At times like ANZAC Day, I particularly remember the people in my family who served in times of war, including nine direct ancestors.
All four of my grandparents served in World War II. Two in the army – one in the Darwin Infantry Battalion and Australian Imperial Force, and the other in the Australian Women’s Army Service. And two in the navy – one as a stoker in the Royal Australian Navy and the other as a stewardess in the Women’s Royal Australian Navy Service.
Two great-grandfathers served overseas when they were barely eighteen, in the final years of World War I. One was in the Australian Imperial Force and the other in the Australian Light Horse. Both enlisted again in World War II, when in their forties.
A third great-grandfather served in Scotland’s Black Watch Territorial Force in World War I, from the age of 15. His father, my 2x great-grandfather, was in a Black Watch Home Service company until discharged due to ill health. Another 2x great-grandfather was in the Royal Engineers of the 51st Division of the Royal Highlanders in World War I.
As well as these direct ancestors, other relatives also served during world wars and other conflicts. They include two 2x great-granduncles and one great-granduncle who died during World War I, two of them in France and one aboard ship.
Untangled Family History 
For Remembrance Day last year, I wrote something called “Four Brothers”. My grandfather had 4 brothers who served in World War 1. Two of them died, one was gassed and the other one survived relatively unharmed. My grandmother’s sister’s husband died at Gallipoli and another of her sisters had 4 sons who enlisted and one of them died.
If you like I will send you the article on the four brothers.
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So many families lost multiple children 😦
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My maternal grandfather served in WW1 and never spoke about it. My grandmother, his wife, lost her only brother in France in 1917.
I’m so glad we can search the Australian.War Memorial archives online and learn from their service records what they sacrificed for us.
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The AWM website is brilliant. There’s some really valuable information freely available and even just this week I found a photo of my grandmother I’d never seen before.
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