Souvenir photo frame : Private R E Davis, 2 Remount Unit, AIF

Handmade aluminium souvenir photo frame. The frame is made to resemble a horseshoe, open end downwards, with a flat plate riveted to the back. This backing plate has a heart shaped opening at its centre to display an image, and a decorative engraved surface pattern of zigzags which have been applied mechanically. On the reverse of the frame is a swivelling leg which forms a stand and a ledge to retain the displayed image. There are two smaller brackets riveted to the reverse on either side of the heart shaped opening.

This frame was sent by 1741 Trooper Richard England ('Dick') Davis, of the 2nd Remount Unit, AIF, to his mother in Newtown, Sydney. Dick Davis was a 22 year old drover when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in November 1915. Because of his knowledge of horses, he was selected to form part of 2 Australian Remount Unit, which was then being raised to care for the horses of Australian light horse regiments which were engaged as infantry units in the fighting on Gallipoli. As the need for their original role had passed, the Remount units were later absorbed into the larger Imperial remount service in Egypt, which was tasked with the breaking-in and care of new horses awaiting allocation to units in the Middle East. As a member of 6 Squadron, he sailed from Sydney on HMAT A67 'Orsova', on 10 November 1915, one of his officers being the well known poet and journalist Lieutenant A B 'Banjo' Paterson. Davis served in the Middle East throughout the remainder of the war, and returned to Australia in August 1919 aboard HMT 'Burma' as part of No 2 Troop, 'B' Squadron, Australian Remounts. As examples of very similar handmade souvenirs are known to have been owned by other members of the Australian Remounts, it is probable that they were all produced by a single individual within the unit from aluminium mess tins.