Melanie Roylance (Progress review 1) `More Than Walking War Memorials: Australian War Widows 1914-1939'

Traditionally, the historiography has treated war widows primarily as victims in perpetual mourning, requiring financial support and moral guidance. This thesis aims to debunk this stereotype by critically appraising how these women made active choices for their families and futures as they navigated the social and political conditions between the wars and interacted with the bureaucracy of the state and charitable organisations. It aims to restore agency to these women and show that while they were far from a unified group, most made conscious and active choices about their futures, albeit constrained by political, economic, and social pressures, and chose to be more than walking war memorials reliant on charitable and government largesse.