Royal Australian Navy from 1911

Contents

Navy service records

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was established in 1911. The main records are service cards. In addition to the service records the Archives holds Naval Officers’ confidential reports and ships’ ledgers for Her Majesty’s Australian (HMA) ships.

Another useful series is held at the Australian War Memorial – the Naval Force (ANF) Engagement and Service records (1903–11).

The table below outlines the records held at the National Archives. They are listed in chronological order.
Collection references
 Series titleDate rangeSeries numberLocationNotes
SeriesForms RANR2(c) record of service – Citizens Naval Forces1897–1912CT190/1SydneyListed on RecordSearch
SeriesShips’ ledgers, HMA ships1911–56A4624CanberraListed on RecordSearch
SeriesService cards for Navy officers*1911–70A6769CanberraOnline copies available on RecordSearch
SeriesService cards for petty officers and men*1911–70A6770CanberraOnline copies available on RecordSearch
SeriesVolumes of service records of officers of the Royal Australian Navy1912–31A8363CanberraListed on RecordSearch
SeriesConfidential reports – Naval officers (forms S206, PP101)1912–ongoingA3978CanberraListed on RecordSearch
SeriesPersonnel files of reserve officers and ratings1914–60B4880MelbourneListed on RecordSearch

* Main records of service

What’s in Navy service records?

The Royal Australian Navy kept service records from 1911 to 1970 in the form of double-sided cardboard index cards. These service cards contain information about:

  • personal particulars including surname and given names, personal number, date and place of birth, religion, occupation, home port, address on entry/re-entry and on discharge, and details of next of kin
  • postings
  • awards

There are usually one or two cards for each person.

Find and view a Navy service record online

All Navy record of service cards (series A6769 and A6770) have been digitised and are available to view online.

  1. Go to NameSearch.
  2. Enter the family name of the service person – make sure it is the name used at enlistment.
  3. Select ‘Navy personnel records 1911–1976’ from the dropdown menu.
  4. Search.
  5. Display the results of your search. If there are too many, you can refine this search result, and then enter the person’s given names and/or service number.
  6. Use the link to ‘View digital copy’. You can also print a copy of the record.

Request a copy or view an original record

Black and white copies of Navy record of service cards (from series A6769 or A6770) are currently provided free of charge. To request a copy of a Navy service record, please contact our reference service (details below). Please allow 30 days for a response.

Online:  general reference inquiry 
Tel: 1300 886 881
Fax: 1300 886 882
Mail: National Reference Service, National Archives of Australia, PO Box 7425, Canberra BC ACT 2610, Australia

To view an original record in the National Archives Canberra reading room, please submit an advance request to view records form or use the contact details above.

Other contacts

Medals

Information about medal entitlements is available from:

Defence Honours and Awards
T–1–49, Department of Defence
Canberra ACT 2600

Tel: 1800 111 321
Email: honoursandawards@defence.gov.au
Website: www.defence.gov.au/medals

Pension information and entitlements

Veterans' Affairs Network
Tel: 1300 551 918

Further information

For more information on Navy records see:

You can also browse our other fact sheets on defence, armed services and war.