COCKER, Cyril Hadfield
| Service Numbers: | W6535, W6535 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 March 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | New Guinea Details Depot |
| Born: | Birmingham, England, 2 February 1911 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Motor Mechanic |
| Died: | Mt Lawley, Perth, Western Australia, 17 April 2006, aged 95 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Cremation |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 7 Mar 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535 | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535, Milne Force Signals, embarked Brisbane for Milne Bay on board the Bremer | |
| 17 Dec 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535, Milne Force Signals, embarked Milne Bay for Townsville on board Taroona (Malaria) | |
| 9 May 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535, embarked Townsville for Port Moresby on board the Duntroon | |
| 10 Jun 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535, New Guinea Details Depot, embarked Port Moresby for Townsville on board the Taroona | |
| 27 Aug 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535, embarked Townsville for Port Moresby on board Katoomba | |
| 20 May 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535, embarked Buna for Townsville on board Van Swoll | |
| 10 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W6535 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Cyril Hadfield Cocker (Service No:W6535) enlisted in the ACMF on 7 March 1941 with Garrison Brigade - Trade Group Instrument Maker - and was called up for Full Time Duty on 31 December 1941 (Trade Group Signaller). Private Cocker served in Milne Bay, Port Moresby and Buna with Milne Force Signals, New Guinea Details Depot and 11th Australian Divisional Signals. On 9 September 1944 Private Cocker was detached to 1 Australian Field Experimental Station Innisfail as a volunteer for chemical warfare experimental and research work. Private (Signalman) Cocker was attached to 11 Corps of Signals at Discharge on 10 November 1945. Both his older half brothers served in the British Army in WWI - James was a Private (Regimental No:182494) with the Machine Gun Corps, and died in 1918 - and Henry, a Corporal (Regimental No:206109) with Army Tank Corps, was KiA in France in 1917.
Cyril was born in Birmingham, England in 1911, only child of James Hadfield Cocker (b1862 in Yorkshire, England) and his second wife Mary Wood (b1873 in London, England). James was a Widower with three children when he and Mary married in Worcestershire in 1908. James had started work as an Apprentice Wire Worker, and worked as a Commercial Traveller and Secretary of the Blind Institution. In 1908 he was a Commercial Traveller (Motors and Bicycles). Mary worked in London as a Clerk (Town Hall) and as a Baker's Assistant in Lancashire. James and Mary settled in Birmingham, where they raised their family and James worked as a Commercial Traveller until his death in 1915. Mary settled in Manchester with her son Cyril, and worked as a Draper and Sub Postmistress.
Cyril was a Labourer in 1929 when he immigrated, arriving in Fremantle on board the Orama, and giving his propsed destination as Katanning. In 1931 Cyril was settled in Perth, where he worked as a Yard Man, and in 1941 when he enlisted in the ACMF, he gave his occupation as Motor Mechanic. Following his Discharge from the Army, Cyril was a Refrigeration Mechanic in Perth in 1949 when he married Stella Malpass (nee Ingram; b1917 in Collie, Western Australia). Cyril and Stella settled in North Beach, where they raised their family and Cyril worked as a Refrigeration Mechanic. In the early 1960s the family moved to Maylands in Perth - Cyril was a Refrigeration Mechanic until retirement. Stella died in 2005 and Cyril in 2006.
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