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On 19 October at 10.30am, Australians will gather at the Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney, for the annual War Widows Day ceremony. This ceremony is a moment of recognition, reflection, and remembrance.

Acknowledging the unique sacrifice of war widows and families

War widows have endured profound loss while raising families, supporting communities, and carrying forward the legacies of their partners who served. Many face isolation, particularly as they are aging. The ceremony reminds us that their sacrifices continue to matter today.

The Cenotaph: a site of significance

The Cenotaph in Martin Place is a powerful, historic location. It frames War Widows Day as both a solemn public act and a reminder of the enduring contributions of families to Australia’s security and peace.

How Australians can participate

Alongside the ceremony, you can:

• Wear the War Widows Day pin, a visible token of solidarity and recognition.
• Add a tribute to the War Widows Honour Roll, preserving a widow’s story for future generations.

Honouring every story

Every tribute, every pin worn ensures no widow is forgotten. War Widows Day is a reminder of Australia’s history and the ongoing contributions of the families of our veterans. It is a day to honour courage, resilience, and sacrifice, and to stand together as a community that values their stories.

Email us at guild@fov.org.au to attend the War Widows Day ceremony and add a tribute to the War Widows Honour Roll.

The post Why War Widows Day matters first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

The post Wear it with pride: the meaning of the War Widows Day Pin first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

On 19 October, Australians will mark War Widows Day — a day to recognise the women whose lives have been forever shaped by service. Across the country, more than 31,000 known surviving war widows and widowers continue to carry the legacy of partners lost in defence of our nation. Behind every number is a story of love, loss, resilience, and courage.

Introducing the War Widows Honour Roll

This year, the Families of Veterans Guild introduces the War Widows Honour Roll. The War Widows Honour Roll is more than a list of names. It is a living record of stories, memories, and tributes. Families, friends, and communities are invited to share the name and story of a widow who has touched their lives. Each tribute ensures her story is remembered, her sacrifice acknowledged, and her life honoured for generations to come.

Why the War Widows Honour Roll matters

The War Widows Honour Roll creates visibility for widows whose sacrifices are often hidden. While veterans’ service is widely recognised, the contribution of those left behind is equally vital. Inspired by the Field of Remembrance virtual tributes, it is a personal, living act of remembrance for all Australians.

How to participate

Alongside the War Widows Honour Roll, Australians can:

• Purchase and wear the limited-edition 2025 War Widows Day pin, a symbol of national recognition and solidarity.
• Attend the War Widows Day ceremony on Sunday 19 October at 10.30am, at the Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney. For more information on the day, please email us at guild@fov.org.au.

Every tribute tells a story. Every story ensures that the sacrifices of war widows are acknowledged, remembered, and valued. This War Widows Day, join us in honouring their lives and their legacy.

Show your support by adding a tribute to the War Widows Honour Roll or purchasing your War Widows Day pin.

The post Every tribute tells a story: introducing our War Widows Honour Roll first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

In our latest edition of The Guild Digest, we are delighted to share the incredible story of member Marie Cahill, a war widow who has lived a life full of adventure, resilience and passion. There is a well-known saying, ‘Age is just a number’ and Marie Cahill has proved it to be true. Marie has just turned 105 years old this February. Her life tells the story of a remarkable and inspiring woman who has repeatedly defied gender and age stereotypes.  

Born in Broken Hill on 19 February 1920, Marie moved with her family to Narrandera, in the Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, when she was six years old and has lived there ever since. She is still living in her own home independently although she now gets Meals on Wheels five days a week.  

A passion for horse riding

The first chapter of Marie’s incredible life story is her horse riding days. When Marie was a young girl in Narrandera, she developed a deep love of horse riding and became quite good at it. As a teenager, Marie rode in a number of agricultural shows in the Riverina region, picking up accolades along the way.  

Her first award came in October 1932. Marie placed second at the Narrandera Jubilee Show in the ‘Girl Rider Under 13 years’ category. A few years later, in 1935 when she was 15 years old, she again placed second but this time at the Griffith Show in the ‘Best Girl Rider Award’ in the open class.  

That same year, Marie left school but continued to ride in district shows where she came either first or second in 10 events at the Narrandera Shows between 1935 and 1946. 

Marie’s family life

Not long after the Second World War started, Marie became engaged to Narrandera local, William Arthur “Dally” Wyatt. They married that same year and a year later, in 1941, had their first and only child – a daughter named Ronda.  

Like so many families of that generation, war separated them for a long time. Eighteen months after Ronda was born, in December 1942, Dally was called up for military service. He would be gone for much of the next three years and would go on to serve in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.   

It was also during this time that Marie continued to make a name for herself riding horses. During the war years and for a time afterward, Marie was asked to ride in local horse races. Marie was the only female jockey competing in those days, proving that women – and mothers – were capable of more than the societal expectations of the time.  

A career in dressmaking

Several years after Dally returned from war, at age 29, Marie started working at a local dress shop. She worked as an assistant to the dress maker, Flo Harris, making alterations to garments. She worked there on and off from 1949 to 1963.  

Following her time in Mrs Harris’ dress shop, Marie started studying at the Narrandera Technical College in the mid-late 1960s. By now, Marie was in her mid-40s. She studied a number of courses part-time, including floral art and woodwork, which she each studied for two years. Other courses she undertook included leatherwork, landscape painting, bark painting, china painting, stretch sewing, heirloom sewing, patchwork and even public speaking.  

Proving you can master new skills and knowledge at any age, Marie gained her teacher’s certificate in Brazilian Embroidery and during the 1980s, when she was in her 60s, she taught it at a local material shop in Narrandera.  

Sadly, however, on 16 August 1980, just 10 days after his 72nd birthday, Marie’s husband, Dally, passed away in his sleep. A few years after Dally’s passing, Marie married Vince Cahill and together they started travelling around Australia and overseas. This would be the start of many adventures for Marie.  

Travelling around the world

Marie’s first overseas holiday was around her 65th birthday. She travelled with Vince to America. The following year she travelled to Japan and Korea, as well as to England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. The year after that, in 1987, Marie and Vince towed a camper-trailer with their Subaru Sportswagon and toured New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.  

Unfortunately, in the years that followed, Vince’s health declined and he passed away in January 1993. In November that year, at age 73, Marie travelled through Europe with her niece, Annette. They visited Italy, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany – where she enjoyed a white Christmas with the family of Annette’s husband.  

Marie recalls that one of the highlights of the visit was singing Jingle Bells while riding toboggans on the snow one night at Schladming in Austria.   

Her overseas adventures since then are many. She has seen the Niagara Falls and road tripped across Canada and America with daughter Ronda and granddaughter Jennifer. Marie, Ronda and Jennifer also attended a Webster Family Reunion in Ohio on this trip. She has travelled to Uzbekistan, Korea, China, Vietnam and Laos. She has taken a helicopter flight over the Franz Joseph Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand. For her 95th birthday, Marie enjoyed a South-Pacific Cruise that included island hoping in French Polynesia. 

If you need any more proof that age is just a number, back in January 2003, for her upcoming 83rd birthday, Marie climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge.   

Time-and-time again, Marie has proved stereotypes wrong with her go-getting attitude, inspiring her family, friends and countless others over the course of her life.  

If you were to flick through the albums of her life, the photos tell the story of a woman who sought excitement and adventure; who loves her family and friends and is deeply loved in return; who made deep connections in the Narrandera community and served her community in many roles; and who truly lives life to the fullest.  

At 105 years old, Marie teaches us one of the greatest lessons of all: age really is just a number. View Marie’s story on pages 12 to 13 in our Summer 2025 edition of The Guild Digest.

The post 105-year-old war widow shares a lifetime of love and adventure first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

This War Widows Day, we celebrate the resilience, strength, and enduring spirit of our war widows. It’s a day to honour their remarkable stories of love and sacrifice, and to commemorate the legacy of our organisation, founded on “the energy released through grief of women fighting for their children and their mates,” as Mavis Thorpe Clark so beautifully expressed.  

To show your support, wear a sprig of wattle, our national flower with pride by purchasing our limited-release 2024 War Widows Day wattle lapel pin. Priced at just $10, each pin is a lasting keepsake and a symbol of the courage and unity of those that sacrificed for Australia. The wattle serves as a poignant reminder of the World War I tradition of sending pressed wattle flowers to soldiers on service abroad as a reminder of home to the wounded, or to be buried with fallen soldiers. 

By wearing the pin, you spread awareness about the unique challenges that war widows and their families face, demonstrating your commitment to honouring their stories and sacrifices. 

This year, War Widows Day has been acknowledged far and wide, including the Governor-General of Australia, who shared a heartfelt message in support of our war widows whilst wearing this same wattle pin. View below.

Proceeds from the pin support gatherings and community connections for war widows, ensuring they feel supported and valued.  

Purchase a War Widows Day pin today and show your solidarity.

The post Wearing our War Widows Day pin with pride first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.