We will be open Sunday April 23rd ahead of ANZAC Day on Tuesday. Many people have discovered items related to historical military service at the Market.
Remembrance of service and sacrifice is important and too often families may be unaware of their family’s service. This often emanates from the brutal reality of mechanised warfare that the world experienced in WW1.
Indeed, known as the ‘war to end all wars”, Great War veterans often could not speak of their war service and often never mentioned it to their children or spouses.
Suffering in silence, WW2 and other conflicts also saw the same code of silence. Often two or three medals may be all a family knew as “shell shock” made discussing service incredibly difficult.
Today the mental health impact on veterans is well known and it’s understood that anxiety, depression and PTSD impacts not only makes communication of traumatic events hard, but also hides much deeper wounds.
As we commemorate the Centenary of ANZAC, many Australians are learning more of their family’s service. With that often comes a desire for families to find momentous, memorabilia, photos or other items.
While genuine medals and rare items are expensive, there are many low cost items to you can discover.
- The above image is a $15 post-WW1 book. While the book was damaged, several pages were beautifully illustrated and suitable for framing
- Wartime postcard also look good framed. Try to get a postcard with the intact stamp and postmark. The message will be a talking point and can be framed in double sided table frame for full viewing! Postcards can range from $5 to about $30 depending on the content
- Period cigarette cards are often colourful and interesting pieces. Some times you can pickup embroidered cards or sweetheart broaches that were given as gifts.
- Consider badges, buttons and other small items too.
Remembrance can mean different things to different people. So whether you attend a ANZAC Day parade or Service, or discover a WW1 treasure to display: we will remember them.