask a Librarian page: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/ask/index.html
A. Sharon: @Leonie, you might also be interested in a course at UNE called Convicts run by Dr David Roberts. It is on now but I'm not sure when it will be on next.
A. Christine: @Leonie, you could ask for help regards his birth on the UK ancestry Facebook page - there are some terrific people who go out of their way to help there.
A. IHM: Nice suggestion Sharon, here are the UNE details Leonie :: http://ow.ly/fRYKV | http://ow.ly/fRZ8z
A. Tracy: Hi @Leonie. Coincidently I have a First Fleeter who also came on the Scarborough - Matthew Everingham. He was an attorney's clerk who was sentenced to 7 years transportation for stealing two books belonging to his employer. Ironic, perhaps, that I now work in a Library!

Q. From IHM: What do you have in the pipeline that we should be excited about?
A. Elise: We are continuing to digitise our original materials: diaries, letters, pictures and related material, so that more and more of our collections can be accessible online, along with providing transcriptions to manuscript collections, such as our WW1 diaries...
A. Elise: @Inside History Magazine, something to get really excited about that's coming in February is an exhibition on the internationally significant Holtermann photograph collection: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/society_art/photography/holtermann/index.html
A. Tracy: Keep an eye out for our new AMAZE Gallery, which will open in March 2013 with an exhibition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Sir William Dixson's bequest to the Library.

Comment: IHM: Thanks again to Tracy and Elise for joining us tonight! We’ll publish the questions, answers and links from tonight’s session in a blog post this coming week.
A. Linda: Thank you for the Q&A - all very interesting!
A. Sharon: Thanks for a wonderful Q&A session again. I do really love these sessions.
A. Elise: You're welcome! Thanks for having us.
A. Tracy: Thanks everyone for a really interesting conversation; it's been fun.
A shop owned by the Moses Brothers in the goldfield town of Gulgong, NSW, in 1872. From SLNSW's Holtermann collection. 

Next Week: Who's joining us for next Thursday's Expert Q&A? Find out how to get best from the Australian National Maritime Museum collection with Nicole Cama and Penny Hyde. Join us here with your questions next Thursday.

When: NSW-ACT-VIC-TAS: 8:30-9:30pm AEDT | QLD: 7:30-8:30pm | WA: 5:30-6:30pm | NT: 7:00-8:00pm | SA: 8:00-9:00pm.

See you next Thursday, December 13 for more on the Australian National Maritime Museum collection.

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Read the previous Expert Q&A transcripts:
[1]  Thursday, July 26 :: How to get the best from Trove Australia
[2]  Thursday, August 16 :: How to get the best from BDM Certificates
[3]  Thursday, August 23 :: Getting the most from NAA
[4]  Thursday, August 30 :: Interpreting photographs for family history
[5]  Thursday, September 6 :: How to get the best from Ancestry.com.au
[6]  Thursday, September 13 :: Using Trove for research
[7]  Thursday, September 20 :: Today's toolkit for the digital historian
[8]  Thursday, September 27 :: Preserving your artefacts with NAA
[9]  Thursday, October 4 :: Studying and doing research at UNE
[10] Thursday, October 11 :: How to research war graves and Anzac ancestors
[11] Thursday, October 25 :: What's new at Ancestry.com.au
[12] Thursday, November 1 :: How to research cemeteries in Sydney & NSW
[13] Thursday, Nov 8 :: Australian War Memorial - Lost Diggers
[14] Thursday, Nov 15 :: Getting even more from Trove
[15] Thursday, Nov 22 :: Getting the most from findmypast AU & NZ
[16] Thursday, Nov 29 :: Using NAA defence records
[17] Thursday, Dec 06 :: Getting the best from the State Library of NSW
[18] Thursday, Dec 13 :: Using the Australian National Maritime Museum
[19] Thursday, Dec 20 :: What's new at Ancestry.com.au
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Issue 14: Jan-Feb 2013 is now available!

Outlaws and legends: the January-February edition (issue 14), our crime special, has arrived!
  • Ned Kelly’s secret love? A descendant of the iconic bushranger’s alleged flame puts forward his case
  • Discover your family history to trace lawbreaking ancestors with Shauna Hicks’s guide to criminal records
  • Delve into 1930s murder mysteries with award-winning crime authors Stephen Orr and Sulari Gentill
  • We introduce the early Australian convict indents that have been digitised in colour for the first time
  • Was your ancestor a Remittance Man? Helen Leggatt shows you how to find out
  • Inside History readers share tips for deciphering tricky handwriting on historical documents
  • Plus there's much more, including opportunities to network with other genealogists, giveaways, and book and app reviews!

And much more – in fact, 76 pages of terrific features, practical information on genealogy, chances to network with other family historians, and book and app reviews. On sale now online - click here to buy!

 Issue 14 is available in newsagents nationally - click here to see where. If your local newsagent doesn't stock us though, then they should be able to put a standing order in for you from Gordon & Gotch [G&G] - our title number is 11904 and G&G is on 1300 650 66, if your agent asks.  Once your newsagent sends in your request, we'll make sure that our next Issue 15: Mar-Apr 2013 is sent there for you!

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From Australia’s most iconic bushranger through to First Fleet convicts and 1930s murder mysteries, Issue 14 of Inside History takes a walk through the dark alleyways and shady backstreets of our nation’s past.

Of the many outlaws and legends in Issue 14, Ned Kelly — our cover boy — is one of the most famous, divisive and intriguing. In an exclusive interview, we hear from a descendant of Ned’s alleged secret love, who puts forward his case and reveals his spine-tingling discoveries about the Kelly gang.

Delve into your own family history mysteries with our report of Inside History readers’ best tips for deciphering historical documents: they should help you crack the code. Along with our investigation into the scandals of remittance men, our guide to criminal records by renowned genealogist Shauna Hicks will see you snooping through the archives to uncover your ancestors’ dastardly deeds.

The chilling crime fiction story idea that inspired grisly real life murders in the 1930s West Australian outback is recounted by author Stephen Orr. Meanwhile, author Sulari Gentill discusses the importance of historical research to her crime fiction writing, where fact and fiction are interwoven.

Cracking open the case of the Eureka Stockade, we examine a long-standing myth surrounding the uprising using clues and tipoffs from historical sources. And, of course, what crime edition would be complete without an appearance by our convict forebears? We trace early convicts’ attempts to sneak around the colonial justice system, as revealed through records.

Family history sleuths and armchair detectives alike will appreciate the latest edition of Inside History. This issue will set your mind ticking and pulse racing as you examine some of the most famous, and infamous, cases and characters from Australian history — and perhaps uncover outlaws and legends in your own family history.

Packed as always with in-depth family history research advice, the latest news and events, and features on Australia’s social history and heritage, Inside History is a bi-monthly magazine for people who are passionate about the past. It’s available from newsagents nationally, on iPad via Apple Newsstand, and for Android and desktop computers through Zinio. Or subscribe and have it delivered straight to your door.


For more information please contact:
Cassie Mercer, Inside History magazine
phone: 02 9590 9600 | email: cass[at]insidehistory.com.au

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Expert Q&A :: Getting the most from findmypast Aust & NZ

For our Expert Q&A on Thursday, November 22 we had Vicki Dawson, Rosemary Kopittke and Melissa Davison from findmypast.com.au Aust & NZ answering questions on how to get the most from findmypast. Thanks again to Vicki, Rosemary and Melissa for their time and responses.

Please find the transcript of the Q&A and links below.

Don't forget our Expert Q&As happen every Thursday night on the Inside History Magazine facebook page.

When: NSW - ACT - VIC - TAS: 8:30-9:30pm AEDT | QLD: 7:30-8:30pm | WA: 5:30-6:30pm | NT: 7:00-8:00pm | SA: 8:00-9:00pm

Top tips from Rosemary Kopittke:
  1. My first tip would be - Don’t put in too much information to start with – “less” is often better; if you get too many results then refine using filters, a time span or keywords.
  2. Another helpful tip is to remember that much of the data is available as searchable documents which have been digitised – so for that data first/last names don’t mean much to the search engine. Use the keywords – for example, james ainsworth (83 hits) and ainsworth james (289 hits) in the keywords will produce more meaningful results than putting those words into the name fields (3,104 hits).
  3. And another - Search using both name and keyword fields – use the Record Type filter: search fully indexed data (Records) with the name fields and search the digitised data (Documents) with keywords and you will get much more useful results.
  4. And one more ... Don’t use the Chrome browser for searches – you lose a lot of what the pdf documents can offer with the Chrome browser as it doesn’t highlight matches on the page or give you all the acrobat tools.
Summary of links from the Q&A:

A pet cat listed in the 1911 England and Wales census 
Image courtesy of findmypast 

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Transcript of Expert Q&A - Getting the most from findmypast Australia & NZ: 

Our Expert Q&A with the findmypast.com.au Australia & NZ team starts in 15 minutes at 8:30pm AEDT. Tonight we’ll be discussing how to get the most from findmypast. Please ask your questions in a comment below & Vicki, Rosemary or Melissa will answer in a comment.

Q. From Rochell:  In case I forget about the q and a. I have a question. I am trying to find an ancestor coming to Australia around 1893. I know he was at his brother's wedding in April of that year. But I can't find him coming in. Is there anywhere I can find a list of major ships coming from London around that time?
A. IHM: We'll ask your question for you Rochell.
A. Rochell: I found him on the findmypast.com.au site. I hope it is him and not a crew member. I tried to become a member of the site but it didn't like my email address. So now I can't find out anymore details :( this is what I got. I would love a month. If poss. His name was WM STRUTHERS (Refer to Appendix A)
A. IHM: Blog from Rosemary Kopittke :: Part 1: Tips for using findmypast.com.au Aust & NZ :: http://ow.ly/fuw7S - lots more tips in tonight's Q&A!
A. Rosemary: @Rochell Your Wm Suthers on the Ormuz in 1892 was definitely a passenger and not crew - http://www.flickr.com/photos/insidehistory/8207265605/ shows the page from the passenger list.
A. IHM: Thanks Rosemary. For everyone else, here's Rochell's question from yesterday: "I am trying to find an ancestor coming to Australia around 1893. I know he was at his brother's wedding in April of that year. But I can't find him coming in. Is there anywhere I can find a list of major ships coming from London around that time? I found him on the findmypast.com.au site. I hope it is him and not a crew member. I tried to become a member of the site but it didn't like my email address. So now I can't find out anymore details :( this is what I got. I would love a month. If poss. His name was WM STRUTHERS".
A. Rosemary: @Rochell Interesting that the passenger list shows Wm Struthers entry as struck out suggesting he did not board. A comment from the specialist in the area says: I’d say that the married 27-yr old Scotsman Wm Struthers didn’t board the Ormuz bound for Sydney NSW in October 1892. Normally, however, in my experience when one sees a struck-out passenger, one would expect to find him on a voyage departing within the next few weeks.
A. Rosemary: One of my family was struck off a passenger list - he actually boarded in London instead of Liverpool a few weeks later - he and his wife came on separate ships and met in Brisbane at the end of the voyage - Robert had a new son born on the voyage when he met his wife again.

Comment: IHM: Welcome everyone, thanks for joining us tonight. Please welcome Vicki, Melissa and Rosemary from findmypast.com.au Aust & NZ to tonight's Q&A.
Comment: IHM: Reminder: Keep refreshing your browser to see the answers as they appear. 
A. Rosemary: Hi 
A. Vicki: Good evening!
A. Melissa: Hello
A. Carmel: Hi all

Q. From Trish: Hi Rosemary, Vicki & Melissa. Does Findmypast have access to different records than other genealogy sites?
A. Vicki: @Trish, yes we have many records that are exclusive to findmypast so you won’t find them elsewhere.
A. Rosemary: @Trish It does have many unique records not available elsewhere - Police and Government Gazettes for all Australian sites and and hundres of directories just to name a few - lots of exciting information in those records not easily accessible even in hard copy in libraries.

Q. From Kerryn: G'day. I'm not yet a subscriber to findmypast. How does it differ to ancestry?
A. Vicki: @Kerryn, many records you’ll find on findmypast are exclusive to us so you won’t find them elsewhere. Of course, you may need to use both sites as Ancestry will also have records that are exclusive to them. We do offer additional options other than an annual subscription including PayAsYouGo credits which start from $12.95 for 100 credits which gives you flexibility without locking into a subscription.
A. Rosemary: An example of records unique to FMP is the Queensland Police Gazettes - great details on criminals, victims and others - a good description at https://www.findmypast.com.au/articles/world-records/full-list-of-australasian-records/institutions-and-organisations/queensland-police-gazette-1864-1900 (more years available than yet described there)
A. Kerryn: Thanks Vicki that sounds great. How many credits does it take to access a record or are they all different?
A. Vicki: @Kerryn, it varies depending on the record. You can view the costs here - https://www.findmypast.com.au/payments. Scroll down and click on ‘How much does it cost to view the records?’

Q. From Carmel: So Rosemary how would I find crew members? I have a feeling I may have a couple. Henry Barwise arrived sometime between 1851 (English Census) and 1857 when an advertisment appears in Maryborough for an unclaimed letter. He came from a family of mariners although he and his father were both printers. Also I have one from Sweden who I believe has changed his name. His Naturalisation papers say he arrived in 1863 on the Triton but I have not found a record for this ship at this time.
A. Rosemary: @Carmel The passenger records on FMP start only in 1890 when the Board of Trade records commence - anything before that will have to come from other sources. I know some crew are listed, for example, on lists lodged with the Customs House in Brisbane and held by the National Archives. Perhaps they have similar lists for other states.
A. Carmel: Mine are Victorian and still asking questions. They will be there somewhere I am sure. I do seem to come from a family of swimmers.
A. Rosemary: @Carmel I understand your problem! I had a fellow who was a pilot - couldn't find him for a long time but he definitely didn't fly.
A. Kerry: Hi - anyone looking for crew, from about 1845 up until immigration became a function of Commonwealth government (end of 1922) should have a look at http://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au/ - based around NSW records, but not only theirs.
A. Carmel: @Rosemary I have a couple married in London 10 days after arriving in Victoria in 1858, they would have flown home for the wedding!
A. Rosemary: @Carmel Sounds interesting - I haven't heard of anything like that before; looks like it requires further investigation.
A. Carmel: Actually Rosemary I do not think they did marry. He met her at the ship in Melbourne, the marriage comes from the children's birth certificates, always the same date but one in London one in Melbourne, but no record to be found.
A. Rosemary: @Carmel Sounds a bit like some of my family where the children didn't really know the facts - said their mother was born in Ipswich, Queensland when she had been born in England. We can't believe everything on certificates - unfortunately. We need to check multiple sources for each piece of information where that is possible.

Q. From Carol: Can anyone answer this general question... Apart from the prison husks does anyone know some other uses for abandoned ships that sat in Hobsons Bay in 1852? (This is for a setting in a novel l'm attempting)
A. Carmel: Carol I may be wrong but I have a feeling there was one used for abandoned children?
A. IHM: Hi Carol, Carmel is right - there was a hulk called the Vernon which housed orphan boys off Cockatoo Island: http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/about/history-reform-school.html
A. Carol: One of the prison hulks was a reform school. Yes. And kids complain today! Thanks.
A. Wendy: G'day ,I was looking thru a book of mine that has been in storage for 8yrs and came across 2 pages of photos and a small amount of info on the 'Nautical Training Ships' ... 'one solution to ridding Sydney of it's young pariahs or 'Street Arabs' was to put them aboard nautical training ships moored in the harbour' . Photo's show the 'Vernon' and 'Sobraon' . Book is called The Young Australians .Australian children since 1788 .John Larkins & Bruce Howard 1981. Some one was asking about these ships in a Q&A recently . The photos are credited to the New South Wales Government Printer .
A. IHM: Click here for link to "The Young Australians" on Trove
Q. From IHM: Does findmypast.com.au Aust & NZ have Birth Death & Marriage records?
A. Melissa: In our Australian records the Birth, Marriage & Death records mostly cover cemetery records. Although these are not formal records of birth, death and marriages, the cemetery records often provide dates of birth and death, along with extensive information on the person and their family. However we have UK birth, death and marriage records available.
A. Melissa: We also have pre-civil records for SA which have very recently been added to findmypast.com.au and we expect to have Australian BDMs available next year, it is a top priority.

Q. From IHM: We're always being asked what's new on findmypast & what's coming next - what do you have in the pipeline that we should be excited about?
A. Vicki: We’ve recently added over 56 million new records for Australia & New Zealand and currently have so much in the pipeline that there’s a lot to be excited about! I can’t list them all but here is a teaser of what you can expect in coming months. The remaining existing records from the UK site and British Newspapers. From The National Archives in UK - British Army Pensioners - Kilmainham, Ireland, 1783-1822 which has been digitised for the first time as well as one of my favourites - our “bad boy collection” which will contain approx. 1.8m images and 3.1m criminal justice records. Irish BDMs & from the US - World War II records, 10m more World War I Draft Registration Cards and BDMs from the 1600s to the present day. And of course millions of new records for Australia & New Zealand – keep an eye out for an announcement shortly regarding new Australian records which will be digitised for the first time and exclusive to findmypast!
A. Vicki: We recently launched a 14 day free trial so if you haven’t already go give it a go for free!
A. Carmel: The Irish BDMs sound interesting, I have not been able to find anything on my Irish Ancestors
A. Rosemary: @Carmel If you have a subscription to the World Collection you will be able to access the Irish records through findmypast.com.au
A. Carmel: It was thanks to findmypast that I finally found the birth of my gg grandfather and found he did not even know his own name after I found he did not know his mother's name either. He always said his name was Alfred Benjamin Woodhead when he was registered and baptised Alfred Townley Woodhead. I am now trying to find out who Alfred Townley was, sounds like someone well known to Alfred's parents.
A. Kerry: I've found ancestors in the Irish Petty Sessions records, and some wonderful information about an entailment to a direct ancestor (that named their age, marriage date, residence & more) in the Irish Landed Estates records.
A. Vicki: @Kerry - Great to hear!
A. Vicki: @Carmel - wonderful to hear of your success!
A. Carmel: Yes he had his mother as Sarah Taylor, His mother was Isabella Jenkinson who died when Alfred was only 10 mths old. His father married Sarah Clarke so I am guessing this is where the Sarah came from and wonder if the Taylor was not linked somehow to the Townley. Amazing how one answer leads to a dozen questions! I have been doing this for 35 years and still looking for more. It amazes me when people say I have done my family tree.
A. Rosemary: @Kerry Kerry mentioned about some interesting Irish records she has recently examined. The following link will give a glimpse at what you might expect to see in the Landed Estate Court Rentals - when bankrupt property were put up for auction and the tenants and everybody associated with the property were named (not just the owners). Great records not available anywhere else. http://www.flickr.com/photos/insidehistory/8207346969

Q. From Michelle: Are there plans for FMP UK AUS & IRL to amalgamate? It would be easier to search the one database and have the one logon?
A. Vicki: @Michelle – Yes!! We hope to have them amalgamated in the first quarter of next year.
A Vicki: @Michelle - I should add to my previous comment that your login for AU, IE or US will work on each of those sites. All of the records from each of those sites are now available on findmypast.com.au and approx. 80% of the UK records with the remaining coming over the next few months. You can see the full list of what’s available here - http://www.findmypast.com.au/articles/world-records

Q. From IHM: Can you combine single subscriptions to get a World Collection subscription?
A. Melissa: Separate subscriptions for AU/NZ, UK & IE cannot be combined or transferred to one subscription, members will need to wait until their subscriptions expire before upgrading to one of the packages.

Q. From Kerryn: I've just signed up for free and made a boo boo already. Can I change the name of my tree I used my married name instead of maiden surname.
A. Melissa: @Kerryn, You can update your details from the "My Account" section located in your menu bar then in the drop down menu select "Personal Details".
A. IHM: Here's the link to the 14 day free trial :: http://ow.ly/fuI9I
Q (b): From Kerryn: Is it possible to change to pay as you go once free trial period is over?
A. Melissa: @Kerryn you need to cancel your FREE trial before the trial period ends otherwise the subscription will automatically be debited from your credit card. You can do this easily by selecting "My Account" from the menu bar and then selecting "My subscription" from the drop down tab, you will see the option to cancel. Once this is done you can purchase your pay per view credits.

Q. From Merilyn: Hi all I am enjoying all your comments and learning lots. I have found both ancestry and fmp both good sources of info. Keep up the good work. My brick wall is my gg grandfather who was a Mariner in Kent UK. Any ideas?
A. Rosemary: Merilyn Mariners can certainly be difficult. Not listed in all the censuses so tricky. Findmypast UK does have some Crew Lists though so it could be worth checking there.
Q (b): Merilyn: Thanks Rosemary. I know from past experience he won't come up if I just enter his name. Can you specify crew lists? What is the best way for Mariners?
A. Rosemary: @Merilyn Crew lists 1861-1913 appear under Education and Work on findmypast UK

Q. From Jonathan: Are there any plans on FMP to implement a citation button for a record? We all know how important it is to include citations when referencing data, making this information available to all would only enhance the product.
A. Vicki: @Jonathan. Not that I’m aware of but will certainly take up with the development team.

Q. From IHM: Time flies! 2 last questions then. 1) What would be your top tips for researching your ancestors with findmypast?
A. Rosemary's top tips: 
  1. My first tip would be - Don’t put in too much information to start with – “less” is often better; if you get too many results then refine using filters, a time span or keywords.
  2. Another helpful tip is to remember that much of the data is available as searchable documents which have been digitised – so for that data first/last names don’t mean much to the search engine. Use the keywords – for example, james ainsworth (83 hits) and ainsworth james (289 hits) in the keywords will produce more meaningful results than putting those words into the name fields (3,104 hits).
  3. And another - Search using both name and keyword fields – use the Record Type filter: search fully indexed data (Records) with the name fields and search the digitised data (Documents) with keywords and you will get much more useful results.
  4. And one more ... Don’t use the Chrome browser for searches – you lose a lot of what the pdf documents can offer with the Chrome browser as it doesn’t highlight matches on the page or give you all the acrobat tools.
A. Merilyn: Wow, thanks will certainly give all those ideas a try :)
A. Kerryn: I'm a bit disappointed about the chrome browser as it is my default browser.
A. Vicki: @Kerryn, the Chrome issue is only when viewing documents. Unfortunately it's an issue with Adobe and you lose some functionality that is really useful in Internet Explorer.

Q. From Michelle: Has FMP thought about a providing a knowledge page? Where researchers can check their knowledge? Would help people learn more about the resources.
A. Vicki: @Michelle. We’re shortly going to be revising our help & advice sections to include tutorials, knowledge base and other useful information.

Q. From IHM: So, we'll finish with some fun! 2) What is your favourite story you’ve found on findmypast?
A. Vicki: With so many records available it’s hard to choose a favourite but I would have to say I love the sense of humour of a John Charles Belton who included his cat on the 1911 Census as: Peter Tabby, relationship to family – servant, 6 months old, occupation mouser, nationality Persian! He obviously wasn’t intimidated by the enumerator…. http://www.flickr.com/photos/insidehistory/8207069167
A. Rosemary: One of my favourite stories is about a fellow who filled in his census form and was found dead when the collector came around the next morning - tragic really.
A. IHM: Leave them laughing & with a tear in their eye Rosemary, that's a great story!
A. Carmel: eek I did the census here a few years back and had a similar story, went to collect the forms and walked into a funeral.

Comment: IHM: Thanks again to the findmypast.com.au Aust & NZ team for joining us tonight! We’ll publish the questions, answers & links from tonight’s session in a blog post soon.
A. Carmel: Thanks to @Rosemary I have found that the Triton was in Newcastle NSW about 3 weeks after My John Johnson claims he landed in Aus on this ship. It had left from Warnambool with only a few crew members, now how do I trace it back to Warnambool to see if John was on it? I feel I am a bit closer to finding him.

Next Week: Who's joining us for next Thursday's Expert Q&A? Find out how to use the National Archives of Australia defence records. Join us here with your questions next Thursday.

When: NSW-ACT-VIC-TAS: 8:30-9:30pm AEDT | QLD: 7:30-8:30pm | WA: 5:30-6:30pm | NT: 7:00-8:00pm | SA: 8:00-9:00pm.

See you next Thursday, November 15 for more on the National Archives of Australia defence records.

=====================================================

Read the previous Expert Q&A transcripts:
[1]  Thursday, July 26 :: How to get the best from Trove Australia
[2]  Thursday, August 16 :: How to get the best from BDM Certificates
[3]  Thursday, August 23 :: Getting the most from NAA
[4]  Thursday, August 30 :: Interpreting photographs for family history
[5]  Thursday, September 6 :: How to get the best from Ancestry.com.au
[6]  Thursday, September 13 :: Using Trove for research
[7]  Thursday, September 20 :: Today's toolkit for the digital historian
[8]  Thursday, September 27 :: Preserving your artefacts with NAA
[9]  Thursday, October 4 :: Studying and doing research at UNE
[10]  Thursday, October 11 :: How to research war graves and Anzac ancestors
[11]  Thursday, October 25 :: What's new at Ancestry.com.au
[12]  Thursday, November 1 :: How to research cemeteries in Sydney & NSW
[13] Thursday, Nov 8 :: Australian War Memorial - Lost Diggers
[14] Thursday, Nov 15 :: Getting even more from Trove
[15] Thursday, Nov 22 :: Getting the most from findmypast AU & NZ
[16] Thursday, Nov 29 :: Using NAA defence records
[19] Thursday, Dec 20 :: What's new at Ancestry.com.au


Appendix A: 
Rochell's ancestor's details: 
WM STRUTHERS
Passenger Lists leaving UK 1890-1960
Collections from: United Kingdom
Country: AUSTRALIA | Title: MR
State: New South Wales | Ship Name: ORMUZ
Birth Year: 1865 | Age: 27
Ship Departure Port: LONDON | Destination Port: SYDNEY
Departure Year: 1892

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Expert Q&A :: Australian War Memorial - Lost Diggers

For our Expert Q&A Thursday, November 8 we had Janda Gooding and Lauren Hewitt, Curators at the Australian War Memorial Remember Me exhibition, join us and answer questions on how to research cemeteries in Sydney & NSW. Thanks again to Janda and Lauren for giving us all the benefit of their years of experience. We look forward to having the Australian War Memorial team back sometime very soon.

Please find the transcript of the Q&A and links below.

Don't forget our Expert Q&As happen every Thursday night on the Inside History Magazine facebook page.

When: NSW - ACT - VIC - TAS: 8:30-9:30pm AEDT | QLD: 7:30-8:30pm | WA: 5:30-6:30pm | NT: 7:00-8:00pm | SA: 8:00-9:00pm

Janda Gooding is Head of Photographs, Film, Sound & Multimedia & Curator for the “Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt” at the Australian War Memorial. Lauren Hewitt is the assistant Curator for the exhibition.

Top tips from Janda Gooding and Lauren Hewitt:
  1. Examine your photograph really carefully and extract all the details and information you can before heading off to do research. You never know when that small mark or insignia that you recorded will save you hours of frustrating research.
  2. The WW1 service records from the National Archives of Australia have a wealth of information in them for family historians. They are sometimes hard to decipher but reward careful looking and the correspondence from soldiers or their families in the file often carries the story into the post war period.
  3. Lots of people recommend using TROVE for a very good reason because it is amazingly helpful in establishing key dates and getting information for stories. 
  4. Check out the AWM’s Honours and Awards database on our site.
  5. Don’t leap to a conclusion before having some good corroborated evidence. Nothing worse than having to backtrack. I have had to re-do research so often because I got excited and moved too quickly!
Summary of links from the Q&A:

Read more about the Lost Diggers in our Issue 13: Nov-Dec edition.
Courtesy the Kerry Stokes Collection, The Louis and Antoinette Thuillier Collection. 

=====================================================

Transcript of Expert Q&A - Lost Diggers & researching your military ancestors using photos and the Australian War Memorial collection:

Our Expert Q&A with the Australian War Memorial [AWM] starts in 15 minutes at 8:30pm AEDT. Topic: The Lost Diggers & researching your military ancestors using photos & the AWM collection. Please ask your questions in a comment below and Janda or Lauren will answer in a comment.

Comment: IHM: Welcome everyone, thanks for joining us tonight. Please welcome Janda and Lauren from the Australian War Memorial and ask your questions below.
A. Lauren: Hi all, welcome. Thanks for joining us.
A. Janda: Hi everyone, great to be online for Inside History.

Q. From Jeff: I have old photos and diaries from WW1. How do I donate them to the Australian War Memorial?
A. Lauren: Hi Jeff: if you are interested in donating items to the Memorial, please see our information page about donations http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/donations where you can download a donation form, or contact us on donateitems@awm.gov.au

Q. From Christine: I found a story whilst reseraching my thesis, printed, Sunday Times, Perth, 3rd August 1930, about a soldier from 10th Light Horse, a native of Perth, after various incedents, went back to Aus, then back to Egypt, studied languages, married a French Turkish lady and finally was allowed to be a professional guide at Gallipoli, he concealed his right name, and went by a Turkish one, but he sent the details of what happened to him to his family, that month!!!! Any way of finding out who he was? Your book Gallipoli Revisited is brilliant.
A. Janda: Hi Christine, we managed to find the article and then do a couple of quick searches for you. Try the Australian War Memorial series AWM 30 - you'll find it listed on the NAA website. When you search that series that relates to POWs in WW1 you'll get 309 returns for Prisoner of War Statements. It will be a hard slog, but perhaps you will find the 10th LH person you are looking for.
A. Christine: oh, thanks, so much, can I do that online?
A. Lauren: Christine, you can, however you won't be able to see the full report, only the report title. If you go to the National Archives Record Search site: http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/using/search
And Christine, if you click on 'Advanced Search' and select 'Series' and search for AWM30 it will give you results for the Prisoner of War statement series. Click on the number of items in this series (309) and it will take you to a listing of all the records in the series.

Q. From Amanda: What is the best way to research a family member who fought in the Boer War? My great-grandfather was in the 2nd NSW Mounted Rifles.
A. Janda: Amanda, there is a page on our site to help you start your research http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/nominal_rolls/pre_first_world_war/introduction . There are also some very good reference books that you will find listed on our pages. Just go to www.awm.gov.au and search for 'Boer War'. The State Library of NSW may also help with more detailed information. Good luck!
Q (b): From Amanda: Another question if I may: is it known if the 19th Battalion was stationed at Vignacourt? Two of our relatives served in the 19th and were killed in 1917. I have been through the Vignacourt photos looking for them, but wondered if their battalion was perhaps not stationed near there.
A. Janda: Amanda, they were definitely in Vignacourt 7 Oct - 21 Nov 1918 - for the Armistice.
A. Amanda: Thanks so much Janda and Lauren for giving up your time for our questions tonight, and for everything you do at the War Memorial.

Q. From Wendy: G'day Lauren, Janda and ISHM :) I recently ID an unknown photo of a WW1 Soldier via 'The Bendigonian ' Newspaper at TROVE , Pte James Gordon DUPUY, 568, 14th Bn he was KIA at Gallipoli on 8th Aug 1915 and has no known grave . How do I go about having his photo included on the Roll Of Honour ?
A. Lauren: Hi Wendy, you can contact our Photographs section on photographs@awm.gov.au in regards to the photo for the Roll of Honour. Do you have the photo of Pte Dupuy or is it on Trove?
A. Wendy: Thanks Lauren , we have the original at our local Historical Society but it had no id, found a photo of him in the paper with his name ... did a big happy dance !!
A. Lauren: Hi Wendy, that's great. The Photographs team will likely ask to either borrow the original photo, or ask you to have it scanned at a high resolution to include on the ROH.
A. Wendy: Thanks, I love it ;) Was it one of you ladies that helped me earlier today by linking Jack Antonios photo to the Roll of Honour ?
A. Janda: Wendy - great. I don't think you spoke with us in particular but someone in the Photographs team here at the Memorial.
A. Wendy: Stewart Jack's photo was in the AWM collection but not with him on the Roll of Honour . Done an hour after posting a query on your page!! Great work from the team at the Memorial, you all do an amazing job , thank you :)

Q. From Leonie: Are there any records of hospital ships that carried wounded from Gallipoli to Malta. My great uncle was transported on the Dunluce Castle to Malta where he died. I would like to piece together the story of his last few days.
A. Janda: Leonie, re the hospital ships, we'll have to refer your enquiry to our Research Centre as we don't think its something we can answer in this session. We will come back to you as soon as possible with some suggestions. Thanks for the enquiry.
A. AWM: We typically don’t have detailed medical records or records of individual patients. We have a few records in our collection relating to the Dunluce Castle, but they date from 1918/1919. There may be some general information about hospital ships in the medical volumes of the Official History, which are available to read online here: http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/first_world_war/. If you know which hospital your relative was transferred to, there could be records of that unit, but again, they are unlikely to mention individual cases. There could be some mention of the movements or work of hospital ships in some of the administrative medical units’ war diaries (for example, the relevant Director/Deputy Director/Assistant Director of Medical Services): https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awm4/class.asp?levelID=94.

Q. From Dan: Hello there, my grandfather served in the 64th Australian Infantry Battalion during WWII, and didn't speak much of the war before he passed away, I was wondering how to find out a bit about what he got up to and some info on his battalion? Thank you for any help you can offer!
A. Janda: Dan, many veterans did not talk much about their experiences. However there is lots of information about the 64th Battalion. Some of the unit diaries are online on our site here https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awm52/subclass.asp?levelID=296 and there are unit histories that you can locate in lots of libraries. The official history of WW2 is digitised and online here https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/ and will give some clues about the battalion and its role in the war.
A. Dan: Thank you Janda! I look forward to reading whatever I can find :) I understand why some veterans kept mum, my brother deployed with MTF-1 to Afghanistan in 2010, and doesn't speak much about it (not that I press the issue). I hope he can write it down one day, maybe so in 100 years or so our decendants can get some idea about what he went through. Thankyou, once again
A. Janda: We are now working very closely with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and they have amazing stories that they are sharing through photographs and oral histories in particular. We believe it is so important to work with veterans from recent conflicts and record their stories and experiences now. Stay tuned over the coming year for some news about great projects we have in the pipeline.
Q (b): From Dan: Hello again, my great-grandfather was Private Lawrence Alfred Pomeroy, number 7530, he was wounded at Molaveont during the Battle of Amiens on 8-8-18, had part of his leg amputated at 32 Waiting Hospital Bologne, taken to Wimereux 32 Stat Hospital & then evacuated to England for further amputation. Family legend has it that he was 15 when he enlisted and 16 when he lost his leg. I was wondering if there was any way to verify this? Thank you :)
A. Lauren - AWM Research Centre: Pte Lawrence Alfred Pomeroy, Genealogy SA site has him listed in the birth register. He was born 1899, which would have made him about 18 when he enlisted in 1917. Click to go to Genealogy SA Online Database Search.


Q. From Mary-Rose MacColl I'm looking for information for some stories I'm writing. Anyone who has boy soldiers who served in WWI... the youngest known Australian was 14, I think. I'm also looking for anyone who has any information on Millicent Sylvia Armstrong (I have her brief bio) who served at Royaumont Hospital in WWI.
A. Lauren: Hi Mary-Rose, that question might be more easily answered by our Research Centre staff. Leave it with us and we will see what we can find.
A. AWM: We have a list of boy soldiers identified on the Roll of Honour here: https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/boysoldiers/. Boy soldiers can be difficult to trace because they would have lied about their age. There have also been some memoirs written, though most of them are British. You can see a selection in our books catalogue: http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/books. We probably won’t have much about Millicent Armstrong, as she was living in England and seems to have been serving with British hospitals. The National Archives of Australia has a record of her return to Australia here: http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=6021774. Most records will probably be held at the National Archives of the United Kingdom: http://www.nationarchives.gov.uk.

Q. From Donna: Hi. My grandfathers brother died at Beersheba whilst serving as part of the camel corp. what resources ate available for researching the camel corp.
A. IHM: Hi Donna Cooke, here's the link to the Imperial Camel Corps info :: http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_13624.asp

Q. From Wendy: I am currently researching our local WW1 Diggers as a Commemorative Project for our RSL and was wondering what sort of a deal we could get if we order lots of photos you have of our local lads ? My Page We Will Remember Them is for this project and I also admin WW1 Lost Boys.
A. Janda: Wendy, you would need to discuss this with our esales team esales@awm.gov.au
however, the images we post on our website are available for anyone to use for personal use and for projects such as yours. If you want to purchase better quality then esales can help...Its great work your'e doing!

Q. From Christine: if I may, here is another query, how do you go about finding people with the same name and initials, trying to find out about George Elliott, prisoner of war, looked after by Turkish doc in prison, became best of friends, and when George died, the Turkish family always put flowers on his grave, when his brother arrived in 1939, he still carried a great deal of hate, but when he found out how the Turks had looked after his brother, he felt a great relief had been lifted, ??? same site you said earlier?
A. AWM: If you’re looking to find lists of people with the same initials and surname who served in the same war, you can do this using the nominal rolls. The Memorial’s First World War nominal roll is alphabetical by surname then initials. This should help narrow down the person in question: https://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/nominal_rolls/first_world_war/ . You can use the Memorial’s Roll of Honour to find everyone with the same name who died: http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/roll_of_honour/?Name=george+elliott&ServiceNumber=&Unit=&Conflict=First+World+War. I can’t find anyone who seems to match the details the client has given, but if they know any more details, they can try searching the National Archives of Australia’s database for the service records: http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/using/search/. You can search for “George Elliott” and then use other details like place of birth, middle name, next of kin, etc. to narrow down the correct individual

Q. From Kerry: Hi my name's Kerry and I am researching two brothers ww1 medals three belonging to one brother jack hunter who died in France and was never recovered and his brother Hugh who survived these medals have been in our family for 75 yrs and believe they where pawned to the families pawn shop by Hugh in the depression i have found jack gr gr nephew but he is unaware of the brother Hugh i have found he had three girls in Sydney then trail dies also how can i find if they are in the lost diggers photos. Thx any help be great.
A. Kerry: Please any help would be appreciative i have been trying to get these medals home for a year now if these records could help in any way I have searched trove/awm databases and found one part of the puzzle but can not find Hugh family his own gr gr nephew didn't know of him. I feel it is my duty these medals make it home unlike Jack still buried out there
A. Lauren: Hi Kerry, for information about medals and replacing lost medals see our information page at: http://www.awm.gov.au/research/infosheets/medals/. The Lost Digger photos did not come with any names or records against the photos as to who is in them. You will need to search through the photos in the collection and see if you recognise any of the Hunter brothers in them. Do you have known photos of them that you can compare to?
A. IHM: Hi Kerry McMurray, I'd recommend talking to Gary Traynor at Medals Gone Missing as well :: http://medalsgonemissing.com
A. Kerry: Ty so much i have no photos they don't belong to my family. I actually used them for a conditions report for my studies after hearing jacks story and finding they don't belong to our family i want get them home i have found jacks gr gr nephew but he knows not of Hugh . So i can't return Hughes. Jacks get gr nephew told me a story while jack was reported wounded missing in action that night he sat on his mums bed and told her good bye. I will try the link you gave me i really appreciative.
A. Kerry: Ty for tonight was great.

Q. From Jenni: Do you know if any of the diggers were from the 31st Battalion in 1917.Am looking for an Ernest McMillan, his grave was lost and he is on the Menin Gate wall. Note: jack was in the 13th battalion.
A. Janda: Jenni, re 31st Btn, we know that they were stationed very close to Vignacourt 7-18 November 1916 at St Vast. Men often walked to the next town and it is also possible that 31st Btn men passed through on various errands. So have a look at the images on our website http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/remember-me/ and if you think you can help us identify someone, leave a comment and we'll work on it. Good luck.

Q. From Donna: About donations: how would I go about finding out if some missing Korean War medals have been donated to th awm? My uncle was killed after his return to aus and we now cannot find the medals. His surviving siblings are unsure where they are but one of them claims they were 'donated to the museum'. We can't work out which one though.
A. Janda: Donna, we can certainly search for you and see if someone donated them in the past. Do you mind contacting our Military Heraldy and Technology section (who are all home sleeping right now!) tomorrow and ask them to check our database MHT@awm.gov.au
A. Donna: Thank you... I will def do that.
A. Donna: Thank you for your time!

Q. From Chez: Hello a quick question...and I do have some documentation. My Great Grandfather was a Trainer at Bathurst during WW1 a bayonet trainer...he was sick of sending boys off to war and asked to go to war....he was given the position of Lance Corporal my grandmother and father who both knew him have always maintained that it was the first time that rank was given in Australia. It was done so due to his sacrifice of giving up a safe post. Is there anyway to verify this?
A. Lauren: Hi Chez, what was your great Grandfather's name and unit?
A. Chez: Robert Joseph Jansen. I think first field co. engineers.

Q. From Alison: Just wondering if the AWM has an arrangement with archivists at the various state Libraries and Museums whereby those archivists automatically advise AWM when they (1) receive photos of soldiers or (2) when they receive research to identify previously unidentified portraits of servicemen?
A. Janda: Hi Alison, nice to hear from you. We don't have any specific arrangements with other institutions but are often contacted by them to assist in cataloguing or verifying details.
A. Alison: Thanks Janda, The reason for my query was that I completed research to identify the previously unidentified soldier in this photo (http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/srg/123/348/SRG123_348_209.htm) and advised Beverley Jennings of the Archival Processing Team at State Library of South Australia who kindly changed the description to read "Soldier in uniform, identified by a researcher as Robert McGowan, Service number 3977. " However not being the person in possession of the original photograph or any relation was unsure of best way to have that photo linked with the AWM records for this soldier via Honour Roll.

Q. From Marjorie: Why do some WWI soldiers have the same service number?
A. Lauren: Hi Marjorie, good question! It can be frustrating. At the beginning of the war there was no centralised system, and enlistments were taken on a state by state basis. Numbers were also reused as soldiers returned home or were killed in action.
A. Marjorie: Thank you Inside History Magazine, Lauren and Janda for this opportunity. Got a rather perplexing question of mine answered for which I am grateful.

Comment: IHM: Time flies! If we've missed your questions, Janda and Lauren have kindly agreed to followup over the coming days :) To finish, Janda and Lauren, what are your top tips for researching military ancestors in the AWM collection.
A. Janda: Top Tips from Janda and Lauren:
  1. Examine your photograph really carefully and extract all the details and information you can before heading off to do research. You never know when that small mark or insignia that you recorded will save you hours of frustrating research.
  2. The WW1 service records from the National Archives of Australia have a wealth of information in them for family historians. They are sometimes hard to decipher but reward careful looking and the correspondence from soldiers or their families in the file often carries the story into the post war period.
  3. Lots of people recommend using TROVE for a very good reason because it is amazingly helpful in establishing key dates and getting information for stories. 
  4. Check out the AWM’s Honours and Awards database on our site.
  5. Don’t leap to a conclusion before having some good corroborated evidence. Nothing worse than having to backtrack. I have had to re-do research so often because I got excited and moved too quickly! Hope these help!
Comment: IHM: Thanks again to Janda and Lauren for joining us tonight! We’ll publish the questions, answers and links from tonight’s session in a blog post this coming week. Make sure you get to Canberra for the “Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt” exhibition at the Australian War Memorial :: http://www.awm.gov.au

Next Week: Who's joining us for next Thursday's Expert Q&A? Virginia James and Mark Raadgever from the Trove team at the National Library of Australia are back.

When: NSW-ACT-VIC-TAS: 8:30-9:30pm AEDT | QLD: 7:30-8:30pm | WA: 5:30-6:30pm | NT: 7:00-8:00pm | SA: 8:00-9:00pm.

See you next Thursday, November 15 for more on the amazing Trove.

 =====================================================


Read the previous Expert Q&A transcripts:
[1]  Thursday, July 26 :: How to get the best from Trove Australia
[2]  Thursday, August 16 :: How to get the best from BDM Certificates
[3]  Thursday, August 23 :: Getting the most from NAA
[4]  Thursday, August 30 :: Interpreting photographs for family history
[5]  Thursday, September 6 :: How to get the best from Ancestry.com.au
[6]  Thursday, September 13 :: Using Trove for research
[7]  Thursday, September 20 :: Today's toolkit for the digital historian
[8]  Thursday, September 27 :: Preserving your artefacts with NAA
[9]  Thursday, October 4 :: Studying and doing research at UNE
[10]  Thursday, October 11 :: How to research war graves and Anzac ancestors
[11]  Thursday, October 25 :: What's new at Ancestry.com.au
[12]  Thursday, November 1 :: How to research cemeteries in Sydney & NSW
[13] Thursday, Nov 8 :: Australian War Memorial - Lost Diggers
[14] Thursday, Nov 15 :: Getting even more from Trove
[15] Thursday, Nov 22 :: Getting the most from findmypast AU & NZ
[16] Thursday, Nov 29 :: Using NAA defence records
[19] Thursday, Dec 20 :: What's new at Ancestry.com.au


One of the many Lost Digger images discovered in a barn in France last year by Ross Coulthart and the Seven Network's Sunday Night team. Courtesy the Kerry Stokes Collection, The Louis and Antoinette Thuillier Collection. Now on display at Australian War Memorial exhibition, Remember Me.
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