Studio portrait of 1581 Private (Pte) William Charles Tucker, 32nd Battalion. A hardware ...

Studio portrait of 1581 Private (Pte) William Charles Tucker, 32nd Battalion. A hardware assistant from Rose Park, South Australia, prior to enlistment, he embarked from Adelaide aboard HMAT Geelong on 18 November 1915 for Suez. His battalion relocated to the Western Front, France, during June 1916. Pte Tucker was reported missing in action on 20 July 1916 during the Battle of Fromelles. German authorities subsequently confirmed that he had been killed in action on 19 July 1916. He was aged 20 years. Initially he had no known grave but, in 2008 a burial ground containing the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers was located at Pheasant Wood, France. The soldiers died during the Battle of Fromelles on the night of 19-20 July 1916 and were buried by German troops. In 2010 all of the remains were reburied in the newly created Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. At the time of the official dedication of the cemetery on 19 July 2010, ninety-six Australians had been identified through a combination of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information. Since then other Australians, including Pte Tucker, have been identified. His oldest brother, 2749 Pte James Roland Tucker died of wounds received in action at Broodseinde Ridge, Belgium, on 16 October 1917 (See P09291.347). His older brother, Lieutenant Francis George Tucker, 43 Battalion, survived the war although severely injured and returned to Australia in February 1920.