Researching Military Ancestors

Do you have family members that served in the military?

Would you like to find out more about what they did during their service?

ANZAC Day is often a time when people are wanting to learn more about members of their family who served in the armed forces.

Auckland Museum’s Online Cenotaph is a biographical database of service men and women from New Zealand who served in conflicts since the South African Wars, including World War One, World War Two and other conflicts since 1945.

Service records for those who served with the New Zealand forces in World War I are held by Archives New Zealand, these are available to view online.

Records for those who served in World War II are held by the New Zealand Defence Force and are available on request.

Records for those who served in British Forces including the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Navy are held by the National Archives in London. Records may also be found on the Find My Past database, which is available to access at all Hamilton City Libraries branches.

If a serviceperson died overseas during any conflict since World War One, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission compile a comprehensive database of records for the cemeteries they administer from around the world.

Information about New Zealand’s involvement in the conflict in Vietnam and a list of those who served is also available online.  

Ancestry.com has lists of Nominal Rolls, Reserve Rolls, Casualty Lists, Roll of Honour and World War II Ballot Lists among its New Zealand related records.  In addition there are record sets for the UK which include New Zealanders such as British Prisoners of War 1939-1945 and Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificates. Access to Ancestry.com is available at all Hamilton City Libraries branches.

Hamilton City Libraries holds a number of books on military history, covering both New Zealand and international conflicts. The Heritage Collection on Level 3 of Central Library focuses on New Zealand and includes the Official Histories of both World Wars and many other useful volumes that can provide context for your research. Note these are held in our reference collection and cannot be borrowed. The Lending Collection, held on Level 2 at Central Library and across all other branches, includes both New Zealand and international military history books that you can borrow.

A selection of books useful for military history research available at Hamilton City Libraries: