Anzac ancestor .....

[Fife49er]

Hi

I've got a great-uncle who apparently emigrated to NZ (North Island) and joined the Army there prior to 1916. He survived that war & was too old for the next, and was believed to have still been living in the 1950s. Is there any way I can access his Army records, or are they still sealed as yet?

Alan Stewart

[Kathy]

Hi Alan,

Its not often I'm able to give help, but I was viewing the exact records you require just the other evening.

Go to www.naa.gov.au

Click on "research" then "service records" then "record search"

in keywords type the name you require.

Dates 1914-1918
Reference type: B2455
Click on "search"
click on "view digital image" to view the original record.

Kathy

[Helen]

Hi Alan,

Below is the link to the NZ Archives Reference Guides, the guide "War Reference Guide" includes the email link to the Personnel Archives of the NZ Defence Force as well as lots of other useful information. (as the guide is an adobe acrobat page I couldn't paste it in).

A cousin & I have been researching a great uncle of our own who also went to NZ & joined the army. The Personell Department sent us copies of his Attestation Papers, Medical Records, Service Records, and where there were papers overlapping they took the time to re-photocopy pages with & without overlaps. Excelent service , and prompt too!

http://www.archives.govt.nz/doingresear ... uides.html

Helen

(ps He was John McLennan from Drainie, Morayshire)

[Fife49er]

Hi

Thanks to those who replied to my query. The information you gave was very helpful, and I'm now putting it to good use.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to put some decent detail on my ancestor's family tree page.

All the best from not-so-sunny Scotland

Alan Stewart

[Fife49er]

Helen...

That link you provided proved more useful than I had dared imagine!

Thanks to it, and the information I got as a result of following it up, I now know my ancestor to be 17903 Lance Corporal David Stewart of the New Zealand Army Service Corps (16th Reinforcements), who joined up in 1916 and spent 3 years fighting in France.

And that's only a fraction of what's in the stuff the personnel archives people sent me!

Thank you so much, Helen. You will never know just how much your help is appreciated, not only by myself but also David's last surviving nephew (my dad).

Alan Stewart

[Helen]

Alan,
I'm glad you had such success, though I must admit it was my (2nd) cousin who did all the legwork for us in the first place.

Our great-uncle, John McLennan, was injured in France and discharged as medically unfit. He then went to Mangapurua Valley in the North Island, where soldier/settlers were given land, and unfortunately was killed while clearing it, and, even worse bad luck, it was in late August 1918.

Anyway, glad to have helped to point you in the right direction, and aren't the Kiwis quick off the mark with their replies?

Helen

[Fife49er]

As a final footnote:

An examination of my ancestor's military records revealed that he died in Patea, on the North Island of NZ, in 1954. Now, after a bit of research I discovered that Patea's local paper is the Wanganui Chronicle, so I emailed a letter to them, asking their readers if anyone knew of my ancestor or any descendants.

Six months later, I got an email from the paper, saying that someone had responded. The respondent, in his late 70s, apparently knew my great uncle, as did another local man who is in his 80s. Both are now compiling a record of what they can recall of him.

Amazing to be able to put even more detail into what is known of someone who, until quite recently, was no more than a name and a faded photo.