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From the collection of Melbourne Legacy

3180 Items featured online

Sign, Austerity Messages. From the wives . . . of Australia's leaders

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Historical information

A newspaper article about Jessie Vasey calling for Australian women to make an effort to make sacrifices and savings for the war effort. It appears to be part of a series of messages from the wives of Australia's leaders to encourage war savings in the form of War Savings Stamps, War Savings Certificates and National Savings Bonds. The message was sponsored by Kayser. Mrs J M Vasey was the wife of Major-General Vasey so this was published before the death of her husband.
After Major-General George Alan Vasey died in an aircraft accident in 1945 Mrs Vasey established the War Widows Guild. This reproduction on display board may have been for an exhibition of Guild memorabilia at some time.
The Victorian War Widows Guild closed in 2021. Some items, including this board, were donated to the Legacy archive for preservation. It was possible for a widow to be members of both Legacy and the War Widows Guild. Both organisations helped war widows in various ways.