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Researching Service Records

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:

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.

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

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After 32 years in Bentleigh, Fastframe has moved to 9 Wanrua Street Cheltenham

Fastframe Bentleigh

The owners of Fastframe, are siblings, Sami and Odette. They both had successful corporate careers, however they had a love of art and wanted to follow their dreams. So they looked around for a business that would allow them work with art, use modern framing technology and also the business skills that they had learned in the corporate world.

Fastframe originally began as franchise business based in California USA in 1986. In 1988, Fastframe started in Australia and Sami and Odette bought a franchise and the "Fastframe Bentleigh" business moved into the newly built premises at 277 Centre Road Bentleigh. There was a Shell service station next door and a BBC Hardware on the corner of Oak Street.

The business prospered and in order to meet customer needs, Fastframe soon expanded into computerised matt cutting, photo restoration and wide format printing.

Unfortunately, in 2020 their building was going to be demolished (for more apartments) and they had to move. A new premises at 9 Wanrua Street Cheltenham was found and a mad rush ensured to move before Melbourne went into the July Covid lockdown. The new premises are larger and a good mix of factory space and large showroom, perfect for displaying examples of their work.

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A Tale of Two Brothers

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.

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A Jockey’s Life

Over the years, we have had many customers that have collections of sporting memorabilia that they want to update.

An interesting example was a customer whose father was a jockey. The customer had a number of framed pictures of her father that were made when he won a race, these frames often included hand written details of the horse, the race and owners etc. As the pictures had been collected over a number of years, the framing, layout and inscriptions were often different, making an odd mix of styles.

The customer wanted a simpler solution, so we designed a coordinated layout, scanned the original photos, restored and reprinted them and retyped the inscriptions. The end result was a single frame, containing all the photos and a brass plate with the jockey’s details.

Where originally only one sibling could have the old frames hanging on their wall, or the group was divided and shared between siblings, now they can all have the opportunity to display their beloved father’s achievements.

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