Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Daughter of Kenneth William PAYNE, "Mountain Home", Quipolly, New South Wales.

Esther is a veteran of the Second World War and was born in Manly in Sydney, NSW.

Before her war service, Esther worked on the family farm in Quipolly, NSW. In September 1943, just a month after her 18th birthday, Esther enlisted in the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS). She completed her initial training at Greta Army Camp in the Hunter Valley, NSW. Esther was then sent to Bonegilla, Victoria, where she qualified as a switchboard operator. Esther served with a number of signals units in Australia, including 1 Independent Signals Group in Balcombe, Victoria, and 12 Australian Line of Communication Signals.

Before being discharged from the AWAS in July 1946, Esther met her future husband, Ross Whitelum. Ross had served in Papua New Guinea with the Army Service Corps during the war.

The couple married in 1947 and raised 7 children together in Broken Hill, NSW. They now have 19 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. Ross sadly passed away in 2003.

After the war, the government helped service personnel find jobs and Esther secured a job in Tamworth, working on a large telephone exchange. Besides working and then raising her family, Esther enjoyed knitting, cake decorating and pottery.

In retirement, she took a keen interest in mastering computers and playing cards.