A BORDER mum and her daughter — and their 100-year-old family heirloom — star in a short film documenting memories of Wodonga during World War I.
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Wodonga RSL secretary Jenny Bolt inherited the engagement ring that originally belonged to her great, great, great aunt, Bessie Bradford.
Ms Bradford’s fiance gave her the ring before setting out for the war in which he was killed.
“My mother was three years old at the start of World War I and Bessie’s fiance patted her mother on the head and said to her: “If I don’t return, will you look after Bessie?”
“She looked after Bessie until she died in the 1960s and inherited the ring.”
It was later passed to Mrs Bolt, who gave it to her daughter Sarah McBean when she announced her engagement six years ago.
For the past year Fairfax has been gathering 1000 Faces of Anzacs from you, our readers, as a tribute to the many soldiers and nurses who fought and died for our country. You can read the stories of the men and women who served at the link above.
Their story is one of many compiled as part of a project funded by the Victorian Government’s Anzac Centenary community grants program.
A dinner was held at the RSL club in February when about 20 people shared their memories of World War I.
The 10-minute film will play on a loop at The Cube Wodonga from 9am to 10.30am on Anzac Day.
The film is just one of many Anzac activities taking place this week.
An pop-up museum at the Wodonga Library has already started, with an exhibition of military memorabilia hosted by the library and North Bandiana Lighthorse Museum.
It will continue until May 16.
The Vietnam and Associated Veterans Club have 50 dioramas centred on World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War on display this week until May 1.
Saturday’s events include the dawn service at Woodland Grove, followed by breakfast at the Wodonga RSL.
There will be a band playing music from the Anzac era in The Cube Wodonga courtyard from 9.45am, followed by the memorial march along High Street.
The RSL memorial service at Woodland Grove will be held between 11am and noon. That will be followed by live broadcasts of the Gallipoli dawn service from Anzac Cove in Turkey on the big screen from 12.30pm.
And then there will be a screening of the Essendon-Collingwood match from the MCG.
For more activities, visit the council’s website.