Lesley Wilson: Rediscovering and sharing the history of Auckland soldiers

I am the volunteer curator of the Albany Memorial Library and have been researching the men from the Albany Memorial library since 2013.



More about what I do and why

I have always been part of the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) service since I was 5 and my Dad used to run it with another ex serviceman.

 It was the commemoration of the 100 years of the Great War that got me thinking about it. I wanted to research the men some more to display the information on ANZAC day (25 April) 2014.

For me what's really important is putting a face to a name, humanizing these men who gave their lives along with everyone who went and was involved. It's been fascinating watching this photograph collection grow from 7 photos from WW1 to 54 photos now of the 77 men who left this district to fight in WW1. For WW2 I have 21 photos of the 35 men who went. It's been so amazing visiting the families of the men. I feel it's so important to gather all these photos together while they are still around and families know who they are.

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What I’ve learned

The most gratifying part is connecting families with their past relatives. Being able to tell them something about their family they didn’t know. Also being able to record history for the future generations and for me, having all the photos to be able to pass them down to the future citizens of Albany and families.

If it feels important in your heart or gut do it, and you will be guided to all you need.

How I work

  • Running a Facebook page about the library
  • Conducting historical and archival research
  • Communicating with soldiers’ families
  • Coordinating community events
  • Planning for a future writing project about the library

Connect with me

Albany Memorial Library – Link to my Facebook page for the Albany Memorial library, where I post updates about the library, my research and upcoming events.