Monday 11 November 2013

Military Monday - WWI diaries

Excitement on an appropriate day!

When I was in Canberra in September I went to the Australian War Memorial research rooms to look at my great uncle Ricky's diaries.
(My last two blog posts have been excerpts from a few photos I took on the day - scroll down and take a look if you are interested).

As I had just attended the NSW ACT Association of Family History Societies conference and learned of the project to digitise WWI diaries, I offered to transcribe my great uncle's.

I suggested as I knew him and the family I would be able to interpret those references more easily - it was a family that used shortened and 'pet' names.

Frederic E T Fitts (Eric / Uncle Ricky) had kept a diary (well, three diaries and some loose sheets) from when he left Australia to when he disembarked back in Melbourne four years later - with an entry almost every day.

Also in his file were a number of loose sheets related to his signals training, and photos with notes.

In today's mail was a big fat post pack containing photocopies of everything in the file, and a CD too.

Now I can't wait to get transcribing!

But I will sleep first!

Can't wait to tell Mum its all arrived!

1 comment:

  1. That sounds really exciting, I would love a project like that.

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