War Widows Day 2023

War Widows Day 2023 is just around the corner, and we wanted to let you know how we will be marking the day this year.

Following the success of the inaugural War Widows Day in 2022, we are again marking the day with a War Widows Day Ceremony. Together with Sydney Legacy, the War Widows Day Ceremony will be held at the Cenotaph in Martin Place Sydney.

Prior to the Ceremony, the Governor General will host a morning tea for 100 War Widows at Admiralty House Sydney.

Further details on the event are outlined below.

A new collaboration

This year we have partnered with Sydney Legacy to deliver our Sydney based War Widows Day events. This is a significant partnership which will see both organisations join to celebrate and recognise War Widows in their care and indeed all War Widows in NSW.

The partnership will see 5,000 War Widows in NSW personally notified and engaged with information about the events and the day itself.

We are very grateful for the support of Sydney Legacy and look forward to delivering the day with them for our War Widows.

War Widows Day 2023 Event

Shortly, War Widows registered with Sydney Legacy and AWWNSW will receive a letter outlining plans for the day and how to get involved. We have also summarised them here for convenience.

The official events include a morning tea hosted by the Governor General at Admiralty House and the War Widows’ Day Ceremony which will this year be held in Martin Place.

This year's War Widows’ Day event will commence at 10.15am at the Fullerton Hotel, 1 Martin Place, Sydney. From the Fullerton, widows will be taken by coach to Admiralty House in Kirribilli for a morning tea hosted by the Governor General. The morning tea will be followed by a light lunch at the Fullerton before the War Widows’ Day Ceremony, which will close the day at approximately 3pm.

Please note, the Admiralty House morning tea is exclusively for war widows and widowers and the capacity of this function is limited to 100 people. What this means is if we receive more than100 registrations for the function, we may need to conduct a ballot to select the widows to attend. If we do need to conduct a ballot, those registered will be advised.

Transportation from the Fullerton to Admiralty House will be included (return). Transportation assistance to the Fullerton is also available to those with mobility needs.

Please register here to attend the War Widows Day 2023 event.

Community Events

With more than 50% of war widows on our register living regionally, we know how important it is to ensure that there are events happening on 19 October 2023 all across NSW. We invite every War Widows Guild and Social Club and Legacy Club across the state to gather on this day, to hold a morning tea and to mark the day together as a community.

We also encourage clubs where possible to hold gatherings together. War Widows’ Day is about recognising and connecting as many War Widows together as possible to help all feel included and honoured.

We’d love to know what your area is up to this War Widows Day, please let us know here.

Lapel pins and fundraisers

Lapel pins and the Buy a Widow a Coffee campaign are back!

Again this year, we have limited release lapel pins for purchase on or before the day. The lapel pins are a similar design to the pin from last year but reference War Widows’ Day 2023. Pins will go on sale from the first week of October 2023 and will cost $10 each, you can pre order here. To purchase a pin, you can do so on the day, online or can give us a call on (02) 9267 6577.

We have also reactivated the Buy a Widow a Coffee fundraising campaign so that the Australian community can show their support. Funds collected through this campaign will be used to fund our social connection programs and used to fund Social Club functions, donations can be made here.

Join our calls for a National War Widows Day

This year, Australian War Widows NSW are calling on the Australian Government to make War Widows’ Day a national day. To add your voice to this campaign, please complete this form, telling us why it should be a national day. We will add this to our register and send your views directly to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the Prime Minister.

There are several ways to be involved in War Widows Day this year, we look forward to seeing as many of War Widows as possible on the day. We are here to help and are very much looking forward to honouring our War Widows on 19 October 2023.