HOCKING, Joseph Francis
| Service Number: | 3764 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 September 1915, Place of Enlistment, Townsville, Queensland. |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Georgetown, Queensland, Australia, 3 November 1888 |
| Home Town: | Cairns, Cairns, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Germany, 13 August 1917, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
Hamburg Cemetery, Germany Section 1V, Row H, Grave No 15. Initially buried in The Munster Camp Prisoner of War Cemetery, Germany. , Hamburg Cemetery, Hamburg, Germany |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Cairns Cenotaph, Chillagoe War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3764, 15th Infantry Battalion, Place of Enlistment, Townsville, Queensland. | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3764, 15th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3764, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suffolk, Sydney | |
| 9 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 3764, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Imprisoned Died of Wounds in POW camp Germany | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 3764, 15th Infantry Battalion, Machine Gun Wounds to jaw and leg. | |
| 13 Aug 1917: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 3764, 15th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3764 awm_unit: 15th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-08-13 |
Joseph Francis Hocking
Joseph Francis Hocking was born 3 November 1888 in Georgetown, Queensland, to Benjamin Hocking and Louisa Matilda Schroder the third eldest of 9 children, Louisa Mary born 1883, Benjamin Frederick 1885, Lillian 1890, then Joseph Archelaus (Archibald) 1892, Percy William 1896, Olive 1898, Leonard Ernest 1900, and Frances May 1902.
Joseph’s father was an engine driver in Golden Gate, a gold mining town North West of Croydon and died in 1910. His Mother Louisa died in Townsville in 1948.
Joseph worked as a labourer in Chillagoe and Ayr Queensland.
On his enlistment in Townsville he gave his age as 24 years 10 months, his occupation as a labourer and next of kin his mother Mrs. B. Hocking, Chillagoe via Cairns North Queensland. His height was 5 feet 7 inches, weighed 9 stone 6 pounds with fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His religion was Church of England.
Joseph was wounded in action in France on the 9 August 1916 and rejoined his battalion in September 1916. He was reported Missing in Action on the 11 April 1917 and reported captured, Prisoner of War in Germany.
He had been wounded sustaining injuries to his jaw and right leg from machine gun bullets and was taken to Reincourt, FranKreich. Joseph Francis Hocking died on the 13 April 1917 and is buried in the Munster Camp Prisoner of War Cemetery, re-interred Hamburg Cemetery at Ohlsdorf, Germany.
Courtesy of The Cairns District Family History Society.
Submitted 23 March 2021 by Lynette Turner
Click images to start slideshow.