A MOTHER‘S SEARCH FOR HER MISSING SON
A mother‘s search for her missing son This mother, holding up a picture of her missing son to a returning prisoner-of-war in 1947 in Vienna captures the despair and forlorn hope that many parents experienced in the aftermath of wars. Back in 1916, authorities informed Emma McQuay that her son, George, was missing on the Western Front. Over the following years, Emma received scant official information about his fate. Even after the Great War had ended, Emma retained a flicker of hope that George was still alive. Emma searched the faces of the homecoming soldiers, hoping to see George; she scrutinised newspapers and army records for clues on his whereabouts. Although a single mother on a meagre wage, Emma engaged a solicitor to make enquiries, and appealed to the military authorities for information. No news came. Each year, Emma attended the Anzac Day commemoration service. As she stood among the crowd watching the veterans march by, she found herself...