ABSTRACT Recordkeeping systems develop under the influence of their environment. An organisation’s compilation of records, their form, content and dissemination can be in response to external factors. How the recordkeeping administration of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) developed, expanded and changed over time is illustrative of the influences on the creation of records. The administration of the First Australian Imperial Force, including its recordkeeping, developed in an environment of heated political debate in Australia over that nation’s participation in the war and two failed attempts to introduce conscription. Circumstances in late 1915 combined to force a reluctant Australian government to intervene in the detail of AIF records administration in Egypt despite the government’s expectation that involvement at such a level in AIF management abroad would be unnecessary. This article examines the circumstances at work in Australia that led to such an intervention. It describes the events leading to the decision and traces the causes for the decision to factors in the political, social and military context.

中文翻译：

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第一支澳大利亚帝国军队的记录保存：政治上的必要性

摘要 记录保存系统是在其环境的影响下发展起来的。一个组织对记录的汇编、它们的形式、内容和传播可以响应外部因素。澳大利亚第一帝国军 (AIF) 的记录管理部门是如何随着时间的推移而发展、扩展和变化的，这说明了对记录创建的影响。澳大利亚第一帝国军队的管理，包括其记录保存，是在澳大利亚关于该国参与战争和两次失败的征兵尝试的激烈政治辩论的环境中发展起来的。1915 年末的情况结合起来，迫使不情愿的澳大利亚政府干预埃及 AIF 记录管理的细节，尽管政府期望在海外 AIF 管理中的参与程度如此之高是不必要的。本文考察了导致此类干预的澳大利亚工作环境。它描述了导致决策的事件，并将决策的原因追溯到政治、社会和军事背景中的因素。