| Accession Number | P05555.003 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: Victoria, Woorinen North |
| Date made | c 1940 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Informal outdoor portrait of VX37192 Bombardier (Bdr) Malcolm George 'Mike' Hutchins, C Section, ...
Description
Informal outdoor portrait of VX37192 Bombardier (Bdr) Malcolm George 'Mike' Hutchins, C Section, 4th Battery, 2nd Anti Aircraft Regiment, of Woorinen North, Vic, standing in the garden of the family home. Bdr Hutchins enlisted on 15 July 1940, and served in the Middle East and New Guinea. He was one of seven brothers who enlisted and served overseas. Only three, Bdr Malcolm Hutchins, VX41288 Private (Pte) Ivan Robert Hutchins, 2/4th Field Ambulance, 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. Brothers VX61202 Pte David Arthur Hutchins, VX61203 Pte Fred Hutchins, VX61201 Pte Eric Everard Hutchins, and a second cousin, VX50460 Pte Thomas Hutchins, all of the 2/21st Battalion (Gull Force), died as prisoners of war (POW) of the Japanese at Ambon, Netherlands East Indies. VX41293 Pte Alan Leslie Hutchins, 2/22nd Battalion (Lark Force), died as a POW of the Japanese 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.