"World
War Two Nominal Roll"
To
trace men who served in WW2, your first stop should be the Department of
Veterans Affairs website:
http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/ . It is usually fairly simple to
track down all of the key identification details for any individual, even
starting with just a surname.
As
an example, the record for Bobby Gibbes can be seen by clicking below:
http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/script/veteran.asp?ServiceID=R&VeteranID=1204688
National
Archives of Australia
For
other 3 Squadron members who served outside the WW2 era, the National Archives
of Australia can often be used to track down further personnel details. Go to the NAA Search Page:
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/recordsearch.aspx
Click
‘Search Now as a Guest’ and then type
in the surname or service number that you are seeking to trace. The information on these files is often
quite fascinating and some of them are already available online as glorious
colour scans. For example, the file
of a 3 Squadron veteran from World
War One , Alfred Boxall-Chapman
(who helped Neil
Smith’s dad recover the wreck of the Red Baron’s plane in 1918!), can be seen
at: http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=3231366&I=1
Worldwide
Internet Sources
Once
you have the full identification details of a 3 Squadron member, it is worth trying some general
("WWW") Google
searches to see what is available in the World-Wide Web. For example, try searching just the
service number, or the exact phrase of their name (indicated by using "quote
marks" in the search), such as:
"Bobby Gibbes" RAAF
"R. H.
Gibbes"
Gibbes "3 Squadron"
Picture
Australia
A great system
for finding images simultaneously
from many
online collections within Australia (including Australian War Memorial, National
Library of Australia and State Libraries). Click:
http://www.pictureaustralia.org/.
Australian
Newspaper Search (National Library of Australia)
A fantastic
resource - search the text of newspapers from many Australian States across
nearly 200 years of Australian history.
Click:
http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home
Google Archive have now gone
one better - providing searchable access to the NLA Newspaper collection PLUS
the Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne Age and several other international
newspapers. (While some of the American services are "pay per view", most
of the Australian stuff is gloriously free - enjoy it while it lasts!).
Important Note: Some
Internet sites are NOT searched by Google.
The content of
several useful Internet sites
is
unfortunately not
picked up by Internet Search Engines such as Google. You may
sometimes have to go to specific sites and use their internal Search Engines.
An important example of this is the enormous online collection of the Australian War
Memorial:
Australian
War Memorial
For detailed instructions on finding AWM online photographs, interview
transcripts, memorabilia, artworks and documents concerning particular
individuals, aeroplanes or places, see our:
Guide to Researching the
Australian War Memorial Collection
A Special Collection in the AWM: No.3 Squadron's World War I "War
Diaries"
The
Australian War Memorial has recently released the complete set of 3
Squadron AFC War Diaries from the First World War. Click
http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/war_diaries/first_world_war/subclass.asp?levelID=1430
to download.
Further
Research in the National Archives of Australia:
The
NAA has many dozens of files that mention 3 Squadron. The most important of
these documents, the “Operations Record Books” can be viewed online. There
is impressive detail regarding every mission flown by each pilot in 3
Squadron, and other administrative records such as the movement of Squadron
personnel and also the incidence of non-operational flying missions.
Just
click the links below to go to these documents. Note that the pages are in date order.
It
is quickly possible to home in on a particular date; simply
type in a Page Number and hit your ENTER key to skip to that page.
On each page, an "Enlarge" button shows more detail of the text. (Note:
For each month, there are usually two sets of records, a shorter
Administrative Summary, which briefly describes Operations and also lists
personnel movements, base relocations, etc., followed by a day-by-day detailed
description of each Operation flown.)
5)
RAAF No 3 (AC) [Army Co-operation] Squadron.
http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=304297&I=1
Operations of 3 Squadron in the Middle East – Air Ministry and RAAF Liaison
London records.
6) No 3 Squadron -
Aircraft Flying Control.
http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=304301&I=1&SE=1
Contains various interesting reports of operations of
the Squadron, 1940-45.
Includes first-hand reports of pilots who evaded capture after being shot down
in 1945 (Williamson p5, Redenbach p8,
Clark p13, McInerhenry p15,
Tennent p17, Davies p19); WW2
squadron summary history up until mid-1944 (p21); Desert Air Force African
campaign summary (p26); Pilot report extracts (p42);
Gibbes Tribute (p43);
Operational Components (Specialised ground units) p47;
Ken McRae Kittyhawk Armament, bombs,
parachutes (p50);
operational procedures, organisation,
navigation aids (p55); and the 239
Wing report on "Operation Bowler" the spectacular 1945 Wing attack on Venice
Harbour - (p79).
The Australians at War Film Archive
A huge project by the Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, running since
2002, has collected thousands of hours of videotape of the reminiscences
of Australian Defence Force Veterans. Many 3 Squadron personalities have been
included in the interviews. Veterans from many other units have also made
interesting mentions of 3 Squadron and its battles.
All of the interviews have been transcribed into a searchable
text database, which is
a fantastic resource.
Go to their search page
http://www.australiansatwarfilmarchive.gov.au/aawfa/search/search.aspx and
enter the Keywords:
"3 Squadron" RAAF
...(including quote marks) to see the range of interviews available. Many other
interesting references can be obtained by entering other
keywords, for example, the name of 3 Squadron's sister units [e.g.
"450 Squadron", "260 Squadron"] or particular placenames or people. (Note that
the surname of Squadron Leader Bobby Gibbes has unfortunately been incorrectly
transcribed as "Gibbs", but several references to him will come up if you search
"Bobby Gibbs".)
Commonwealth
War Graves
For men who died in WW1 or WW2, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
provides extensive commemorative information, including detailed
cemetery history and visitor access directions. Large colour photographs
of the beautifully-maintained war cemeteries
are also available. Gravestone
inscriptions are often noted and an attractive memorial certificate for each
casualty can be printed. To
search the CWGC records click
http://www.cwgc.org/debt_of_honour.asp
(For help with any of the
fields to be filled in, hover your mouse pointer over the yellow Question Mark
icons on the CWGC page.)
