Member story

“I do it my way.” A phrase that speaks to living honestly, guided by one’s own values rather than others’ expectations. A phrase spoken by 98-year-old war widow, Mary P. who became a war widow in 1993 after losing her husband, Albert, who had been suffering from bronchial asthma for a long period of time. […]

At a peaceful retirement village in Laurieton lives war widow Marjorie C. At 100 years old, she is one of the last known widows of a First World War veteran in Australia and has been a member of the Guild for 42 years. We were honoured to talk with Marjorie and hear her story first-hand.

Nola knows well the life of military service. For 26 years, she was the partner of a serving defence member. Her husband, Allan, enlisted in the Australian Army in 1956 when he was 18 years old. An engineer in the Army, Allan would go on to serve in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War,

Lynne, a member of the Board of Directors for the Families of Veterans Guild, recently shared her story with us. She was widowed ten years ago, after the passing of her husband Patrick, who had served 25 years in the Royal Australian Engineers. Lynne spoke of the long and difficult years supporting her partner as