| Accession Number | P05555.002 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: Victoria, Woorinen North |
| Date made | c 1941 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Informal outdoor portrait of three Hutchins brothers in the yard of the family home at Woorinen ...
Description
Informal outdoor portrait of three Hutchins brothers in the yard of the family home at Woorinen North. Left to right: VX61202 Private (Pte) David Arthur Hutchins; VX61201 Pte Eric Everard Hutchins; and VX61203 Pte Fred Hutchins, all of 2/21st Battalion (Gull Force), and of Woorinen North, Vic. The brothers enlisted on 6 August 1941, and along with a second cousin VX50460 Pte Thomas Hutchins, 2/21st Battalion, of Rainbow, Vic, all died as prisoners of war (POW) of the Japanese at Ambon, Netherlands East Indies. Pte Eric Hutchins died on 20 February 1942, Pte Fred Hutchins on 6 July 1945, and Pte David Hutchins on 29 July 1945. In total seven brothers of the Hutchins family enlisted and served overseas. Only three, VX41288 Pte Ivan Robert Hutchins, 2/4th Field Ambulance, VX37192 Bombardier Malcolm George 'Mike' Hutchins, 2nd Anti Aircraft Regiment, and VX41229 Pte William Ernest (Bill) Hutchins, 2/22nd Battalion (later 2/23rd Battalion), survived the war and returned to Australia. They had served in the Middle East and New Guinea. Another brother VX41293 Private Alan Leslie Hutchins, 2/22nd Battalion (Lark Force), died as a POW at Rabaul, New Britain. VX74662 Sapper Fredrick Wallace, 9th Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers, another cousin of the Hutchins brothers, was a member of the recovery team which visited Ambon in October 1945 to uncover mass graves and identify remains, including those of his cousins, at Laha airfield and Tantoei camp.