Roll of Honour circulars from the First World War, 1914–18

The Roll of Honour circulars from the First World War are printed forms completed mainly by the next of kin of those who died in the war. The information was required during the preparation of the official history of Australia’s part in the war; for the Memorial’s Roll of Honour; and for war graves inscriptions.

Personal particulars on the forms include name, unit, regimental number, town or district of association, date and place of death, details relating to training and occupation prior to enlistment, connection with other AIF (Australian Imperial Force) personnel, and the name and relationship of the person completing the form.

Not all next of kin returned a form, meaning that there are about 35,000 forms for the larger group of approximately 61,000 Australians who died. Some additional forms were filled out by the official historian’s staff.

The circulars are held by the Australian War Memorial in Official Records series AWM131. The series has been microfilmed and digitised. Access to the digitised circulars is through the names of relevant individuals on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour.