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'Save our sons' is a non-political, non-sectarian community action group who opposed the Vietnam War. In the Australia of the mid 1960s, when most women were non-working housewives and mothers, a group of women broke with convention and took to the streets. They were vehemently opposed to conscription, and the system of sending men to fight in the Vietnam War through 'a lottery of death'.

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SOS was founded as a non-political and non-religious movement in May 1965 by Joyce Golgerth, with the intent to motivate mothers to discuss opposition to the Government’s conscription legislation that forced men under 18, not even eligible to vote, to serve overseas in Vietnam.

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SOS was established in 1965 in Sydney but soon other branches were established in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Newcastle and Adelaide.

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The SOS Movement had representation around the country as anti-war sentiment grew within Australia. The nature of their protests were civilized, which was very effective towards their movement. They protested against the war by conducting silent protests, sit ins, petitions, handed out leaflets, 'teach ins', approached members of parliament and collaborated with other anti war groups. These actions helped to attract publicity, and gain awareness on the issues of conscription.

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Michael Caulfield’s The Vietnam Years describes the potency of the SOS protests as housewives ‘stood there in their hats, gloves and sensible shoes… brandishing their blue and white banners with slogans hand-printed on their aprons’.

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In the closing days of 1964, prime minister Robert Menzies introduced a bill in Parliament which would prove to be one of the most controversial and divisive decisions in Australia's history.

This feature returns to the events surrounding the introduction of conscription 40 years ago, and explores how a group of women's lives were irrevocably changed during this period.

In the Australia of the mid 1960s, when most women were non-working housewives and mothers, a group of women calling themselves Save Our Sons broke with convention and took to the streets. They were vehemently opposed to conscription, and the system of sending men to fight in the Vietnam War-a system which Labor opposition leader Arthur Calwell dubbed 'a lottery of death'.

The Save Our Sons movement had representation right around the country, and in 1971, as anti-war sentiment grew within Australia, five SOS members were sent to jail after they were found guilty of wilful trespass for handing out leaflets to young conscripts on their way to Vietnam. Known as the Fairlea Five after the Melbourne women's prison they were sent to, these women's imprisonment became a cause celebre, and possibly increased the number of those Australians opposed to both conscription and the war.

The women in Save Our Sons were mocked as communists, rabblerousers, naive mothers and neglectful wives. But over a period of ten years, they became some of the most vocal and effective critics against conscription and military engagement and, in doing so, many also found their own political voice.

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In the closing days of 1964, prime minister Robert Menzies introduced a bill in Parliament which would prove to be one of the most controversial and divisive decisions in Australia's history. This feature returns to the events surrounding the introduction of conscription 40 years ago, and explores how a group of women's lives were irrevocably changed during this period.

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The five women, Joan Coxsedge, Jean McLean, Chris Cathie, Jo Maclaine-Cross and Irene Miller, were charged for Wilful Trespass after distributing anti-conscription leaflets at the Department of Labour and National Service. They were each sentenced to fourteen days in Melbourne's Fairlea Prison. The case received immense publicity and brought the SOS movement to the attention of the public.

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Despite being mocked as communists, rabblerousers, naive mothers and neglectful wives, the SOS movement proudly continued to protest. Within ten years, they became some of the most effective critics against conscription and military engagement and, in doing so, discovered their own political voice. This successful use of language and symbols that distinctly reflected motherhood was integral to the success of the organisation.