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Do You Have an Unsung Anzac Hero in Your Family?

Do You Have an Unsung Anzac Hero in Your Family?
Military Records Free to Search Online

Over 46 million military records free to search on Ancestry.com.au from 25 to 29 April 2012

Auckland, New Zealand, 24 April, 2012 – In celebration of the brave men and women who have served their country, Ancestry.com.au, Australia’s largest online family history resource[i], today announced it will make 46 millionNew Zealand, Australian and UK WWI military records[ii] free to search this ANZAC Day weekend to encourage more Kiwis to uncover their family’s military history.

The collections, which include the ANZAC Memorial, 1914 – 1918, the UK Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls and New Zealand Army WWI and WWII Nominal Rolls will be free to search from 25 to 29 April, 2012.

Ancestry.com.au’s extensive online collection of military databases from New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada and the US can help you to discover a variety of information about your ancestors who served. The collections include records of enlistment dates, battles fought, performance on the field, medals awarded and for the many who never returned, locations of final resting places.

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Personal stories about the ANZACs continue to fascinate New Zealanders who unearth their own ANZAC tale.

Original All Black Captain remembered – Paraparaumu resident Kay Carter has researched her Great Uncle Dave Gallaher extensively over the years and was thrilled with how easy she found it to navigate the records available on Ancestry.com.au. “The site makes it simple to see connections, organise information and view everything together in one place,” says Ms Carter.
“Dave Gallaher has a very interesting story – he was a big part of the early New Zealand rugby landscape,” says Ms Carter. “Our connection to Dave definitely brings ANZAC day a little closer to home for our family,” she added.

Wimbledon champion not forgotten – Anthony Wilding, New Zealand’s own Wimbledon Champion, will be fondly remembered by the Wilding family in Christchurch this ANZAC Day. Records on this well celebrated Kiwi character include a passenger list from the Delphic ship on which Anthony travelled between Wellington and London.
“Anthony Wilding led a very interesting life and it is good to have the research to make sure his memory is preserved,” says Frank Wilding, nephew to Anthony Wilding.

To start searching, all you need to do is enter the name of an ancestor and register for free. You can then view original military records dating back to 1793.
The military collections that are free to explore in Ancestry.com.au’s ANZAC Day weekend promotion include:
ANZAC Memorial 1914-1918
NZEF Nominal Rolls 1939-48
NZEF WWI Nominal Rolls
NZEF WWI Reserve Rolls
NZEF Casualty Lists WWI
NZEF WWI Roll of Honour
New Zealand Army Medal Rolls
NZEF WWI Military Defaulters
Defenders of New Zealand
Chronicles of the NZEF 1916-19
UK, Silver War Badge Records, 1914-1920
UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972
UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949
UK, Citations of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, 1914-1920
British WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards 1914-1920
British WWI Service records 1914-1920
British WWI Pension records 1914-1920
British Commonwealth War Graves Register 1914-1918
The National Roll of the Great War 1914-1920
Canadian Soldiers of World War I 1914-1918
US WWI Draft Registration Cards 1917-1918
US WWII Army Enlistment Records 1938-1946

Ancestry.com.au Content Director, Brad Argent, comments: “ANZAC day is about remembering the sacrifices that our countrymen and women made so that we could be safe and enjoy our liberty. While many soldiers passed away on the battlefield, many others returned home and have passed on their legacy to future generations.

The free databases provide New Zealanders with the opportunity to learn about their family history and discover their military past.”

To access the free collections, please visit www.ancestry.com.au/anzac2012


NOTE TO EDITORS:
Additional information and updates can be found at the below links:
Follow us on Twitter: @AncestryComAu
Follow us on Facebook here
Read the Ancestry.com.au Blog here

ABOUT ANCESTRY.COM.AU
New Zealand’s leading family history website, Ancestry.com.au contains more than 930 million records in its Australian, New Zealand and UK collections, including New Zealand Naturalisations, 1843-1981, New Zealand City & Area Directories, 1866-1955, New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981, New Zealand Maori Voter and Electoral Rolls, 1908 & 1919, New Zealand Canterbury Provincial Rolls, 1868-1874, New Zealand Jury Lists, 1842-1862, New Zealand, Maori Land Claims, 1858-1980, the Australia Birth, Marriage and Death Index, Australian Convict Transportation Registers, Australian Free Settlers, Australian Electoral Rolls, New South Wales SANDS Directories, as well as the most complete online collection of England, Wales and Scotland Censuses and the England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes.
Ancestry.com Inc is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than 1.7 million paying subscribers. More than eight billion records have been added to the site in the past 15 years. Ancestry users have created more than 33 million family trees containing approximately four billion profiles.
In addition to its flagship site www.ancestry.com, Ancestry.com offers several localised web sites, including Ancestry.com.au which was launched in May 2006, designed to empower people to discover, preserve and share their family history.
For further stories and updates related to family history research, you can also follow Ancestry.com on Facebook and Twitter.


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[i] comScore, 2010, based on genealogy related websites selected from the Family and Parenting sub-category under the Community category

[ii] The records available free to search include the British WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards 1914-1920, British WWI Service records 1914-1920, British WWI Pension records 1914-1920, ANZAC Memorial, 1914-1918, New South Wales, Australia, Cowra Military Camps Personnel Photo Index, 1905-1970, Australia's Fighting Sons of The Empire: Portraits and Biographies of Australians in the Great War, The Defenders of New Zealand, New Zealand Army WWI Casualty Lists, 1914-1919, New Zealand Army WWI Roll of Honour, 1914-1919, Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F., 1916-1919, New Zealand Army WWII Nominal Rolls, 1939-1948, New Zealand Army WWI Reserve Rolls, 1916-1917,New Zealand Army WWI Nominal Rolls, 1914-1918, New Zealand Army Medal Rolls, 1860-1919, New Zealand WWI Military Defaulters, 1919-1921

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