![Wendy Elliott holding two frames that commemorate the services of her late husband and her late father. Picture by James Parker. Wendy Elliott holding two frames that commemorate the services of her late husband and her late father. Picture by James Parker.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/e1df532a-0f69-4bd4-95a4-56a13d43e55e.jpg/r0_502_4032_2769_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Tathra's Wendy Elliott was only six days old when her father, 27-year-old Flying Officer Walter Richard Tanner of the Royal Australian Air Force, left to serve his country during World War Two.
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He would never return home.
Wendy's mother was extremely affected by the loss of her father in WW1 and her husband in WW2, but the Australian not-for-profit organisation Legacy was there to provide support to the young family.
At 23.00 hours on June 13, 1944, an Avro Lancaster bomber with seven crew on board, took off from RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom for a bombing operation against the Nordstern synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen in Germany.
![A typewritten letter sent to The Secretary of RAAF Casualty Unit alongside records. National Archives of Australia. A typewritten letter sent to The Secretary of RAAF Casualty Unit alongside records. National Archives of Australia.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/8427e5e0-6466-45e8-a9a9-fc575959b964.png/r56_0_969_420_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The bomber was intercepted by a German night fighter pilot. After taking a number of shots, the bomber exploded west of Oirschot in the Netherlands, losing all its crew.
Returning home to the young family in Maroubra were 88 different commodities each itemised in two columns notifying Flying Officer Tanner's widow of his personal effects.
An array of woollen scarves, stockings, gloves, shoes, shirts and jackets, a set of booklets, a bicycle pump, a pair of cufflinks, a tin container of negatives, 49 socks, 24 handkerchiefs, shaving items in a toilet case, tennis balls and a fountain pen, were just some of the items typed in ink.
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Families of Australian Defence Force men and women who have lost family members during WW1, WW2, Vietnam War, Iraq and Afghanistan, have been supported through Legacy, who help relieve financial hardship, provide social connection services and nurture development opportunities.
Nationally, there are about 40,000 beneficiaries, with almost a half of them more than 90 years of age. The figure includes 1200 children and 1000 others with disabilities.
![Black and white negative of Flying Officer Tanner. National Archives of Australia. Black and white negative of Flying Officer Tanner. National Archives of Australia.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/f14d1165-c2b8-4856-8525-4555b3f6d1d0.png/r0_17_247_202_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Those who volunteer for Legacy are called Legatees, and there are about 3600 active legatees across Australia, supporting people like Wendy.
"I had a list of all his belongings that were sent back, so I knew he played tennis, he rode a bike, you know, you can just pick those things up," Wendy said.
"I do have a cardboard record though, when he was travelling over to England, and it was a message mentioning me in that, so that was rather nice. So I've heard his voice.
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"I guess with Legacy, what the Legatees do is different when you're a child as to when you're an adult."
As a child, Wendy recalls going on picnics, sailing on yachts in the Sydney Harbour, annual Christmas events at the Town Hall, and a holiday to Greenthorpe by steam train, riding horses and seeing the country show.
But today, at 80, Wendy is supported by friendships she has made, after her late-husband, WW2 leading aircraftman Lewis Colin Elliott passed away in 2008.
![In an oversized, padded recliner, Wendy sits with rescue dog Trixie who she is minding until she finds her forever home. Picture by James Parker. In an oversized, padded recliner, Wendy sits with rescue dog Trixie who she is minding until she finds her forever home. Picture by James Parker.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/fe70c494-a9cb-40fe-9a03-641bff09c653.jpg/r0_349_4032_2750_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I always say it, [he was] God's gift to me," she said with a cheeky smile.
"I was allocated a Legatee, I remember he drove buses. [He came in to make sure] I wasn't slipping through the cracks.
"I think it made me stronger to actually have to go through the tough times. If I ran into a problem, I would have no hesitation in getting in contact with one of the Legatees."
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