ANZAC Commemorations Unite Ladies of Windsorcare

ANZAC Commemorations Unite Ladies of Windsorcare

In 1914, when soldiers were shipped to the other side of the world to join the fight for freedom, back on the home front, women stepped in to fill the gaps left. Kiwi women stepped into roles, not only in support of their men, but to help keep their countries afloat, and haven’t looked back.

100 years on, kiwi ladies have once again banded together in support of their country and its soldiers in a commemorative way, by hand-stitching poppies as part of The Peace Poppy Project in honour of our troops. Some with personal connections to the ANZACS, others with a strong affinity to the country they call home, four women of Christchurch’s WINDSORCARE retirement village, Grace Stevens, Edith Lucas, Esme Barker and Anne Derbyshire worked hard to hand stitch 250 poppies to place within The Palms Shopping Centre as a physical act of their remembrance.

Upon being approached by the shopping centre to be involved Barbara Harrison diversional therapist at the village, asked Grace, Edith, Esme and Anne to take part. The women were excited by the thought of not only participating in craft activity, but participating in something meaningful and close to their hearts.

“We felt very special to be asked by The Palms Shopping Centre to make poppies for their display; it really was a lot of fun for us. We hand stitched the poppies over a couple of afternoons and it got me thinking about my own father who was in the first world war and part of the Army of Occupation in France,” says Grace.

Esme agreed, and said that the craft provided her the opportunity to reflect on time spent with her own father who was in fact injured while fighting in the war. “ANZAC Day always brings about a feeling of sentiment and great pride for me. While I haven’t always been able to make it to ANZAC Day services or commemoration ceremonies over the past few years, I like to get involved in any way I can to show my support, and The Peace Poppy Project at The Palms provided a great opportunity for me to do that.”

Jessica Barnett, marketing manager of The Palms Shopping Centre, wanted the centre to commemorate the 100th ANZAC anniversary in a special and engaging way, and thought it would be a great idea to involve local women.

“We love the residents at WINDSORCARE and thought a few of them may enjoy an activity that is close to many kiwis’ hearts. So, we approached the ladies at the retirement village to see whether they’d like to be involved. ANZAC Day and the sentiment of the poppy is meaningful for New Zealanders, but when they’re hand stitched with care, time and respect – it makes it that much more significant.

“We were so appreciative of the efforts and the time spent so, as a thank you for all of their hard work, we put on a special morning tea for Grace, Edith, Esme and Anne in centre and were overjoyed that they had a good time.”

ENDS

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