This year will mark the 80th anniversary of Wagga Legacy extending their care and compassion to thousands of widows and children who lost their loved ones during service.

In celebration of the thousands of lives Wagga Legacy has touched, the club has already begun preparing

an 80th birthday celebration in June which Legacy’s Judy Heard said would not be complete without a chance to share the organisation’s history with the city.

Legatees and volunteers have been pulling out boxes upon boxes of old photographs, newspaper clippings, service information, glass advertising slides, former Legacy badges and booklets from their archives to piece together a display they hope will give residents a glimpse into the organisation’s past.

But they have found themselves a challenge.

As a part of the anniversary weekend, the club is hoping to invite former junior Legatees, or children of deceased servicemen, to the event to share their memories.

But in order to find the junior Legatees, they are calling on the general public to come forward to identify them.

“We want to get the interest out there to find people and hear their stories,” Mrs Heard said.

“We’d really like some help identifying people in photos.

We’ve been pulling stuff out of boxes here and at the CSU Regional Archives of images taken from the mothers’ club and the children’s events.”

“There must be children or grandchildren around the area who might know their grandparent or parent were Junior Legatees and would like for them to be involved in the celebrations.

“While there are some we know, there are also many we don’t know about.”

The photographs and memorbilia will be displayed as a part of the anniversary celebrations, which will be held on the first weekend of June.

A civic reception is planned for the Friday night, followed by an open day and dinner on the Saturday.

A church service at the Army Recruit Training Centre Kapooka’s Soldiers Chapel on Sunday will conclude the celebrations.

Anyone who wishes to look at the photos to assist Legacy in identifying former junior Legatees, members of the mothers’ club, or has history on Wagga Legacy, is asked to contact the house on 6921 3452 or on waggalegacy@bigpond.com.au.