Postcards of Honour
Postcards of Honour is a creative learning and commemoration activity, connecting school students across Victoria with Australia’s military history – and acknowledging the legacy of the veterans in their local community.
Throughout Australia’s military history, letters and postcards have provided comfort, connection and encouragement to service personnel. Postcards of Honour invites students to reflect on this tradition by creating a postcard to acknowledge a veteran’s service and sacrifice.
The initiative is delivered in partnership with local RSL Sub-Branches and uses national RSL education resources. Completed postcards are distributed by Sub-Branches to veterans across Victoria, strengthening intergenerational connections within communities.
Part 1: Art
Students are encouraged to get creative using any materials they choose, such as paint, coloured pencils, crayons or collage.
Students may draw anything they wish. Optional prompts are included in the activity booklet to help inspire ideas linked to ANZAC Day and service.
Part 2: Writing
Students write a short message to a veteran. This may include:
- A simple message such as “Thank you for your service”
- Information about themselves
- A personal or family connection to ANZAC Day or military service
- A reflection on what ANZAC Day means to them.
This component supports literacy, reflection, and respectful communication.
Teaching resources
Participating schools will receive a Postcards of Honour pack, which includes:
- Information and activity booklets (with sketchpad sections)
- Blank postcards with space to draw on the front and write on the back.
We recommend providing each student with one postcard and one booklet.
Schools may also receive a visit from a veteran representative of their local RSL Sub-Branch who will speak with students about ANZAC Day and the meaning of service. In some cases, the veteran may return for a postcard show-and-tell once the activity is complete.
Share your school’s participation
We welcome schools to share their involvement in Postcards of Honour.
With parental or guardian consent, photos of students and their postcards (in progress or completed) may be shared with RSL Victoria for promotional purposes.
To protect privacy:
- No recipient addresses are included
- Completed postcards are distributed by RSL Sub-Branches to veterans in the local community
- Students should include first name and age only on their postcard
Staying connected
For much of Australia’s military history, letters and postcards were the only way service people could communicate with loved ones back home. Mail often took weeks or months to arrive, particularly for those serving far from major cities or overseas.
While modern service personnel may have access to phones and the internet, they can still spend long periods without communication while deployed.
Messages of support
Receiving a letter or postcard from home has long provided comfort to service people facing uncertainty, danger and separation from family.
During wartime, some soldiers even created postcards from whatever materials were available — including biscuit tins and spent ammunition. Today, messages of support remain deeply meaningful to those who serve.
‘ANZAC’ stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, a group of soldiers who served during the First World War.
ANZAC spirit is often described through values such as:
- Endurance
- Courage
- Ingenuity
- Good humour
- Mateship
These values continue to guide how Australians remember service and support veterans today.
Australia’s Defence Force includes the Army, Navy and Air Force, made up of people in many roles — including medical staff, engineers, technicians, pilots and tradespeople.
- A person who serves in the Defence Force is known as a service person.
- A veteran is someone who currently serves or has previously served.
Understand why we commemorate
In this activity series, students will learn how our commemorative days came into being including activities that are conducted on these days.
Over 100 years on
In this activity, students will learn about ANZAC and Remembrance Day and why we commemorate these days and traditions which have lasted 100+ years.
World War I and Australian society
In this activity, students will learn how World War I shaped Australia. Including the changing roles of men and women, the conscription debate and veteran support.
Taking part in ANZAC Day
In this activity, students will learn how young people can participate in ANZAC Days and the significance of these days including symbols and activities.