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From the collection of Melbourne Legacy

3192 Items featured online

Sign, Widows of War Protest - City Rally

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Historical information

A newspaper article about a protest by War Widows published 3 July 1947.
An article showing more than 1500 people met to demand higher compensation for the loss of their husbands who had died for their country.
Mrs J M Vasey received an ovation for her address to the meeting. She was the wife of Major-General Vasey, during the second world war she became secretary of the AIF Women's Association, a body which sought to help soldiers' wives. Her work with this body drew her attention to the plight of war widows. After Major-General George Alan Vasey died in an aircraft accident on 5 March 1945 she became a widow herself. At the end of the war Mrs Vasey founded 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.