| Accession Number | P05555.005 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia |
| Date made | c 1940 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Informal outdoor group portrait of members of 2/22nd Battalion, outside barracks at a camp, ...
Description
Informal outdoor group portrait of members of 2/22nd Battalion, outside barracks at a camp, possibly at Puckapunyal Army Camp at Seymour, Vic. Identified back row, far left, is VX41293 Private (Pte) Alan Leslie Hutchins, who enlisted on 28 June 1940, and died as a prisoner of war (POW) of the Japanese on 31 March 1942 at Rabaul, New Britain. Pte Hutchins was one of seven brothers of the Hutchins family who 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. Brothers VX61202 Pte David Arthur Hutchins, VX61203 Pte Fred Hutchins, VX61201 Pte Eric Everard Hutchins, and a cousin, VX50460 Pte Thomas Hutchins, all of 2/21st Battalion, died as prisoners of war (POW) of the Japanese at Ambon, Netherlands East Indies. 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.