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Unit War Diaries record the daily activities of an Australian Army Unit.
World War One is now online. The Australian Infantry, Artillery, Light Horse, Flying Corps, Engineers are complete and the remainder of the other units will follow soon.
Australian Army War Diaries World War I-II
I have found some incredible information from these records of my grandfathers units. But you need to decipher them. This is how I used these documents to locate their positions on the battlefield.
I used information from my Grandfathers War Profiles and put it against related Unit War Diaries. By using dates when a soldier was in and out of battle is important because battles and places would have been missed due to sickness or leave and should be coincided in the equation and added.
I then plotted Trench map target coordinates and daily position movements related to their Artillery Battery or Machine Gun Company they were in. I recorded names and dates of villages and billets they stayed at. Dates when they were relieved or put on route marches or training exercises. From ammunition expenditure to sporting events I tried to pick out the main parts related to the unit on each day.
These are examples of Unit War Diary books I have constructed of my family units WW1. I have again colour coordinated them again to make it easier to read.
Red indicates when a soldier was sick to hospital Black vertical lines means dates a soldier was out battle. Blue means trench map coordinates of their position on the battlefield Grey background is when the unit is moving up to operations and firing on the battlefield. Aqua background is when the unit is resting, training or relocating to the next position
Curry Brothers
13th Fielld Artillery Brigade Unit War Diaries
Marchment Brothers
14th Machine Gun Company Unit War Diaries
You now have all the information you need to locate the exact positions on the battlefield.
The techniques below worked very well when I travelled to the Western Front 2008.I was able to locate the precise locations on the battlefields and get a better understanding of where my family was from my diaries. To help navigate and find information on Memorials, Cemeteries, Museums and Training Camps around the world I used Google Earth and these methods below to view and make maps to survey the battlefields of the Western Front. Don’t forget to look at my Photo Gallery My Family to see how it worked.
How to use Google Earth to navigate to the battlefields and training camps
How to read Trench Map Coordinates from your unit war diaries
Where to buy the best DVD on British Trench Maps
How to make Trench Map Transparences over Google Earth
Maps on Fromelles and Pozieres to use on the battlefield
When you have completed this stage of your soldier details you have now completed your family war diary. You can use this diary if you wish to help navigate the Battlefields of the Western Front or just keep it at home as great reference book. Congratulations and good luck with your research.