Marg Kelly

Marg Kelly was born at Echuca with the iconic Murray River just a stone’s throw away. Her father was Leonard Onslow and her mother, Jessamine Janet Elgar. Marg had two brothers, Maurice and Geoffrey. Both her parents had emigrated from England. Leonard had been educated at Westminster Abbey Boy’s College and Jessamine came from the famous family of musicians, the ‘Elgars’. The year was 1936. As it was at that time, the Second World War was about to intervene and seriously interrupt the family life of so many Australians. After all, the population of Australia was only six and a half million all up, and it’s estimated that seven hundred and thirty thousand of them were to participate directly in the war effort. Marg was three years of age when her Dad enlisted in the Australian Army Corps and eight when he returned home, after five years as a Prisoner of War. She recalls remarking on the day of his return, “Mum’s walking up the road, and she has a soldier with her!”