Australian parents have been urged to honour the memory of their ANZAC ancestors who served in the First World War by naming their newborn babies after them.

The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Martin Hamilton-Smith said the four-year campaign starts on Remembrance Day, which recognises the end of hostilities in Europe on November 11, 1918.

“This is a chance for young families to recognise the loss of our best and brightest young people, by naming their children after them.

“It’s a simple suggestion that, touches everyone and will get people thinking.

“Young families should consider this gracious act of respect and remembrance by using the name of an ancestor who served or to adopt the name of other fallen soldiers.

“Female newborns could also be named after the many women who made outstanding contributions to the war effort; along with war widows and wives who said goodbye to their young sons and husbands.

“The story of Anzac is owned by all Australians and this is a way to remind the children of our gratitude for their sacrifice, that we might live free. I encourage Australians of all cultural backgrounds to embrace this idea,” Mr Hamilton-Smith said.

“It could be a first name or a middle name and be a name from an immediate family ancestor or an Anzac from the extended family, or even a close family friend from the World War One period.

Mr Hamilton-Smith said he and his wife Stavroula Raptis gave their child Thomas, 10, the middle name Theodore to honour Mr Hamilton-Smith’s great-uncle, Corporal Theodore Willard Wright, who was killed in France, aged 24.

“My middle name is Leslie James – Leslie is for my paternal grandfather who served and was wounded in World War One. James is from my maternal grandfather who in World War Two was a Rat of Tobruk and also served in Papua New Guinea.

Helpful resources for families looking to adopt a name are:

RSL War Memorial – http://www.rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/
War Memorial – http://www.awm.gov.au/