Army – Second World War: 1939-45

The National Archives holds the service records of Australians who served with the Army in the Second World War (WW2).

We are currently digitising Second World War service records and they will be progressively made available online. Some records may be temporarily unavailable to the public while they are being digitised.

On this page

Service records

We hold the following records of Second World War (WW2) service:

What’s in WW2 Army service records?

Army records from WW2 usually include:

  • attestation (enlistment) form, setting out personal details such as age, next of kin and former occupation
  • service and casualty form (Form B103), giving details about units and postings, injuries and disciplinary charges
  • discharge form, summarising the person's service (not included in all cases)
  • head-and-shoulders photograph may be included
  • other documents or correspondence sometimes included
World War II attestation paper for Michael Egan , 1944.

An attestation (enlistment) form, setting out personal details such as age, next of kin and former occupation.

An example of a service and casualty form.

A service and casualty form (Form B103), giving details about units and postings, injuries and disciplinary charges.

World War II discharge certificate for John Stephens, 1945

A Second World War discharge certificate, 1945. WW2 discharge forms or certificates include the number of days of active service in Australia and overseas, as well as a description of the soldier upon discharge.

World War II – contact print photographs of Leonard Bugg

Second World War contact print photographs are sometimes included in WW2 Army dossiers. These photographs are of Leonard Frederick Bugg, who was born in Tasmania in 1918. He enlisted for service in 1946 at the age of 29 years and 10 months.

Find and view a Second World War service record online

Many digital copies of WW2 service records already exist. These are free to view and download on RecordSearch. Use the NameSearch tab to find an individual member. Use the 'help' tab for questions.

Buy a copy

If the record you're after is not already digitised on RecordSearch, you can pay to have a digital copy made.

Find the record using NameSearch. On the 'item details' screen select 'request copy' and follow the instructions. Copying charges apply.

Find out more about how we supply digital copies of records.

View an original record

You can view a WW2 service record in the National Archives Canberra Research Centre.

If you wish to view a service record, please submit a request to view records form before visiting the Research Centre. Please advise us if the service person is living or deceased.

If the record is 'open', your request can be processed in five business days. Many records are 'not yet examined' and need clearance before they can be publicly viewed. This can take up to 90 business days, so please submit your request well in advance of your visit.

You can also ask us a question about accessing records.

Other contacts

Medals

Service records may include reference to service medals.

However, service records may not include information about which service medals a person was entitled to, or if they were ever issued.

Defence Honours and Awards can help with such enquiries:

CP2-1-016
Department of Defence
CANBERRA BC ACT 2610

Phone: 1800 333 362

Medals are generally only 'reissued' to a service person or their next-of-kin if the medal has never been issued.

You can buy replicas of medals that have been issued from medal makers. Look for medal makers in your local Yellow Pages, or Google 'Medals'.

Pension information and entitlements

For information about pensions and entitlements, please contact the Veterans' Affairs Network.

Phone: 133 254 or 1800 555 254