Maker: Glenys Swasbrook

Panel number: 139

Petition Sheet Number: 159

Person honouring: Rachel N Roy

Relationship to makers: None

Rachel Nimmo Roy and two of her sisters, Jane and Janet signed the petition and their signatures can be found on sheets 110 and 159 respectively. 

Rachel was born in 1866, one of Janet and David Roy’s six children. In 1893, she married John William Charles Dicker and they had three sons: John David, Leslie Bennett, and Oscar Huntly. Rachel was an enthusiastic member of the Taieri Women’s Patriotic Association from its formation during the First World War. 

Rachel’s son Jack served as a Private in the Otago Infantry Battalion, and the Associations gave women a sense of closeness to loved ones serving overseas. Some 900 organisations operated during the war and were an important part of the social fabric during this time. 

Rachel died in 1951, aged 94 years. She is buried alongside John at Wakapuaka Cemetery in Northern Nelson.

Panel materials: Materials from my stash and vintage buttons.