Military Medals

Australian Service Records - 2020 update

Currently the best place to start researching Australian military service information for all Australian services and conflicts is the Australian War Memorial site where you can search by the service personnel's name, service number or unit.

The following websites may also contain useful information:

• AIF Project
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Nominal Rolls
• Australian Department of Defence
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission

In addition, you can also search for the full Service Records of WW1 and WW2 service personnel at the Australian National Archives Australia site. The NAA site is in the process of digitising all service records, and many are available for download. If a record is not yet digitised, you can request it, however the NAA will charge a fee for this service.

Some information about the individuals service may also have been posted on the Ancestry genealogy site, however there may be a cost.

To research the histories of New Zealand WWI Service personnel, the NZ Archives is a good place to start.

Expert advice on medals and their mounting is available from our medalist, David Hirsh Medal Mounting.

In World War II, two brothers joined the AIF and were both sent to Papua New Guinea. One perished on a POW troop ship, the worst maritime disaster in Australian history, the other returned to Australia and spent his life working for the benefit of others, he received an OAM for his service.

The family wanted to remember the brothers and had collected memorabilia that needed to be preserved.

At Fastframe we worked with the customer to design a complementary frame for each brother. To do this we scanned and restored pictures and documents for each brother and their medals were court mounted by David Hirsh Medal Mounting.  

Unfortunately, one of the brothers colour patches were not available, so the customer ingeniously made a copy from felt. The customer also wrote the brothers biographies, which we were able to include in the frame so that future generations could read and appreciate their stories. As always, Southern Cross Trophies & Engraving in Collingwood supplied us with the brass plates.

The frame was finished off with UltraVue glass, which gives 70% UV protection and amazing clarity.

The framing of a families military medals, photos and memorabilia is a very personal and depends on what material is available, preferred size and style.

The following are examples of how we can frame military medals to suit different customer requirements.

In each example, Fastframe scanned, restored and printed the images, and arranged for David Hirsh Medal Mounting in Glenhuntly to clean and court mount the old medals and to supply us with the medal replicas and other elements. As always, Southern Cross Trophies & Engraving in Collingwood supplied us with the brass plates.

Example 1 - Medals, photos and military memorabilia - In addition to medals, customers often have a variety of photos and memorabilia, such as dog tags, insignias, pay books, badges, uniform buttons etc.

Example 2 - Overlapping full size replica medals - By overlapping the medals the width of the frame can be reduced.

Example 3 - Miniature medal display - Miniature medals are a good alternative if the customer doesn't want to frame the original medals and requires a smaller display.

Example 4 - Opening frame - Some customers like to be able to remove their framed medals (especially original medals) so that they can be worn on special occasions. While Opening frames are not new, they are often bulky and look more like boxes than frames. To make a more elegant Opening frame, Fastframe uses a traditional frame on the front and a hidden box frame at the back to hold the medals. The front frame is hinged and can be easily opened to remove the medals.

The glass used on all examples was UltraVue glass with 70% UV protection and amazing clarity.