HANCOCK, Alexander John
| Service Numbers: | WX16976, WX16976, |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 October 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Donnybrook, Western Australia, 6 October 1916 |
| Home Town: | Cowaramup, Augusta-Margaret River Shire, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Mullalyup Primary School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Dairy Hand |
| Died: | Bunbury, Western Australia, 29 December 2003, aged 87 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Bunbury General Cemetery, Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 10 Oct 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX16976, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Sep 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , WX16976,, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Fremantle for Suez | |
| 18 Feb 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX16976, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Suez for Fremantle | |
| 7 Aug 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, WX16976, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Cairns for Milne Bay on board Steinmitz | |
| 7 Feb 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX16976, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Finschafen for Townsville on board Andrew D White | |
| 5 May 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX16976, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Youngest of four brothers (Harold, Ernie and Archie) who served in WWII, Lance Corporal Alexander John Hancock (Service No:WX16976) enlisted in the AIF on 10 October 1941, as a Private attached to 1st and 3rd Training Battalions. Private Hancock served with 2/32 Battalion in the Middle East (6 September 1942 - 18 February 1943) and New Guinea (7 August 1943 - 7 February 1944). Promoted to Lance Corporal, he served with 2/1 Guard Regiment in 1944, and was attached to 2/32 Battalion at Discharge on 5 May 1945.
Alex was born in Donnybrook, Western Australia in 1916, sixth of seven children of William (Willie) Hancock (b1872 in Wiltshire, England) and Alice Jane Carter (b1878 in Wiltshire, England). Willie and Alice married in 1896 in Swindon in Wiltshire, where they settled and raised their family and Willie was a Milk Purveyor (Vendor). In 1911 Willie and Alice immigrated with four children, arriving in Fremantle on board the Ophir and moving to Balingup. Willie worked as a Labourer in Balingup before settling in Mullalyap via Balingup in 1917. Willie and Alice lived in Mullalyup, where they raised their family and Willie was a Sanitation Contractor. In the 1930s, under the Group Settlement Scheme (Group 13), the family moved to Cowaramup in the Margaret River Region, where Willie was a Farmer.
Alex worked in Perth as a Steward at Lake Karrinyup Club in the late 1930s, and was a Dairy Hand in Cowaramup in 1941 when he enlisted in the Army. In 1943 in Cowaramup he married Rowena Maughan (b1924 in Northam, Western Australia), and following his Discharge from the Army, Alex and Rowena lived in Cowaramup, where Alex was a Dairy Hand. By 1954 the couple had settled at 'Oakfield' in Kojonup, where they raised their family and Alex was a Farmer until retirement. Alex died in 2003 and Rowena in 2015.
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