For many Australians researching relatives who served in the First World War, military service records provide a large part of the story. The Australian War Memorial’s online collections can reveal personal experiences, family correspondence and eyewitness accounts that bring an ancestor's wartime experience to life. When I joined the Research Centre in 2024, my first task was to research my own family’s military history. This is a valuable resource for family historians researching First World War service. The Australian Red Cross Society played a significant role in the First World War.