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    An Introduction


    Tracy

    2,100 views

    Well, hello !

    I'm hoping not to waste your time here and apologise in advance for my complete lack of knowledge. Until recently, I had never really taken much interest in anything military-related....it always seemed more of a 'boys thing'.

    Recently, my mother-in-law passed away and in the months following, my father-in-law brought us some items belonging to her father that he had 'collected' during the war. Now, apparently Harry was quite a character....a real 'lad', a wheeler and dealer (sounds like a fun guy, wish I'd met him). One can only imagine how some of these items came to be in his posession, or perhaps it's best not to.

    Anyway, our Harry was also a very keen photographer and along with the badges, we also received a photo album. The images are amazing, some actually quite confronting in fact, but fascinating for those of us who (fortunately) have no idea what it must have been like to live through that time.

    For my partner's 40th birthday, I had Harry's medals mounted in a frame with a photo and plaque denoting his service details. I also came across a book about his battalion, Muzzle Blast - Six Years with the 2/2 Australian Machine Gun Battalion AIF

    So, here I am now with the book, the photos and these badges and buttons, trying to sort a collection into some sort of order, wishing we had known about this collection and the photos before he passed away. I hope you don't mind me sharing with you and asking for advice. I'll also ask that you please forgive my ignorance (feel free to correct me any time I make a mistake!).

    Here is a photo from the album showing Harry (far left) while on leave in TelAviv


    I will post photos of other items from the collection shortly.

    Thanks for having me :)

    8 Comments


    Recommended Comments

    Nick

    Posted

    Welcome to GMIC and the world of Military Collecting. What a great start, look forward to reading more about Harry..

    Hauptmann

    Posted

    Welcome Tracy... glad to have you here with us!

    No apologies necessary... we all had to start with little knowledge way back when... you'll learn alot as you go along.

    You're very luck to have custody of such family treasures. As I think you're learning it's not so much the items but the stories and family history they represent. All too often folks come into possession of such things only to sell them off or toss them out. They don't realize what they have. It's sad. But I'm glad you care enough to find out more and cherish them for what they represent.

    I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing and hearing more.

    Many thanks for sharing all this with us... it is an honor. I hope we can help fill in some of the blanks and add to what you have.

    Dan

    Tracy

    Posted

    Thankyou for the kind words. I'm looking forward to the journey of discovery, I really feel like I have found the right place to begin.
    I'll post some more photos a little later.

    Mervyn Mitton

    Posted

    Yes - you're very welcome. Look forward to seeing the different things. Mervyn

    Spasm

    Posted

    What a great introduction! (We need a female profile, I'm assuming, instead of a geezer's silhouette) Obviously not just a 'boy's thing'. Welcome Tracy and I'm looking forward to Harry's stuff. Cheers. Spaz

    Brian Wolfe

    Posted

    Hello Tracy and welcome.
    I share my fellow member's eagerness to read more from you.
    Regards
    Brian

    Tracy

    Posted

    Thankyou so much for making me feel so welcome here. I've been flat out the past few days, but will most certainly post some more soon.
    Great to be here !

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