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Australian War Widows Queensland

Phone: +61 7 3846 7706

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19.01.2022 On 24 November 1918, HMAS Encounter embarked from Sydney laden with supplies and medical staff. The vessel was on its way to provide medical assistance to Pacif...ic islands affected by Spanish influenza; this was Australia’s first overseas disaster relief operation. Spanish flu, as it was known, spread across the globe with alarming speed. An estimated 20 million people died as a result of the First World War; at least 50 million died during the influenza outbreak that followed. Read the article: http://ow.ly/VvoU50CpKy9 #OurContinuingStory Image: A wounded Australian soldier with two masked Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses outside the flu ward at the Randwick Military Hospital, c. 1919. P02789.002

18.01.2022 If someone posed the question ‘who was the longest serving member of 3RAR during the Korean War?’, there would be very few who would know the answer. It wasn’t ...an Australian, but a Korean boy, Choi Yung Kil, who could claim that title. Assistant Curator Elise Horspool has unravelled Choi’s story from the time when he was found by the men of 3RAR near Pakchon to his eventual emigration to Australia in the years after the Korean War. It is a story told with great sensitivity and feeling, and readers will see the Korean War and its aftermath from a different perspective. To read Elise’s article, purchase the latest issue of Wartime magazine: http://ow.ly/ZY2c50CpKY9 Image: Choi Yung Kil near Pakchon, November 1950 AWM P10153.005

17.01.2022 A Christmas greeting from AWWQ's Sub Branch Zoom meeting.

17.01.2022 This flag is remarkable for two very interesting reasons! Not only is it the first Union Jack flag raised in Japan after the WWII surrender, it was handmade by ...CSM Eric Horton in Fukuoka camp 17, Omuta. To make the flag, the ingenious WWII soldier used blue material from an old hospital shirt, white from an old coal mine worker's shirt and red from the edging around a mosquito net. A webbing belt was shredded to create thread to sew the Union Jack together. The historic flag was on display at Boyne Tannum RSL Sub Branch's VP Day service earlier this year.

16.01.2022 Today is National Servicemen’s Day on which we remember those who have served through compulsory military service. This includes the more than 280,000 national... servicemen who undertook national service between 1951 and 1972. The most recent scheme was introduced in 1964, in which men who turned 20 years of age registered as part of the National Service Scheme. Twice a year, these men were called to serve through a ballot system depending on their birthdate, known derisively as ‘the birthday ballot’. The birthday ballot was first introduced in 1957. More than 804,000 men registered, with more than 60,000 called to serve. Over 15,000 of them served in the Vietnam War where some 200 lost their lives and more than 1,200 were wounded. Two national servicemen also died while serving in Borneo in 1966. We will never forget the service and sacrifice of all the national servicemen who stepped up to serve our nation. The service of Nasho’s will be remembered during the Last Post Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial today. A representative from the Annual National Servicemen's Association of Australia will lay a wreath. A second wreath will be laid on behalf of widows. Read more about National Service Scheme of 1964 on the Anzac portal: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au//conscripti/birthday-ballot #TYFYS

16.01.2022 Many of them were just teenagers when they lived through events that have since gone down in history. The My Life at War podcast tells the incredible untold stories of some of our last remaining WWII veterans. Listen to this amazing podcast at bit.ly/MyLifeatWar

15.01.2022 Canadian Medical Corps doctor, Major John McCrae, never intended ‘In Flanders Fields’ to be seen by the world. It was a poem he wrote while he was serving with ...a Field Artillery Brigade in Ypres. In May 1915 one of his friends and a former student, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, was killed. Helmer was buried in the cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of a chaplain. McCrae released the anguish that he felt through writing this poem. He wrote in pencil on a page of his dispatch book. After finishing the poem, he was dissatisfied and threw it away. But one of his fellow officers retrieved it and was so moved that he sent it to the media in London, where it was published. Today, this is one of the most famous war poems and is often read during commemorative events. Sadly, McCrae later became a casualty of the war, dying in January 1918. Lest We Forget. #RemembranceDay #TYFYS

14.01.2022 We are very pleased to announce that our new National President, Ms Rhondda Vanzella OAM, has been appointed to the Board of the Australian War Memorial. Please... see Media Release below for details - MEDIA RELEASE Friday 5 February 2021 05 Feb 2021 10:45 AM AEST - Council of the Australian War Memorial appointments The Hon Darren Chester MP Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Minister for Defence Personnel COUNCIL OF THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL APPOINTMENTS Ms Rhondda Vanzella OAM and Mr Glenn Keys AO have joined the Council of the Australian War Memorial, filling the vacant positions previously held by Ms Gwen Cherne and Ms Margaret Jackson AC. Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester said Ms Vanzella and Mr Keys, who is a veteran, would bring important skills, perspectives and dedication to the Council as it progresses the Australian War Memorial development project. Rhondda is the National President of Australian War Widows Incorporated and has been a member of Australian War Widows NSW since 2014 and has served as its State President and Chair since 2016, Mr Chester said. She has dedicated her career to mentoring and working with communities at a local, rural regional and national level on a range of issues and successful community projects, including walking the Kokoda Track to assist with building and opening of memorials; helping lead the re-enactment of the Kangaroo March from Wagga Wagga to Sydney in 2015; and co-founding the Ozy Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service (Ozy). Mr Glenn Keys AO is the Founder, Executive Chairman and Director of Aspen Medical, one of the world’s leading providers of outsourced healthcare solutions. As a philanthropist and advocate of business having a social purpose, Glenn is passionate about improving the lives of people with disability, through a range of roles across the healthcare, disability, not-for-profit, and business sectors, Mr Chester said. He has a passion for supporting the ex-service community and was part of the team instrumental in bringing the Invictus Games to Australia. He became Director of the Australian Invictus Games in 2018 and is a board member of Veteran Sport Australia. I would like to thank Gwen and Margaret for their enthusiasm and dedication to preserving and sharing Australia’s military history, and I look forward to working with Rhondda, Glenn and the rest of the Council to continue to tell the stories of our nation’s military service and honour those who have served and continue to serve. More information about the Australian War Memorial and the Council can be found at www.awm.gov.au/about. ENDS MEDIA CONTACTS: Rachel Tharratt or Cedric Szigeti: 02 6277 7820 DVA Media: 02 6289 6466 Ms Rhondda Vanzella OAM was appointed the National President of Australian War Widows Incorporated in October 2020. She has been a member of Australian War Widows NSW since 2014 and has served as its State President and Chair since 2016. She has dedicated her career to mentoring and working with communities at a local, rural regional and national level on a range of issues and successful community projects. Some of her projects have included walking the Kokoda track to assist with building and opening of track memorials; helping lead the re-enactment of the Kangaroo March from Wagga Wagga to Sydney in 2015 and leading a fundraiser to build low cost retirement units on RSL land in Batlow. Rhondda is Co-founder and President of the Ozy Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service (Ozy) which brings civilians, veterans and current serving Defence families together in regional and rural areas across Australia through the arts. Bringing music and history together, Ozy inspires and develops young leaders with a focus on commemoration, education and welfare. Rhondda is a member of a number of boards including the National Council for Woman and Families United by Defence Service; the Ex-Service Organisations Round Table; the Remembrance Driveway Committee and an Affiliate Member of the Bundanoon RSL sub-branch. She also served as a committee member on the Centenary of ANZAC Advisory Council. As both a war widow and woman united by defence service, Rhondda is passionate about finding and creating ways to bring organisations together to collaborate to better honour and support women, veterans and their families and believes that The Australian War Memorial plays a vital role in this as Australia’s national place to honour, learn and heal for all generations. Mr Glenn Keys AO is the Founder, Executive Chairman and Director of Aspen Medical, one of the world’s leading providers of outsourced healthcare solutions. In 2010, Mr Keys founded the Aspen Foundation, which funded the Australia wide study into Ex-Service Support Organisations (ESO) Mapping Project to assist in understanding the range and distribution of ESO’s and how they can better support veterans. He was also a Founding Director in the organisation that led the campaign to inaugurate the Invictus Games in Australia. He became Director of the Australian Invictus Games in 2018 and is now a board member of Veterans Sport Australia. Mr Keys sits on a number of boards including the National Disability Insurance Agency. Prior to building and leading businesses in the private sector, Mr Keys had a distinguished career in the Australian Defence Force spanning 15 years. He completed Officer Training at RMC Duntroon and studied Mechanical Engineering. He also studied Aeronautical Engineering with UK MoD in the United Kingdom and was the first Army Flight Test engineer at the RAAF Aircraft Research and Development Unit. He was Chief Engineer, Army Aircraft Logistics Management Squadron, from 1992 to 1993 To view the media release click the link below Size: 689,815 bytes http://distribution.medianet.com.au/Download/Document Distributed by Medianet

12.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/40641767696/posts/10159524987692697/?substory_index=0

08.01.2022 Collected podcast: Episode 23 How do you preserve fragile items of clothing that tell remarkable stories about two young women whose lives were transformed by W...orld War Two? Henryka’s cotton frock was made from Nazi curtains to give her something to wear when she finally walked free from a concentration camp. Maud’s satin wedding gown was packed away for three years while she waited to be reunited with her American fiancé. In Episode 23 of Collected Louise Maher explores the lives of these two women and finds out how their precious dresses are being cared for at the Memorial. Listen here: http://ow.ly/mBFf50Cnwzl Image: Henryka’s cotton dress and Maud’s satin wedding dress.

08.01.2022 "Anzac Biscuits" On Friday 13 November, on the grounds of the Australian War Memorial, ARIA nominated Canberra music teacher CJ Shaw performed his original song... "Anzac Biscuits" with a choir of Palmerston District Primary School students. Voting for the ARIA awards closes on Wednesday 18 November. Voting information can be found at the ARIA website: https://www.aria.com.au/vote Palmerston District Primary School CJShawmusic

07.01.2022 SCAM ALERT! Watch out for scam phone calls claiming to be from Services Australia, the Australian Taxation Office and other government agencies. These calls... threaten people with legal action over a tax return or debt if they don’t provide personal information. Sometimes, they’ll have a recorded message instead of a person on the other end of the call. Although we do call people, we’ll always clearly identify ourselves. If you’re unsure if the call is genuine, you should hang up, then call us on one of our payment lines to check if the call was really from us. Remember: don’t share your personal information over the phone hang up if a call feels suspicious or threatening if you think you’ve given personal information to a scammer, call our Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126 as soon as possible. For more information about how to spot a scam and information about how to protect yourself, visit: www.servicesaustralia.gov.au//sub/scams-and-identity-theft

06.01.2022 With the Afghanistan enquiry so much in our minds at the present moment I would like to make the following comments as President of AWWQ. ADF personnel are required to serve without question at the behest of government. We know that even the briefest exposure to war can adversely affect members, and their loved ones for the rest of their lives (and that includes us as war widows). Let's hope government and defence handles this situation with extreme and without grandstanding or finger pointing. As a widow of a Vietnam veteran I can never forget how those veterans were marginalised for many years due to misplaced bias and lack of support. For any of our members who are disturbed by the media reports please know that AWWQ is here to support you

05.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/310566762328475/posts/3974420789276369/

04.01.2022 Can you imagine spending almost 350 hours crocheting 2,060 poppies? That takes a lot of love and dedication! That's exactly what war widow Margaret Standfast di...d for a display in a Townsville shopping centre in honour of Remembrance Day. Margaret, a member of the Townsville RSL Women’s Auxiliary, worked on the project for 5.5 hours every day for nine weeks! Her poppies were added to a long red dress made by a local dressmaker, creating a spectacular train, and others were included on other displays provided by local schools and organisations. We applaud your handiwork Margaret!

03.01.2022 AWWQ State President, Jenny Gregory laying a wreath at Anzac Square for Remembrance Day.