Tribute to those who kept ‘home fires burning’

Royal New Zealand Navy veteran Jack Donnelly, now back living in Gisborne, is pictured outside the Woronora RSL Cenotaph in Sydney where he will give an address on Anzac Day. Picture supplied

Gisborne Royal New Zealand Navy veteran Jack Donnelly will honour the role of women in war when he gives an Anzac Day address in Australia tomorrow.

The former Chief Petty Officer said he had been active in the Woronora RSL (Sydney) for 12 years before coming back to Gisborne, and was honoured to be asked to speak again at this year’s Anzac Day service.

He  told The Gisborne Herald he had “decided to speak about the womenfolk and their role while their husbands, partners etc were away at war”.

The following is part of his speech —

“For over one hundred years Anzac Day guest speakers have mainly focused on soldiers, sailors, airmen and service women in the wars and conflicts, and rightly so.

“However, I want to acknowledge all of those women and their families who never went to war but who kept the “home fires burning”.

“There can be no greater tribute to these women and their families than for us to learn more about them and to remember them on Anzac Day.

“When the men signed on to go to war the entire family signed on, and it was the women who fought their war at home.

“It was both a physical and psychological war for them. Many called it life in the dark — their lives changed forever. They were the ones who also deserve medals.

“They became military mums.

“They became part-time mechanics, managed finances and were mothers and fathers to their children.

“They stepped up into the workforce, volunteering to work in military hospitals and convalescence homes, working the farm, caring for their children and filling the many gaps left by their menfolk.

“They were also recruited into jobs usually regarded as too physically demanding for women, but essential for the war effort.

“After the war, many had to care for their husbands, many of whom returned broken, wounded or suffering from mental issues.

“‘I regret to inform you’ telegrams or letters were the most feared notice that a next of kin could receive during the wars or conflicts.

“It informed their loved ones that their family member had been killed or was missing in action, was taken prisoner or died of wounds.

“In World War 1 this unpleasant task of delivering the telegrams fell to young boys who became known as the ‘Angels of Death’.

“So on Anzac Day 2024, when that moment of silence arrives, let us remember and commemorate those wonderful women and families. They, too, were heroes.

“Lest we forget.”