Military Memorabilia Framing: Framing Family Heirlooms

Framing your relative’s war medals and other military memorabilia creates a unique family heirloom that can easily and safely be passed down from generation to generation. 

However, framing family heirlooms can seem like a daunting process, especially if you don't know much about the veteran’s history or aren’t sure what the correct way to do it is. You might not even know where to start – and that’s a-okay.

At Portfolio Picture Framers, we can walk you through everything you need to know. We’ve helped many Perth families frame military memorabilia so they can celebrate and feel proud of their hero. 

Travis – the owner of Portfolio Picture Framers – takes a particular interest in military memorabilia. He has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to military memorabilia framing as well as finding information on your relative’s service history. 

Why is military memorabilia framing so important?

Whether you’re wanting to display Grandad’s war medals or memorabilia from your own time in service, framing these precious items is the best way to keep them safe and preserve them for generations to come.

Being able to pass on framed war memorabilia to future generations helps them learn about and appreciate the sacrifice that their relatives made. It’s a piece of history that stays alive in the minds of each generation of the family, long into the future.

A lot of people never get around to framing the memorabilia in their possession. Unfortunately this can lead to damage and deterioration, sometimes beyond repair. By framing the memorabilia with acid-free materials, you help preserve it from dust, damage and discolouration.

Framing your items is also a great way to make sure they don’t get lost. Once you have arranged them attractively in a custom frame, you can display them proudly in your home as a beautiful reminder of love and sacrifice that the items represent.

At Portfolio Picture Framers, we only use acid-free materials in our framing processes. This ensures your items are protected from discolouration and corrosion. 

We personally understand how important it is to be able to pass on a piece of family history to the next generations, so you can be assured we’ll take great care with every piece of memorabilia that we frame.

What items should you frame?

A great place to start when embarking on framing memorabilia is to decide what you want to include in your frame.

It’s a good idea to have a think about this before coming to see us at Portfolio Picture Framers as you may end up rushing the framing process and be disappointed with the end result, especially if you forget to include something of significance. 

With a little forethought you can also avoid several trips to our store as you have thought of extra items you may wish to include. But if you’re not sure what to frame, just bring in the range of items you have and we’d be happy to give you some ideas and talk you through your options.

Popular items that can be included in military memorabilia framing include:

• war medals
• photos – usually a photo of the veteran in uniform
• dog tags, 
• badges
• uniform patches
• letters

However, you’re not limited to these items only. If you have any other significant items that the veteran may have made or collected during their time in the service, we can help you frame these too.

To give you an idea of what you can include in military memorabilia framing, my Pop kept his dog tags, patches from his uniform and a ring that he made while serving in the Middle East. These things, framed with his medals and a photo of him in uniform tell the story of sacrifice and remind us of the experience he had during his time in active combat.

Including an engraved plaque in your frame

In addition to the items above, it’s often fitting to also include an engraved plaque, which we can organise for you, with information about the veteran. 

For example, you may like to include their rank, name, service number, who they served for, dates of service, any honours or awards they may have received or any other significant information you would like to include. 

If you do not know where to find this information, speak to Travis at Portfolio Picture Framers. He may be able to help you search for the information you are looking for.

Travis can also help provide information about claiming previously unclaimed medals from the Australian Government, purchasing replica medals and finding your relative’s war records. He might even be able to help you discover information that you may not have known existed!

Do you plan on wearing the war medals in the future?

When framing military medals it’s always a good idea to consider whether you or any other family members will want to wear them in an ANZAC Day march or other event in the future. 

It’s important to make this decision before framing so you can tell us if you require access to your medals once framed. If you are intending on wearing the medals in the future, it is vital that the medals are mounted on a wearable bar before framing. 

War medals are issued individually and while we can frame them easily without the wearable bar, framing them individually will mean you will not be able to take them in and out of the frame. 

If you require help in sourcing a trustworthy and reliable person to put medals onto a wearable bar, speak to Travis at Portfolio Picture Framers and he can give you some options of local businesses that supply this service. 

Once the medals are placed on a wearable bar, it makes the framing process very easy and you will be able to take them in and out of the frame with little effort.

Get in touch for a free, no-obligation consultation

Once you have planned what you would like to include in your frame, come and see us at Portfolio Picture Framers for a free, no obligation, consultation where we can discuss your layout and colour options for your frame and help you find any additional information on your relative that you may require. 

Still not sure what to include in your frame? Bring in all the items you have and we can help you go through your options and make a decision that you’re happy with.

Our military memorabilia framing services are personalised and professional. We enjoy helping our customers create a unique family heirloom and finding out information on their relatives that was previously unknown.

Get in touch with us today on (08) 9330 5884, or come and visit our showroom in Myaree.