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Decode My Digger
your relative served - their records tell the story
Every Australian family with military service has a story locked inside government records they can't read. We take digitised National Archives of Australia service records and run them through a multi-layered AI reconstruction, deciphering the shorthand, cross-referencing military terminology, and building the full picture of what your family member experienced.
The problem
National Archives of Australia service records, the handwritten files that followed your grandfather, great-aunt, or great-grandmother through their military career, are written in abbreviations, shorthand, and terminology that hasn't been used in decades.
They're historical documents written for military administrators, not families. Decode My Digger changes that.
What you receive (two deliverables)
- 💢 A personalised Word document that tells your family member's service story as a narrative, contextualised against the conflicts, campaigns, and conditions they served through, from enlistment to discharge and everything between.
- 💢 An Excel spreadsheet with every detail extracted from the records: personal information, service timeline, postings, promotions, medical entries, and disciplinary notes, each paired with its modern-day equivalent so you understand exactly what the original record says.
The five-layer reconstruction
This isn't a basic OCR transcription or a simple glossary lookup. It's a five-layer reconstruction that turns fragmented military paperwork into a complete, contextualised account of one person's service.
- 1. Handwriting extraction from the scanned NAA images
- 2. Military terminology deciphering - the shorthand and abbreviations decoded into plain English
- 3. Historical research matched to the specific dates and locations of service
- 4. Narrative composition - service movements mapped against wartime events
- 5. Structured spreadsheet generation with every entry translated
What we cover
- ✓ All three services - Army, Navy, and RAAF
- ✓ NAA digitised service records from the Boer War to Vietnam (1899–1975)
- ✓ Records deemed successfully decoded at an 80%+ extraction threshold
- ✓ Illegible entries noted rather than guessed
- ✓ Most records decoded within minutes of upload
Built in Australia. For Australian families. Using Australian military records.
How it works
- 1. Upload - submit the scanned images from the National Archives of Australia
- 2. Decode - the record runs through the five layers of reconstruction
- 3. Download - receive your Word document and Excel spreadsheet
Service details
- Deliverables
- Word + Excel
- Services
- Army, Navy, RAAF
- Period
- 1899–1975
- Price
- From $39 AUD
- Turnaround
- Minutes
- Privacy
- Images processed securely and deleted after 90 days. Never used for training.
DIY vs decoded
A professional genealogist charges $500–$1,000+ with a 2–6 week wait. Ancestry gives you raw records, not interpretation. Decode My Digger starts at $39 AUD and turns the paperwork into a story you can actually read.
Peace of mind
Full refund if a record falls below the 80% extraction threshold due to damage. No subscription, no ongoing fees, pay per decode.
Our story
Where it started
Our principal consultant spent over a year experimenting with ways to decode her grandfather's war records. The day the system returned his full service history - and she read that he'd enlisted three days after Darwin was bombed - she knew this couldn't stay on her desktop.
Every Australian family with a digger deserves to read their story. We built Decode My Digger to make that possible.
What families say
Records decoded for families in Australia and beyond.
My grandfather enlisted three days after Darwin was bombed. I had his records for years but could never make sense of them. This put everything into context - his postings, his unit transfers, even a stint in hospital I never knew about. It reads like a mini-series. I could never have pieced that together on my own.
Graham, Newbridge, Ireland
Decoded a WWII service record
I wasn't expecting much, honestly. I thought I'd get a summary and a few translations. Instead I got a full narrative report and a line-by-line spreadsheet that decoded every single entry. Worth every cent.
Rod, Sydney, NSW
Decoded a WWI service record
It answered questions I didn't even know to ask. I knew Dad served in New Guinea but I had no idea what half the entries in his file meant. Now the whole family understands what he went through.
Marion, Newcastle, NSW
Decoded WWI and WWII service records
Frequently asked questions
The questions families ask most about decoding a service record.
What do I receive when a record is decoded? +
Two professionally formatted deliverables. A personalised Word document that tells your family member's service story as a narrative, contextualised against the conflicts, campaigns, and conditions they served through, from enlistment to discharge. And an Excel spreadsheet with every detail extracted from the records - personal information, service timeline, postings, promotions, medical entries, and disciplinary notes - each paired with its modern-day equivalent.
Which services and time periods do you cover? +
All three services - Army, Navy, and RAAF. We work with the National Archives of Australia digitised service records covering the Boer War through to Vietnam, roughly 1899 to 1975.
How is this different from a transcription or a glossary lookup? +
It isn't basic OCR or a simple glossary. It's a five-layer reconstruction: handwriting extraction from the scanned images, military terminology deciphering, historical research matched to the specific dates and locations of service, narrative composition mapping movements against wartime events, and structured spreadsheet generation with every entry translated into plain English.
Where do the records come from and how do I get mine? +
Records are sourced from the National Archives of Australia RecordSearch database. You upload the scanned images of the digitised service record and we do the rest.
How long does a decode take? +
Most records are decoded within minutes of upload, typically around 20 to 30 minutes depending on the length and condition of the record.
What happens if a record is damaged or partly illegible? +
A record is deemed successfully decoded at an 80% or higher extraction threshold. Illegible entries are noted rather than guessed. If a record falls below the 80% threshold due to damage, you receive a full refund.
What does it cost, and how does it compare to a genealogist? +
From $39 AUD, with no subscription and no ongoing fees - you pay per decode. A professional genealogist typically charges $500 to $1,000 or more with a two to six week wait, and services like Ancestry give you the raw records without interpretation.
What happens to my uploaded records? +
Uploaded images are processed securely and deleted after 90 days. They are never used for training.
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Unlock the story in the records
Turn fragmented military paperwork into a complete, contextualised account of one person's service. A Word narrative and an Excel record, decoded from the originals.
Start a decode - from $39 AUD