How do I report errors in the service records? I have two gentlemen in the one record, one who was AWOL most of the time in WW2, and the other holds a DCM and MM in WW1 but enlisted again in WW2 and was stationed at the POW camps in Australia. Their service numbers are VX43066 WW2 and V43066 WW1. The error has also been replicated in the service certificate.
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Hello juliad11,
Did you find a solution to your help wanted query here?
No, to date, I have not heard from anyone at NAA. I posted through here and the general enquiries email, and having checked the service documents in question today, nothing has changed. It would seem a DCM, MM soldier is set to continue in a file of another soldier who served less than six months and was awol more often than not.
Thankyou for responding JuliaD. I haven’t been able to lodge a question on the Forum - it may be my fault, but the tags field is a mystery to me - I just can’t enter anything acceptable. There must be a direct contact somewhere for us to arrange updates to archive entry errors. I’ll keep searching and get back to you if I succeed.
Best wishes
Diana
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It is somewhat bizarre; this forum doesn’t seem to be monitored like the previous forum. Our family history group had a Zoom meeting with Peter Ferry from NAA last night, but I couldn’t ask him any questions.
Perhaps a direct message might work - at least to find a contact for the right ANL department.
I wonder if the issue should be put to the AWM.
I have sent a message through the normal channels but no reply.
Same here. Looking for other contacts next.
How does anyone post a question when 10 tags are required and WW2 is the only tag?! Just wasted my time I guess.
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That’s my question too. Why a ridiculous 10 tag requirement anyway. I ended up thinking there must be a glitch with the Tags entry field. So twice I responded to the welcome message sent when each time I try to post to the forum. Needless to say unmonitored auto bots don’t follow up.
Hi @juliad11
The best way to get in contact with the National Archives of Australia’s reference team about collection items is by submitting an inquiry via Ask us about the collection | naa.gov.au. Inquiries submitted using these forms go directly to the Reference team, who are best placed to answer most specific questions about items in the collection.
For issues such as incorrect item titles or material from multiple records appearing in the same item, please submit a general inquiry. You should receive an email receipt with a reference number to indicate the inquiry has been received. which you can use if you need to follow up on the inquiry or if we need any additional information.
Regards,
Jessie
Hi @DianaNichol and @DuncanBickies
There should not be a requirement to add tags to be able to post. The tags are optional, so it shouldn’t be necessary to add any to post. You should be able to just leave the tag field blank.
I’ve tested this and it appears to be working correctly for me. I’m also no longer seeing the notice about 10 tags, which was not intended to be a requirement.
Please let me know if you are still having issues.
Regards,
Jessie
Hi Jessie, I submitted the request to review this file 6 weeks ago. Checking today; it has not been updated. The file still contains two people who are at different ends of the services Pte George William Larsen VX43066 in WW2 and Sgt David William Witherden D.C.M. M.M. sn3956 WW1 and in WW2 Capt David William Witherden D.C.M. M.M. V43066
As you can see Capt Witherden’s service number V43066 in WW2 is very similar to Pte Larsen’s VX43066.
Whilst I understand there are a lot of files to go through, if you do it manually, surely the online file could be updated immediately when an error occurs.
To date, the only people who have bothered to help rectify the problem are the VWMA website.
Oh! thanks for responding Jessie. Will see how I go
Diana
Hi Julia,
I can follow up for you on your request to see what is happening with it. Are you able to let me know the inquiry number? You should have received an email with an inquiry number when you contacted us. If you don’t have a reference number can you let me know which contact or email address you used so I can follow up?
Regards,
Jessie
Hi Jessie
Thank you, I didn’t know there was an enquiry number. My question was sent using the comments and suggestion page, as I was unaware of any other way to contact the team. It’s not precisely user-friendly to get help, which is why I joined the forum.
Hi Julia,
Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to locate your inquiry in our inquiry system so I am not sure what has happened. I have sent the details of the service records to the Description and Personal Records team, who will look into it and make any necessary amendments.
Regards,
Jessie
Hi Jessie, I cannot post a question as it requires a 10x tag minimum to post but there are no tags to select from except ww2. This appears to be an ongoing issue for users that still needs to be remedied.
My question is can I do a search of service personnel by area eg. birthplace, place of enlistment, place of residence, address of NIK?
Thanks in advance,
Annette
Hello Annette
If you go to the basic search on Naa and type in the town in the KEYWORD box and the years, it will give you everything with that word/town, and I mean everything. There is also an advanced search for items on the right-hand side of the page under Welcome Guest.
hope this helps, cheers
Hi Annette, Thank you for your post.
We have now resolved the problem with posting your question under the ‘Questions and Answer’ category.
In response to your question, you can search by place of birth, place of enlistment and next of kin for service personnel. This information is usually included within the title/description for each service record.
If you have any further questions or have trouble locating the record you are looking for, please complete our online form, and we will be able to assist - General reference inquiry form - RefTracker (naa.gov.au) .
Thanks,
Leslie
