Some soldiers wanted to bring back objects that would remind them of their time at war. These objects were made of metal, cloth, wood, and bone and were crafted by the soldiers, prisoners of war and civilians not only during the Great War of 1914-19, but up until 1939 too.

Soldiers wiled away lulls in battle by making jewellery from bullets and the soft metal in shells. Some items were produced as a means of passing time, other pieces were commissioned. Some pieces were very personal records of what had happened to the soldier. They could utilise pieces of howitzer shell, rifle grenades, and the badges from fallen comrades to fashion these memorials. Many wooden and textile pieces were made in convalescent homes and hospitals as this was one of the 'cures' prescribed to them.

If soldiers wanted a professionally produced object, they took their bits and pieces to stores like the Army and Navy store in London, which provided a service that turned these into elaborate designs or mounted them to serve as a lasting memento.