278
The Sailors and Soldiers Fathers' Association, established during the First World War, was active in fundraising, establishing memorials and advocacy for issues such as the repatriation and employment of returned servicemen. The group worked closely with the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia, now known as the RSL.
Unknown
Diameter: 2.7cm
00098
This vinyl holds recordings of talks given at a Legacy event in Melbourne during the 1950s. Speakers include Torch Bearer Sadie Parker and Colonel Edmund Osborn Milne, who served in two world wars and was a founding member of Sydney Legacy.
c.1952
Diameter: 400mm
00125
This photograph shows Legatees working at a Legacy Week badge appeal during the 1960s. Fundraising has always been a large part of Legacy's activities and is an important way for the organisation to both raise awareness and increase revenue.
c.1969
H20.8 x W15.18 cm
Kevin Hillier OAM
Nicholas Solomon
Kevin Hillier is the president of Frankston RSL Sub-Branch. In this extract, he reflects on entering the services at just 15 years of age and being a young person in the Navy during the Vietnam War era.
1 Mar 2017
0582
The No. 36 Mk I hand grenade, also known as the Mills Bomb, was the standard issue hand grenade for Australian and British Armed Forces during the Second World War, up until 1972.
1941
H10 x W6 cm
Kevin Grundell
Unknown
Kevin Grundell enlisted for Compulsory National Service as an 18 year old during the Korean War. He trained at Puckapunyal for 3 months and then returned home, joining the Royal Australian Electrical Mechanical Engineers. In this interview he reflects on driving large army vehicles for the first time.
1 Nov 2017
208.68
Cheaper and more efficient than traditional letters, postcards were an enormously popular means of communication between families and those at the front. This postcard, addressed to soldier William West, was written by his wife on behalf of their young daughter. The final line reads, 'When are you coming home Daddy dear?'
1914
H9 x W14 cm
0038
The Oceanian Pound was one of several types of Japanese invasion money issued by the Japanese Military Authority during World War II. It was used as a replacement for local currency and consisted of only four denominations.
1942
H6.5x W13.5 cm
00145
The Legacy ideals are voluntary service, caring, comradeship and remembrance. Comradeship has always been a pillar of Legacy's activities. A regular calendar of social events fosters wellbeing and provides a strong support network for Legatee's and their families.
Unknown
H255 x W450 mm
Milija Mitic
Helen Overend
Milija Mitic was born in Serbia in 1919 and began working in a glass factory at the age of 13. Milija entered the Serbian National Service in 1940 just before war broke out and became a German prisoner of war in 1941. He arrived in Australia in 1950. In this interview he reflects on his time as a POW.
1 Mar 2017
0021
Set of five service medals, with miniatures, in a wooden cigar box. Also included is an Interim Discharge Certificate for 42333 Sgt S. Wood, Royal Australian Air Force.
Not known.
H21 x W14 x D3.5 cm
0491
This standard prismatic compass was issued to troops during the First World War. It's circular body is made from brass, oil filled bakelite and glass.
1918
H6 x W8 cm
00194
Since the 1920s, Melbourne Legacy's youth programs have addressed the social and development needs of the children of Victorian service men and women. Physical activity was a major focus for both boys and girls, and every year until the 1980s they put on a public demonstration of physical prowess.
1927
H216 x W281 mm
0024
Pocketbooks were issued to all Australian and New Zealand troops serving in Vietnam. They contained information about the country, its geography, history and culture, as well as covering topics such as training, military courtesy, writing home and badges of rank.
c.1964
H11 x W15 cm
420
The First World War – perhaps more so than any other conflict – is closely linked with the literature of the period. The ability of poetry to convey powerful emotions made it a fitting medium to convey the senselessness and depravity of war and to respond to grief, loss and separation. This poem began appearing on greeting cards and in Australian newspapers in approximately 1916.
c.1916
H10 x W12 cm
00095
This woollen beret belonged to a member of the Royal Australian Corps of Transport. Formed in 1973, the RACT are responsible for the movement of the army - land, air and sea - in peace and in war.
1973 - 1985
Unknown.
0024
Following World War II, various ex-service organisations, patriotic leagues and benevolent societies in Australia instigated fundraising activities to benefit returned prisoners of war. The Red Cross were particularly active in organising Street Day Appeals, where tins like this were used to collect funds.
November, 1945
H11 x D13 cm
0041
This decoration was intended to honour German mother's for exceptional merit to their nation during World War II. It reflects the Reich's attempt to bridle the ideological position of women following the Weimar Republic years. This object was donated to Lara RSL by John Leslie Sollory, who was a prisoner of war following the Battle of Crete.
1938
H2 x W2 cm
Stanley Lovell
Amanda Taylor
Stanley Lovell is a WWII Veteran who served in the Australian Special Wireless Group. The group’s role was to intercept enemy wireless transmission and to monitor Allied wireless transmissions. Now 94 years of age, he reflects on conscription and what it was like to be part of one of the AIF’s most secretive units.
1 Mar 2017
00026
Three Legacy Widows with a Junior Legatee (names unknown) taken on the footpath outside Legacy House, Swanston Street, Melbourne.
c.1960s
H215 x W116 cm
0023
Title Goes Here
This siren was used on a Military Police vehicle in Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s. The Royal Australian Corps of Military Police played a law enforcement role, policing within the armed forces in South Vietnan, particularly in the rest area of Vung Tau.
c.1960
H20 x W9.5 x D12 cm
00005
Metal box used for the safe transport and storage of ammunition. Printed on side: ‘Australian Government Explosive, Safety class 6. 665 Cart. 9MM BALL MK2Z CTN 19-5-66’
1966
H85 x W180 x D260mm
Gary Hadley
Akeema Weavers
Gary Hadley remembers the military grooming standards that made blending in with civilians difficult and, coupled with the widespread opposition to the Vietnam War, caused some soldier's to feel at risk.
21 Mar 2018
0516
Percussion caps like this one were produced in Galt, Canada, for allied munitions during WWI. This cap would have been attached to the end of a shell and provided the ignition to cause the shell to explode. It has a small arrow in a circle on the base which indicates use in the Australian Military.
c.1914-18
H9 x W7 x D7 cm
0665
The Voice of the Battalion
The 23rd Battalion was raised in Victoria in 1915. This issue of their publication was published in Ypres, France, four days after armistice was declared.
15 November, 1918
H20.5 x W16.5 cm
