HUTCHINS, David Arthur
| Service Number: | VX61202 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 August 1941, Royal Park, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lake Boga, Victoria, Australia, 2 March 1913 |
| Home Town: | Woorinen North, Swan Hill, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Illness , Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, 29 July 1945, aged 32 years |
| Cemetery: |
Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia CWGC Grave No: Plot 18. Row A. Grave 15. Inscription: "HIS DUTY FEARLESSLY AND NOBLY DONE EVER REMEMBERED" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Swan Hill Hutchins Brothers Memorial, Swan Hill War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, VX61202 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Aug 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX61202, 2nd/21st Infantry Battalion, Royal Park, Vic. | |
| 17 Feb 1942: | Imprisoned Ambon, Captured and detained by the Japanese Occupation Force, at Tan Toey (Tantui) Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) Camp, Ambon Island. | |
| 29 Jul 1945: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, 2nd/21st Infantry Battalion, Ambon, Member of Gull Force, died on this date whilst a prisoner of the Japanese. Nature of death recorded as beri beri. |
Help us honour David Arthur Hutchins's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Daryl Jones
Son of Henry Walter and Mary Elizabeth Hutchins, of Campbell's Creek, Victoria, Australia.
Husband of Annie Hutchins, of Swan Hill, Victoria.
Biography contributed by Stephen Bonald
During World War Two, seven Hutchins brothers from Woorinen, near Swan Hill in Victoria, enlisted to defend the country they loved. All served with the AIF in different theatres of war—from the desert sands of the Middle East, Tobruk, Syria, and North Africa, to the tropical islands of the Pacific, including New Guinea, Rabaul, and Ambon. Only three made it home. Four died tragically, either under brutal Japanese imprisonment or while trying to escape. The three who returned carried deep physical and psychological scars. Their parents, Henry and Mary Hutchins, didn’t learn the full extent of their sons’ fates until February 2, 1946, when the first of four telegrams arrived—three more followed within the week. No Australian family endured a greater loss of life in World War II.
"We Will Remember Them''
Private VX61201 - Eric Everard Hutchins.
Private VX61203 - Fred Hutchins
Private VX41293 - Alan Leslie Hutchins, (Darky)
Private VX61202 - David Arthur Hutchins
Private VX41288 - Ivan Robert Hutchins, (The Parson)
Private VX41229 - William Ernest Hutchins, (Bill)
Bombardier VX37192 - Malcolm George Hutchins, (Mike)
Click images to start slideshow.