Series number
AWM54
Series title
Written records, 1939-45 War
Series contents date
range
c. 1926-1992
Extent
213.5 metres
Access conditions
Subject to the Australian Archives Act (1983)
Agency controlling
Department of Defence
Custodial agency
Australian War Memorial
Function and
provenance
AWM54 is an artificial series of records which were
transferred to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) from the Military History
Section (MHS) of the Army. The bulk of the
records were created by headquarters and units of the second Australian
Imperial Force (AIF), which had to be disposed of before their disbandment at
the end of the 1939-45 war.
During 1945, two General Routine Orders (GRO Nos 229 and
324) were promulgated to aid those involved in winding up units to identify
records of enduring historical value.
Despite the setting out of the appraisal criteria in the GROs, it
appears that, in many cases unit records were packed up in bulk and forwarded
to the Military History Section without first undergoing assessment for
permanent retention. This resulted in
the MHS being deluged with an enormous amount of material at its receiving
depot, then located at the Sydney Showground.
Estimates of the number of cases varies between 6,000 and 9,000. Another 400 cases were also received from
the MHS in Melbourne.
In May 1946 the Department of the Army advised the
Department of the Interior that its Military History Section at Army
Headquarters had a large collection of historical material and that to provide
for the disbandment of the section, it was necessary to arrange for their
disposal. It was recommended that the
records be transferred to the Australian War Memorial (AWM). Movement of the records commenced in July
1946.
Early in 1947, the Commonwealth Government released the
showgrounds to the Royal Agricultural Society to hold the first show since the
start of the war. The records which had been taken over from the MHS and still
stored at the showground had to be moved, first to several buildings at St
Marys, west of Sydney and then later relocated to warehouses at Maroubra. At
about the same time the AWM leased the Old Exhibition Building behind Central
Railway Station and this also became a depot for the storage of relics and
records and an office for conducting the Sydney business of the War Memorial.
In 1951 plans were made for the processing of the large
amount of obsolete records. A classification scheme was devised and an initial
cull of the records took place between 1951 and 1953. This was in preparation
for processing the records into a three number subject classification scheme
based on the original system devised by the Australian War Records Section for
the 1914-18 War unit records (AWM 25). At the end of the culling exercise, the
records had been reduced to ten per cent of their original volume, a figure
specified by the Public Service Board, who had authorised the employment of
four clerks to carry out the task.
The remaining records were sent to the AWM in Canberra from
early 1955 to be fully classified to the three number stage by a team of
clerical assistants. The files were stamped “War of 1939-45”, with spaces for
recording the origin of each file, the classification number, subject numbers
of cross references, and the numbers of AWM files used in obtaining records.
The records were housed in buff coloured folders and file titles were recorded
on the covers.
Material relating to units which had been collected by the
MHS during the war and had been classified by them using a system called
‘Special Packets’ has also been included in this series.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, material relating to the
British Commonwealth Occupational Force (BCOF) in Japan and the British
Commonwealth Force, Korea (BCFK) was processed into AWM 54 (previously known as
“Written records, 1939-45”). Most of the BCOF material was subsequently
transferred to a new series, AWM114, Written records, Japan (BCOF) and Korea,
however some files still remain in AWM54. A small amount of miscellaneous
material relating to Southeast Asian conflicts was also processed into AWM54,
but was subsequently transferred to AWM125, Written records, Southeast Asian
conflicts.
In September 1988 the series was given a new control number,
AWM54. Until August 1993, miscellaneous official records relating to the
1939-45 War from both private and official sources were added to AWM54. Instead
of continuing this practice, the series was closed on 5 August 1993, and a new
series, AWM254, Written records, 1939-45, second series was started. Items
processed into AWM254 are not subject classified, and are numbered with a
running single number.
Contents
The bulk of the series consists of files created by headquarters
and units of the second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). They contain a wide range of operational
material and reports, including copies of messages, minutes of staff
conferences, general staff memoranda, appreciations, circulars, procedures, administrative
instructions, intelligence summaries, signal instructions and unit histories.
System of arrangement
and control
Three indexes were created to control the records: AWM111 is
an alphabetical listing of three subject headings with a corresponding control
number, AWM 112 is a card index listing primary and secondary subject headings
with control numbers and AWM110 is the main run of cards recording the numbers
and titles of each file registered into the three number system.
Under the three number system the first number represents the
primary subject of the file, the second number is a subheading, e.g.
organization or supply and the third number represents the sequence of files
under this classification.
Using the series
Each item in the series is recorded on the RecordSearch
database which researchers may access via the Internet.
Researchers wishing to use the original control cards should
first consult the subject heading listing, AWM111. Once they have located a
relevant subject heading and its control number they will need to consult the
card index, AWM110. The card index is filed numerically in boxes and a listing
can be found on RecordSearch. A printed finding aid is also available in the
Memorial’s Research Centre.
While the bulk of the files in this series cover the period
1939-1950 researchers will find a small number of items whose content is either
side of this date range.
A computer printout of files relating to Japanese war crimes
which are classified under number 1010 (War crimes and trials) can be found
with the finding aid to AWM54 in the reference collection of the Memorial’s
Research Centre.
An index to files relating to the interrogation of captured
Japanese personnel which are classified under 779/3/-(Prisoner of war and
internees – examinations and interrogations) was compiled by a volunteer in
1986. Further information on this index which is known as AWM218 can be found
on RecordSearch under the Series note.
Researchers studying the Australian New Guinea Adminstrative
Unit (ANGAU) may be interested in the following guide which is held in the
Memorial’s Research Centre: A research guide to World War II files on
Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) that appear in the Australian
National Guide to Archival Materials (ANGAM2). The guide was compiled by
Biama-Ura Kanasa, an AWM grantee in 1996.
Further assistance in finding relevant information may be
gained from related series of records (click on Series Links at
the bottom of this page).
Sources
AWM Administrative file, AWM54 Series dossier
AWM93: 422/007/002, General instructions re: classifications
1939-1945
AWM93: 422/007/001, Preparation for use of Army records taken over from Military History Section, Sydney
Harding, Bruce, ‘Official primary sources in the library of the Australian War Memorial’, 1973: working paper in AWM Registry file : 535/002/010Kanasa, Biama-Ura, ‘A research guide to World War II files on Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) that appear in the
Australian National Guide to Archival Materials (ANGAM II)’, Vol. 1, Canberra, Australian War Memorial, 1996. 20 p. Project funded by an AWM grant.