Australian military collectables preserve history in many different forms.
Some objects were manufactured specifically for military service. Others were produced to commemorate military units, campaigns or significant events. Personal letters, photographs, books and documents can preserve the experiences of individual servicemen and women in a way that official records cannot.
The field extends far beyond medals and uniforms.
Military books, badges, ceramics, field tools, trench equipment, letters, postcards, photographs, maps, personal effects and wartime souvenirs can all provide tangible connections with Australia’s military history.
For collectors, understanding the story behind an object can be every bit as important as identifying the object itself.
WHAT ARE AUSTRALIAN MILITARY COLLECTABLES?
Australian military collecting encompasses objects associated with Australian servicemen and women, military units, campaigns and organisations.
Material can relate to the colonial period, the First World War, Second World War and later conflicts.
Military collectables can include:
Medals and medal groups
Badges and insignia
Military uniforms and equipment
Field tools and trench equipment
Military ceramics and tableware
Regimental and battalion histories
Official military histories
Personal diaries and notebooks
Letters sent to and from serving personnel
Photographs and photograph albums
Postcards and greeting cards
Embarkation documents
Service documents
Maps
Military publications
Recruiting material
Propaganda material
Commemorative souvenirs
Trench art
Soldier-made objects
Personal effects
Home-front material
Returned-service memorabilia
Military ephemera
MEDALS AND MEDAL GROUPS
Medals form one of the best-known areas of military collecting.
They can commemorate military service, participation in particular campaigns, acts of gallantry or long service.
For collectors, the medal itself is only part of the story.
A named medal can potentially be connected with an individual serviceman or woman, allowing further research into service records, units, campaigns and sometimes personal history.
Groups of medals belonging to the same person are particularly important and should generally be kept together.
Associated photographs, letters, certificates, badges or service documents can significantly increase the historical importance of a medal group because they help preserve the identity and story of the original recipient.
When examining military medals, collectors should look for:
Recipient names
Service numbers
Rank
Military unit
Regiment
Engraved or impressed information
Original ribbons
Medal bars or clasps
Associated documents
Original cases or boxes
Family provenance
Collectors should be cautious about replacing original ribbons, polishing medals aggressively or separating groups simply because individual medals may be easier to sell separately.
Preserving the historical group is usually preferable whenever possible.
LETTERS, DIARIES AND PERSONAL EPHEMERA
Wartime correspondence is one of the most personal areas of military collecting.
A handwritten letter from a serviceman preparing to embark, writing from training camp or communicating with family overseas can provide a direct connection with an individual experiencing the events.
Many wartime letters contain ordinary subjects such as food, weather, friendships, family news and living conditions.
That everyday information is precisely what can make them historically interesting.
Letters can occasionally contain descriptions of training, troop movements, military life or significant events, although wartime censorship sometimes restricted what serving personnel could write.
When researching military correspondence, look for:
Full names
Initials
Service numbers
Rank
Military units
Dates
Locations
Postmarks
Military postal marks
Addresses
Signatures
Names of relatives or friends
References to battles or locations
Associated photographs or documents
The envelope should always be retained with the letter whenever possible.
A postmark or address on an envelope may provide information that does not appear in the letter itself.
Several letters written by the same person should also be kept together wherever practical.
Together they can become a small historical archive.
MILITARY BOOKS AND UNIT HISTORIES
Military books form another substantial area of collecting.
Official histories document campaigns and military operations from a broad historical perspective.
Battalion and regimental histories concentrate more closely on individual units and may record battles, officers, soldiers, casualties and important events involving the unit.
Early editions published relatively close to the events they describe can be particularly interesting.
Collectors should examine military books for:
Publication date
Edition
Publisher
Maps
Photographic plates
Illustrations
Original binding
Dust jacket where applicable
Ownership inscriptions
Presentation inscriptions
Signatures
Bookplates
Military associations
Original ownership can sometimes be significant.
A handwritten name inside an old military history should not automatically be dismissed as simply writing in a book.
If that person can be identified as a serviceman, veteran, officer or somebody connected with the events described, the inscription may add an important provenance element.
THE HISTORY OF THE FOURTEENTH BATTALION, A.I.F.
One of the military books represented in the TMC Emporium collection is The History of the Fourteenth Battalion, A.I.F., Being the Story of the Vicissitudes of an Australian Unit during the Great War.
Written by Newton Wanliss, the example in the collection was published in Melbourne by The Arrow Printery in 1929.
The book records the history of an Australian First World War infantry battalion and includes detailed accounts of operations, individual actions and photographs associated with the unit.
Battalion histories such as this are valuable both as historical reference works and as collectable Australian military books.
Condition, completeness, edition, photographs, maps and inscriptions should all be considered when assessing an example.
THE AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE IN SINAI AND PALESTINE 1914–1918
Another book represented in the TMC Emporium collection is The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine 1914–1918 by H. S. Gullett.
The example shown was published by Angus & Robertson in Sydney in 1923.
It forms Volume VII of The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918.
The volume records Australian military operations in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns and contains numerous photographs, maps and illustrations.
Early volumes from Australia’s official First World War history remain important historical reference works and are also collected as Australian military books.
The TMC Emporium example also carries a handwritten ownership inscription.
Such inscriptions should always be photographed and researched before conclusions are drawn about the identity of the original owner.
MILITARY CERAMICS AND TABLEWARE
Military history can also appear on ceramics and tableware.
Pieces may carry military badges, regimental crests, Australian military emblems, presentation inscriptions or commemorative decoration.
Some ceramics were manufactured for military or institutional use.
Others were commercially produced as souvenirs or commemorative pieces.
Identification therefore requires more than simply recognising the military emblem.
Collectors should inspect the base carefully for:
Manufacturer marks
Registration numbers
Date codes
Distributor marks
Pattern numbers
Country of manufacture
Military ownership marks
Presentation inscriptions
AUSTRALIAN MILITARY CHEESE DISH
One example in the TMC Emporium collection is a covered ceramic cheese dish decorated with an Australian military emblem.
The piece has cream-coloured ceramic construction with burgundy and gilt decoration and carries a prominent military device on the lid.
Objects such as this demonstrate how military symbolism could extend into domestic and presentation wares.
The manufacturer, precise period and purpose of individual pieces should be established through the maker’s marks and construction rather than being determined from the emblem alone.
The piece will be researched in greater detail as part of its individual TMC Emporium listing.
MILITARY BADGES AND INSIGNIA
Badges and insignia are another major collecting field.
They can identify a regiment, corps, battalion, service branch, rank or period of military service.
Australian military insignia underwent numerous changes over time.
Small differences in wording, construction, fastening systems, metal composition and design can sometimes help establish when a badge was produced.
Collectors should examine:
Exact wording
Design variations
Metal type
Maker marks
Numbers
Fastening systems
Lugs
Pins
Clips
Wear patterns
Associated uniforms or documentation
Reproductions exist in many military collecting fields, so identification should be based on construction and provenance as well as appearance.
THE RISING SUN EMBLEM
The Rising Sun is one of the most recognisable symbols associated with the Australian Army.
Different versions of the emblem have been used during different periods.
When examining an object carrying a Rising Sun device, collectors should study the precise design and wording rather than assuming that every example dates from the same period.
The emblem can appear on badges, uniforms, ceramics, souvenirs, documents and other military-related material.
Its presence can provide useful evidence, but should be considered together with maker marks, manufacturing techniques and other dating information.
FIRST WORLD WAR FIELD TOOLS AND TRENCH EQUIPMENT
Military collecting also includes the practical equipment used by soldiers in the field.
Tools such as picks, shovels, entrenching implements, wire cutters and engineering equipment were essential to military operations.
During the First World War, enormous amounts of labour were required to construct and maintain trenches, dugouts, drainage systems, defensive positions, roads and other field works.
Digging equipment therefore formed an important part of everyday military life.
TMC EMPORIUM 1918 BRITISH-MADE MILITARY PICK
One example in the TMC Emporium collection is a British-made military pick carrying a maker or issue marking and the date 1918.
The date places its manufacture within the final year of the First World War.
A tool of this type represents a very different aspect of military collecting from medals or commemorative objects.
It was practical working equipment.
Picks and similar tools were used for digging, constructing and repairing field positions and other military works.
When examining military field tools, collectors should look for:
Manufacturer names
Manufacturer trademarks
Dates
Government ownership marks
Military acceptance marks
Broad Arrow markings
Stamped numbers
Unit markings
Original handles
Original fittings
Period repairs
Wear consistent with use
A clearly dated and marked tool is particularly interesting because the markings can help establish its manufacturing period and government association.
The TMC Emporium 1918 pick provides a tangible example of the practical equipment produced during the First World War.
TRENCH ART AND SOLDIER-MADE OBJECTS
Trench art is a broad term used for decorative or functional objects made from materials associated with military service.
Despite the name, not every piece of trench art was literally manufactured in a trench.
Items were made by serving personnel, prisoners of war, civilians and commercial workshops both during and after conflicts.
Common materials include:
Shell cases
Bullets
Military scrap metal
Coins
Wood
Bone
Aluminium
Brass
Copper
Collectors should avoid attributing an object directly to a particular battlefield or serviceman unless supporting evidence exists.
Provenance is particularly important in this field.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS
Military photographs can preserve information unavailable from written records.
Uniforms, badges, equipment, buildings and locations visible in a photograph may help identify the subject.
Writing on the back of a photograph should always be recorded.
A seemingly insignificant handwritten name, date or location may provide the clue necessary to identify the person pictured.
Original photograph albums should generally remain intact.
Removing individual photographs can destroy the relationship between images and eliminate valuable historical context.
MILITARY POSTCARDS
Postcards were widely used for communication between servicemen and their families.
Military postcards can include:
Camp photographs
Unit photographs
Patriotic illustrations
Silk postcards
Embarkation scenes
Town views
Military hospitals
Portrait photographs
Commemorative designs
Written messages
The message, recipient address and postmark may be just as important as the image on the front.
IDENTIFYING AUSTRALIAN MILITARY COLLECTABLES
Identification should begin with the object itself.
Record everything before attempting to interpret it.
Look for:
Names
Initials
Service numbers
Ranks
Military units
Regiments
Battalions
Dates
Manufacturers
Government marks
Military acceptance marks
Badges
Insignia
Colour patches
Serial numbers
Handwritten inscriptions
Postmarks
Addresses
Photographer marks
Publishers
Edition information
Original labels
Provenance
Associated photographs
Associated documents
Even a small marking can completely change the historical significance of an object.
RESEARCHING A MILITARY OBJECT
Good military research should combine several pieces of evidence whenever possible.
An item should not be attributed to a particular person, military unit or historical event simply because the connection appears plausible.
Useful areas of research include:
Service records
Embarkation rolls
Nominal rolls
Unit histories
Unit war diaries
Casualty records
Honour rolls
Military museums
Official histories
Contemporary newspapers
Archival collections
Genealogical records
Manufacturer histories
Auction records
Provenance documents
One clue often leads to another.
A name may reveal a service number.
A service number may reveal a battalion.
The battalion may lead to a unit history.
The unit history may then establish where the person served.
This process can transform an apparently ordinary object into a documented piece of military history.
CONDITION AND MILITARY COLLECTABLES
Condition is important, but military objects should not always be judged in the same way as decorative antiques.
Service wear can form part of the object’s history.
Originality is frequently more desirable than restoration.
Collectors should be particularly careful about:
Removing inscriptions
Aggressively polishing medals or badges
Replacing original components
Cleaning old documents
Removing original labels
Separating medal groups
Separating groups of correspondence
Removing photographs from albums
Discarding envelopes
Replacing military tool handles without recording the originals
Throwing away apparently insignificant paperwork
Once historical information has been removed, it may never be recoverable.
KEEP ASSOCIATED GROUPS TOGETHER
One of the most important principles in military collecting is to preserve associated groups.
A medal, photograph, letter and military document belonging to one person tell a much richer story together than they do when separated.
The same principle applies to correspondence.
An envelope can establish a location.
A letter can provide a military unit.
A photograph can provide a face.
A service record can connect those pieces with the wider historical record.
Together they become an archive.
PROVENANCE AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Provenance can substantially increase the historical interest of military collectables.
An otherwise ordinary object can become significant when ownership by a known serviceman or woman can be documented.
Whenever possible, record:
Original owner
Family history
Previous owners
Place of acquisition
Auction details
Associated names
Military unit
Dates
Old labels
Original notes
Receipts
Associated photographs
Associated documents
Even informal information supplied by a family should be retained, although it should be clearly distinguished from independently verified historical information.
COLLECTING WITH RESEARCH IN MIND
At TMC Emporium we are particularly interested in military objects that offer something to research.
A battalion history containing an intriguing inscription, a letter written shortly before embarkation, a named medal, a dated 1918 field tool, an unusual military souvenir or a piece of military-marked ceramics can each provide an opportunity to uncover a story that has been largely forgotten.
The research is part of the collecting process.
As further examples enter the TMC Emporium collection, this guide will continue to develop with additional information covering medals, Australian military books, wartime correspondence, military ceramics, field equipment, insignia, photographs, ephemera and other military collectables.
Browse Our Military Collectibles For sale
Military collecting covers an enormous field.
Individual objects can require specialist knowledge, and manufacturer marks, military units, servicemen, insignia, medal entitlements and unusual presentation pieces may require further research before a definitive identification can be made.
Historical attribution should always be supported by evidence wherever possible.
As significant new information becomes available, this guide will be expanded and updated.
Further Reading