By Mikayla van Loon
It might have been two years in the making but for a group of women whose husbands served in the army or air force, known as Legacy Ladies, it was worth the wait.
Legacy Ladies from the outer east joined five ladies from Lilydale’s Tudor Village for a lunch on Monday 14 October, a chance to meet, mingle and join in conversation.
One Legacy member Wendy Scott, who belongs to the Croydon RSL, said through the organisation of their Legatees, a typical month will see the women go on a trip and have a dedicated meeting.
But the lunch was a chance to expand friendships outside of regular meetings with ladies from fellow Legacy groups across the east.
“There was an opportunity for us to mix with the ladies beforehand, and one of them played the piano to start off with while we were waiting, which was lovely,” Wendy said.
Wendy’s husband Richard, who died seven years ago, “was Army through and through” coming from a father and grandfather who also served.
“Richard would have loved to have gone overseas but he was a printer in Adelaide. He was in the army as a CMF (reservist) and he joined as a printer.
“So he was sent from Adelaide to Melbourne to work with the one base printing company in Caulfield, which was part of the Ordnance Corps.”
Up until three years ago, Wendy hadn’t realised she could be part of Legacy because there was a period of time where Legacy didn’t allow widows of servicemen who stayed in Australia to join.
“I was telling Chris (Village legatee) about this, and he said I would be eligible to be a Legacy Lady because Richard had served in Australia during the Vietnam War,” she said.
“I’ve only been a legacy lady for about three years, and I enjoy it thoroughly. We meet at Croydon and it’s a lovely bunch of ladies and our trips are very enjoyable. I get a lot out of Legacy.”
With many of the Legacy Ladies coming from the Doncaster area, Wendy said for her, as a former resident of that part of Melbourne, it was nice to have a common connection.
“I used to live in the Doncaster area so I was able to talk to a couple of ladies and find out where they live, and they lived near where I live. I also taught at a local high school too, so I was seeing it from their point of view, what it was like to come from there.”
Wendy said while on Anzac Day at the Village, the Legacy Ladies are an integral part of the service, “we haven’t ever been singled out to be honoured like we were on Monday”.
With the help of Tudor Village’s social group, the staff and a local caterer who put on a roast, it was a beautiful luncheon to celebrate the women and remember the men of war.
Village manager Tatjana said it was an honour to be able to support both the Legacy Ladies from the Village and those visiting by providing a day just for them.
“For us to be able to offer our beautiful community, for the ladies to have a nice, different day out, was something very little we could do for those ladies,” she said.
