Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to the War Widows' Guild of Australia, who this year celebrated their 70th anniversary. Since 1945 the guild has served as a place for women to come together, support each other and lobby for all matters concerning the rights and welfare of war widows. It was established in Victoria by Mrs Jessie Mary Vasey, widow of Major General George Vasey, as a craft guild to teach handicrafts to members to supplement their meagre pensions. The War Widows' Guild motto, 'We all belong to each other. We all need each other. It is in serving each other and in sacrificing for our common good that we are finding our true life,' was adopted in 1949 from King George VI's 1941 Christmas message, which Mrs Vasey felt demonstrated the harmony and togetherness of the guild.

When we think of war widows, we often think of elderly ladies widowed from wars long ago; however, it is important to remember the young women who have been left widowed due to recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In my electorate of Ryan there are many such women whose husbands have made the ultimate sacrifice, and it is comforting to know that they still have a stable support network in the War Widows' Guild.