War widow remembers three Anzac generations
Mon 23 April 2007
Holly Barrell, Journalism
War medals, certificates and black and white photos of men crouched in trenches cover the walls of Shirley Kent’s living room.
As she sat at the table, flicking through an old scrapbook of her husband’s war photos and diary entries, it was clear war has played a significant part in this 84-year-old’s life.
“For me, Anzac day means I remember everything that happened in the past. I keep remembering the ones I knew that were shot and the ones that didn’t come home,” she said. 
While she was growing up in Melbourne, Shirley spent most of her time with a group of six boys.
She was just 19-years-old when all six of her friends were sent to war. Years later, only one boy returned home.
“I didn’t recognise him when he came home, his hair was snow white,” she said.
Shirley first experienced the horrors of war at just six-years-old when her father was killed during World War I.
“That was really hard, especially on my mother,” she said, “I adored my father… he was a quiet sort of a man and gentle.”
Shirley’s only son Douglas fought for 12 months in the Vietnam War. Although he was not physically injured, Shirley said the traumatic experience of war still plays on his mind.
Shirley was in charge of a Melbourne factory during the World War II that produced women’s army uniforms, air force uniforms and civilian clothing.
“I was doing a Designing and Cutting Diploma… it was a requirement that I had to run a factory,” she said.
“While I was running the factory, another boy I knew was in the air crew. He was in a mid-air collision and that sent me right off. I couldn’t stand the noise of the machines after that,” she said.
Shirley left the factory and worked as a cashier in a fashion shop in Bourke St, Melbourne. Soon afterwards, her mother became very sick and Shirley was forced to leave work to look after her.
“I took care of her for three years and then I became very ill as well.
“The doctor was treating me for something else. He nearly flipped when he took a blood test and saw the blood was bright pink. It turned out I had leukemia.
“I couldn’t tell my mother because it would have killed her. They gave me big needles, horse needles I called them.
“They got me early. But it took a long time to get over it,” she said.
Shirley remembers being at home with her mother when the end of WWII was announced.
“Everybody left their houses and went into town… people danced in the streets.
“When the boys came home they didn’t have a care in the world. They’d go to parties and make the best of what life they had,” she said.
Shirley’s late husband Allen, fought in World War II for six years between 1939 and 1945. After a long battle with cancer, Allen died in 1984.
Shirley had known Allen since they were both very young. He was friends with her cousin who had also served in World War II.
When Allen returned home in 1945, he and Shirley were reunited at various parties.
“He was on my doorstep every day. We went out but I couldn’t go very far because I didn’t have the strength,” she said.
One year later, they were married in Victoria and Shirley made her own dresses for the wedding.
Shirley said her husband didn’t talk to her very much about WWII except for when he would catch up with his mates.
“It’s just something between them, mateship I call it,” she said.
On various dates throughout the year, Shirley said Allen would stop and pay tribute to those mates he lost during WWII.
“He’d tell me ‘so and so died today,’” she said.
Shirley did recall a couple of stories her husband shared with her.
“The boys used to go out on raids, he told me. They’d raid the English camps for beer.
“They used to go out in the night and raid the Germans, too. One night they went to get the petrol for their trucks. They didn’t get it easy; they had to fight for it. Only three of them came back,” she said.
“They had to watch where they put their feet, there were mines and booby-traps in the sand,” she said.
“At one stage when Allen was in the signal corp, the fellow that was driving the truck was too frightened to drive it through a minefield so (Allen) pushed him out of the way and he drove it through.”
Up until he was well enough, Allen attended Rats of Tobruk Association meetings, and RSL and sixth division association luncheons. Shirley remains actively involved as the president of Legacy Care in Caboolture and the Treasurer of the Caboolture War Widows’ Association.
Shirley believes young people should be more educated about war to give them a better appreciation of how the Anzacs served our country.
Image(s) designed by Holly Barrell