Edith Janet Allen Mayo
CBE, OBE née Simpson (28 April 1915 – 29 July 1995), known as Janet Mayo or Mrs. Eric Mayo, was an advocate for war widows in Australia.
History
Janet was born in
Adelaide, South Australia, a daughter of industrialist
Alfred Allen Simpson
Alfred Allen Simpson (15 April 1875 – 27 November 1939) was an industrialist in South Australia and a partner in the firm A. Simpson & Son, founded by his grandfather Alfred Simpson. He was the mayor of Adelaide from 1913 to 1915.
History ...
and grew up in the family mansion "Undelcarra" on Lockwood Road,
Burnside.
On 4 July 1939, at the
Adelaide Unitarian Christian Church,
Wakefield Street
Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare intersecting the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, from east to west at its midpoint. It crosses Victoria Square in the centre of the city, which has a grid street plan. It continues as ...
, Janet Simpson married Lieut. Eric Elton Mayo RAN (28 July 1912 – 19 November 1941). A son of Sir
Herbert Mayo (1885–1972), Eric was lost in the sinking of
HMAS Sydney
Five ships of the Royal Australian Navy have been named HMAS ''Sydney'', after Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales.
*, a Town-class light cruiser launched in 1912, decommissioned in 1928, and broken up for scrap
*, a ''Leander''-clas ...
. Janet, aged 26, was pregnant with their second son.
Janet became aware of the difficulties faced by war widows, especially those who were bringing up young children.
She was in 1946 a founding member of the South Australian branch of the War Widows Craft Guild, a social support organization founded the previous year by National President Mrs. G. A. "Jessie" Vasey. Janet became president of the South Australian branch in 1947, a position she held for over twenty years. Under the leadership of such women it became a powerful advocate for those whose husbands were lost as a result of their service in the Australian military forces, and was from 1948 known as the
War Widows Guild of Australia
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
.
On the death of Jessie Vasey in 1966, Janet became National President, a position she held until retiring in 1977.
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Recognition
She was appointed an Officer (Civil) in the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1967 New Year Honours
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
list for her work as National President, War Widows' Guild of Australia.
She was appointed a Commander (Civil) in the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 31 December 1976, for community service.
Further reading
*, a history of the War Widows' Guild.
References
External links
Mavis Thorpe Clark website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Edith Janet Allen
Australian women activists
1915 births
1995 deaths