War widows share legacy of fallen soldiers

More than 500 Australian war widows have gathered to remember their husbands who fought in conflicts throughout the 20th century.

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Australia's war widows have honoured the contribution of Australian soldiers during Legacy Week.

Vera Gee is one of the few surviving World War One widows. She says she still has fond memories of meeting and falling in love with returned World War One veteran, Stanley.

She was 22 years old and he was 48.

Vera says Stanley was deeply affected by his time on the Western Front.

"He didn't talk much about it, but he did tell me how he once crawled through a shell hole to get a drink and he thought: '[I've got] grass in my mouth'," she said.

"But it was a dead German's hair."

For all the terrible things he experienced, Vera says he did have one lighter story.

"He did go to some very, very rude shows, I know that.

"What they had for the men, you can imagine, couldn't you?"

In a solemn ceremony at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance, 500 war widows gathered to pay tribute to the soldiers who fought for Australia.

World War Two widow, Dot Elsom, says there is an added significance to this year's gathering coming during the World War One centenary.

"We know what we've gone through and it's just the comradarie of women, like the men were in the old days."


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War widows share legacy of fallen soldiers | SBS News