Summary

Alternative Name(s): Button Ribbon

Length of black ribbon with 24 military-related fundraising badges. The badges all date from the World War I era, 1914-1919. They were purchased and otherwise collected by the donor's great-grandmother, Mrs Lillie Mary Holinger. The Holinger family lived at Panton Hill when World War I broke out. They moved to Canterbury, Melbourne, in 1918, and in the 1930s moved to Ferny Creek.

Badges were displayed on ribbons during and after World War I, commemorating involvement in the war effort. Rosalie Triolo notes that children particularly enjoyed displaying badges that they had bought as fund-raisers for the war. One former child, Winifred Grassick, remembered that Red Cross buttons were posted to schools each month by the Education Department. to be sold for a shilling each. 'They surely must have raised a significant sum because they were a regular feature of even our small school. We took an interest and pride in being able to display a ribbon containing the whole sequence', she remembered.

Physical Description

Length of black ribbon, now faded, pinned with 24 badges. The ends of the ribbon have frayed. 1. FOR KITH AND KIN; circular badge with white border and cred centre, red cross flag in the centre with white text. 2. LEST WE FORGET; circular white badge illustrated with a standing soldier. 3. OUR OWN FOR OUR OWN; circular, green badge with white text and two sprigs of wattle set in the centre of the badge. 4. FOR FREEDOM AND LIFE; circular blue badge featuring a map of Australia overlaid with six flags and a banner which reads "allies". 5. WATTLE DAY; circular badge with a blue centre surrounded by graphic colour illustration of wattle flowers and leaves. 6. OUR DAY, NATION & HONOR; circular, red and white badge featuring a black and white illustration of a lady in the centre. 7. FOR OUR FIGHTING MEN; circular badge with a blue border filled with white text, the centre of the badge has a red background overlaid with the Australian flag. 8. ANZAC, Apl 25 1915; circular, white badge featuring an olive branch wreath with red text in the centre. 9. KING GEORGE'S DAY, Copyright; circular badge featuring a portrait of King George. 10. FRENCH RED CROSS; circular, white and gold badge features the blue, white and red French flag in the centre. 11. FOR OUR OWN; circular, brown badge, depicting a spray of yellow wattle. 12. PEACE 1919; white, circular badge with a Union Jack flag in the centre, surrounded by a wreath. 13. DISCHARGED SOLDIERS FUND, for our returned soldiers; circular badge featuring a cartouche with black text in the middle which is bordered by olive branch. 14. I WILL HELP UNTIL THE WAR IS WAR; circular badge with gold border, blue background; in the centre of the badge is a map of Australia bearing red text, there are five stars surrounding Australia.

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