Anybody who wrote away to CARO (Central Army Records Office) would have been subjected to months of waiting due to the fact they sort their record requests on the basis of how much information they have been provided, the more information, the quicker you get a response. If you supplied a name only then you can expect to wait months or years or get the wrong records. An example, if I wrote away for my god-fathers records and used his name only I would have a chance of receiving any of eight records. The most important piece of information you can provide is the Regimental Number or Service Number of the person concerned. If you are fortunate enough to be able to ask your serviceperson from WW2 their number they will surprise you as they will more than likely rattle it off at a rapid clip. The one thing a service person never forgets is their serive number. The name of the unit/s they served in will also be a big help. To those of you who had a dad or grandad who would not talk about their service at all, I can only say be patient, if you are requesting records from CARO. Personally I would use the new computerised records. The slow pace of the response can be attributed to this facility only coming on line last year and the enormous interest shown by the public in the service has caused a delay which will be shorter as time go's by. The new computerised records of World War 2 veterans make searches a lot easier as you can search the Nominal Roll for the details you need to expedite your request, and forward the request by computer. The Nominal Rolls of the different wars can be found at http://www.awm.gov.au/database/nroll.asp Requests for service records should be made through National Archives. http://www.naa.gov.au this brings up the home page, on the left hand side is list marked research, click service records and follow the prompts. This is much quicker than CARO, the staff at National Archives are most helpful and you will only have to wait six to eight weeks, at the most 12 weeks. Take advantage of the offer from the Australian War Memorial and print out a certificate of service. They look really nice. As Val said, the information is really worth while. It can be surprising, even shocking, remember it is history!! The volume of paper can be small, my Dad's file contained 16 sheets of paper plus three or four explanatory pages from National Archives. It represented six and a half years of my father's life. Hope the information supplied is of some value. Best regards to all Paul Kinney >From: [email protected] >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: AUS-MILITARY-D Digest V03 #12 >Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2003 10:00:02 -0700 > ><< message2.txt >> ><< message4.txt >> ><< message6.txt >> ><< message8.txt >> _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail