When Australian soldiers arrived in Britain during World War I, they turned the heads of more than a few English girls.

Now residents from the coastal town of Brightlingsea are seeking to find the descendants of local women who married Anzacs.

Around 10,000 Australian and New Zealand troops stayed in the area on their way to the Western Front.

Ann Berry from Friends of Brightlingsea Museum said the antipodean visitors had quite an impact on the locals.

"They were these tall, suntanned colonials with funny accents," she told 774 ABC Melbourne's Sally Warhaft.

Billets part of the family — literally

While the soldiers camped on the local recreation ground in the summer months, in the winter they were billeted in locals' homes and many became part of the family — literally.

"The soldiers found surrogate mums, and very often girlfriends," Ms Berry said.

"There were 36 marriages of Australians to Brightlingsea ladies, and of course when the war ended the guys stole our ladies away."

Map Map of Brightlingsea in England

But not all the Anzacs' romances with Brightlingsea girls ended in marriage.

"The story goes that at the end of the war the Australian Army sent around a couple of horses and a big wagon so that people could put in there anything the Australians had left behind," she said.

"A couple of girls tried to put babies in it."

Carnival to celebrate centenary of Anzac arrival

Brightlingsea will host a carnival in June to celebrate 100 years since the Anzacs first arrived in the town.

"They are remembered more with gladness than with sadness," Ms Berry said.

Brightlingsea is to hold a carnival in June to celebrate 100 years since the arrival of Anzacs in the town. ( Flickr: Joas Souza )

The Brightlingsea Anzac carnival website includes the names of Australians who married women from the town and contact details for their descendants to get in touch with the museum.

"What we're trying to do is put together some short biographies of the guys to keep on the museum's database," Ms Berry said.

They have already made a start on the biographies using information available online.

"You're very lucky in Australia in that online you can find a lot of the servicemen's records, quite complete, which hasn't happened in England because ours got bombed and burned in World War II," Ms Berry said.

She said there were still some families living in Brightlingsea who were descendants of the Anzacs, but there were others living in Australia who might have no idea they had a connection with the English town.

"We thought how nice it would be if we could try and trace some of them who did not stay in touch with England just to see how they are, and how they're getting on, and tell them that we remember them," she said.

Ms Berry visited Horsham in Victoria on Anzac Day last year and was "struck with a great kinship" when she realised how many of the Anzacs were born in Britain or had British heritage.

"Not only were these guys sharing mud and blood with the British soldiers, but DNA as well," she said.