Mothers & Widows Badge WW2

AWM REL30286

Eligibility

The Mothers’ and Widows’ Badge of the Second World War was issued to the mother and/or widow of a member of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), AIF (including the Australian Army Nursing Service), Citizens Military Forces, or Royal Australian Air Force who was killed in action, or died of wounds or other causes as a result of their service.

Mothers and widows eligible to receive the badge had to apply for it through a post office, using a form which was witnessed by a postal employee. The forms were sent to the relevant service for verification before the badge could be issued. As mothers were often omitted as the listed next of kin they had to apply through this process and the difficulties caused by the application process may explain why not all women received a badge, or why some never bothered to apply.

Description

The Second World War badge was round and silver-coloured. The obverse shows a raised image of a woman and part of a laurel wreath with the words "For Australia" in raised letters. The reverse has a hinged securing pin and raised lettering which reads "Issued by the C'wlth Govt" along with the manufacturer's details. Suspended by two securing rings from the bottom of the badge is a flat rectangular bar were stars were added, as in the case of the First World War Mothers' and Widows' Badge. Authority for the issue of the badge in the Second World War was given under AIF Order 200, 14 February 1941.

Notes

Content for the history and honours sections has come from a combination of Wikipedia and the Australian War Memorial websites.