Crookwell's Susie Smith prepares for Legacy Centenary Torch Relay in Goulburn

Every Appeals Week in September, Maxwell (Dick) Grove, who served at Kokoda in World War Two, would religiously buy the badge.

"I'd ask what it was for and Dad would tell us about Legacy and how it looked after war widows," Susie said.

Now the 42-year-old plans to honour her father by participating in this month's Legacy Centennial Torch Relay. The event, celebrating the charitable organisation's 100^th anniversary, will stop in Goulburn on Thursday, July 27. It started in France on Anzac Day and travelled to London before arriving in Western Australia in May.

The event also raises money for Legacy.

Susie, 42, from Crookwell, is one of 24 walkers, including Goulburn Legatees and community members, who will take part in a section of the local 9.7km leg.

She applied after seeing the opportunity appear on social media.

"I thought I'd give it a crack, not thinking in a million years that I'd be selected," Susie said.

She sees the relay as a chance to honour her father and uncle's sacrifice but also to support Legacy.

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Maxwell Arthur (Dick) Grove enlisted in the 3^rd Australian Infantry Battalion in August, 1940. He served at Kokoda in New Guinea but rarely talked about his service, his daughter said. He died in 2007, just short of his 90^th birthday.

Dick's older brother, Leander (Lee) Buxton Grove, was working as a secretary in New Guinea when WWII broke out. He enlisted in the Army in 1941, rose to the rank of Lieutenant, but was tragically killed in action on August 16, 1943.

"He never got to have a family and grow old," Susie said.

She has also discovered that her great-uncle, Lieutenant Leander Nicol de Lorme Grove, was killed in action in Pozieres, France during World War One. He is buried at the Courcelette British Cemetery at The Somme.

"...I'm very proud of their service...and being part of the relay is quite an honour," she said.

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Susie plans to walk with her father's war medal. So far she's been unable to secure a copy of her uncle's medals.

She'll also be thinking about husband, James's grandmother in Queensland, who at the grand age of 95, receives Legacy assistance. Her late husband was a returned serviceman. James himself is a former Army Reservist.

While Legacy didn't play a role in her life growing up, Susie appreciates the role the organisation plays.

"Without Legacy there would be a lot of war widows without support to put meals on the table and a roof over their heads," she said.

"It would have been a very different story and I don't know how they would have survived.

"Participating in the relay is (also) a mark of respect for the sacrifice my father, uncle and his comrades made and a way of giving back."

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The relay kicks off with a brief ceremony at Goulburn's Big Merino at 10am on July 27. It passes along Hume and Cowper Streets, Clinton, Auburn, Lagoon and Sloane Streets before terminating at Belmore Park where a noon civic ceremony will be held. The community is invited to attend.

A function for invited guests, including Legacy Australia chairman Eric Easterbrook, will be held at the Goulburn Soldiers Club from 1pm.

Susie can be sponsored at the following link: https://www.legsforlegacy.com.au/fundraisers/SusieSmith

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