South Australian Aboriginal service personnel in World War One
Below is a list of South Australian Aboriginal people who served in World War One. It is compiled from original data collated by Reconciliation SA, published as the Register of Aboriginal Veterans of South Australia (no longer online). The Australian War Memorial maintains a list of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans with confirmed service and indigenous heritage. It mainly lists those who served during the First World War.
Basic information about the person and their service is listed here, with links to sources for further information.
The Australian War Memorial (AWM) People Profiles provide basic biographical details and a timeline of events for each indvidual, plus the particulars of any rolls, awards and items in the AWM's collection related to the person. In some cases, a brief biography has been written.
Defence service records held by National Archives of Australia (NAA) contain the essential data of a person's service. They commonly contain biographical information supplied on enlistment, such as name, address, next of kin and age, as well as service information such as movements, postings, changes in rank, and brief mention of injuries or illness. Although most records contain these basic elements, they do vary in the amount of information they contain.
The South Australian Red Cross Information Bureau records are held by the State Library of South Australia. During World War One the Bureau performed the service of undertaking research into over 8,000 enquiries from family and friends of missing Australian Imperial Force personnel. Documentation produced and received in the process of making these enquiries are included in the 'packets' of records, including original letters from family and friends and eyewitness reports of people who knew the soldier concerned or statements by men who served in the same unit or the same action as that soldier. These statements may include certain circumstances of the death or wounding, the place of burial and physical description of the soldier.
