Problems of Record Keeping

During this period of time in Australian history (Early to Mid 20th Century) accurate recordings of soldiers personal details could be very hit or miss, especially with Greek Australians, compared to that existing in the 21st Century.

Date and place of birth were not always accurate for a variety of reasons. It was not uncommon for people to have no proof of birth and no way to obtain such proof. Consequently enlistment depots generally accepted what the potential soldier offered. For Greeks where Name Days ( Celebrating the persons patron Saint) were more prominent than Birthdays poses real problems of accurately recording a real birth date. It is not uncommon to find soldiers using different birthdates on their Army papers, Naturalization papers and other official documents.

For Greek Australians naming was a very complex area. There was the problem of translation where there could be several acceptable English translations of a Greek name both surname and first name. It was not uncommon for soldiers to use a different translation of their name at various moments in their lives which to an English speaker seems incomprehensible.

Compounding this was the Army clerk filling in the enlistment forms trying to make sense of the sounds coming from the enrolling soldier (Many of the soldiers could not read or write English). For example e and i can sound very similar from a non English speaking person, Ithaca was written at times as Etheca.

Many Greek Australians for a variety of reasons chose to “Anglicize” their names further adding to the complexity for modern day researchers trying to find antecedents. These reasons included a desire to fit in but also a practical problem of needing to be understood. Some Greek names are indecipherable to an English speaker and vice versa. Often the easiest way to “get on with it” was to pick a name that everyone could understand and adopt that one.

All names used on this website are those contained on the original military service records. Where known other names, used by the individuals, will be indicated.

Another area of confusion is the use of ethnicity to denote nationality. Greeks from the Dodecanese islands invariably put their nationality as Greek when in fact these islands did not join Greece until 1947. During the interwar period they belonged to Italy prior to this during WW1 they were under the control of the French, Italians and British. Prior to WW1 they formed part of the Ottoman Empire i.e. Turkey. In Australia ethnicity was never a strong bond with nationality and became increasingly tenuous as the 20th Century progressed.

In general I have used locality rather than specific city to denote origins. For example if some one is born in Richmond Vic I have used Melbourne as the city of origin. The same for those born overseas. Many of the towns and villages have the same name but in different regions. Thus if born in a town on Crete I have used Crete as the island of origin. Many of the small villages in Macedonia are close to Florina, the main administrative center, so I have used this as the place of origin.

Another more complex problem is deciding origins when parents came from different regions. As was common at that time of history females were in the background and on official forms mothers were only mentioned if the father was deceased. In these cases it is often only family members who know the connections of the mother. Again, family memories are often the only source available to the historian.