Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Jack was the oldest of four children to Alfred and Maude Woodman of Noble Park, Victoria. From an early age (13) he would work on the family farms in the Koo-Wee-Rup area over this school holidays to help support his mum and sisters back home. He would shoot rabbits to bring in money.

He studied at Melbourne Technical College to work on Deisel engines and became a Sapper in the army. He was 19 when he joined up and spent about a year at Camp Bonegilla. Jack's letters home at this time spoke of adventure and friendships. He was very interested in building structures for the army, even though he couldn't elaborate on what they were. During this time Jack met Jean, while on leave. A whirlwind romance ensued, being engaged by the time Jack set sail for Malaya.

Jack's letters from the year in Malaya talk mainly about family issues, the landscape and who he was betting on the horses. Great discussion took place around the Melbourne Cup. His mother would seek his advise on business and money matters. He sent photos of animals to his younger brother, telling him to do well at school and explained to his farming family back home of the exotic places, people and strange animals he was encountering. He was fascinated by the money system, stamps and the different way of life. He sent home many 'tresures' to his mum and sisters, including a large elephant staue called Jumbo. While Jack was in Malaya, his sister Ivy had a son, they named after Jack, which he was very proud of. In his letters he often joked with his sister about getting fat (pregnant) and being grumpy with no sleep.

Soliders were not to write home about specifics of the war, but you can tell from all Jack's letters that the galmour of adventure did not last long. From his last letter home, 6 days before he died, dated 3/2/42: "Well Mum, I have just been out watching a dog fight between some Jap planes and our own. The Japs have been dispersed for the time being but they are pretty persistent. It will be twelve months tomorrow since we left Sydney Harbour in the old Queen Mary. It will be the happiest day of my life when we land back home. I could write a much more interesting letter but we are unable to say very much." 

As the army retreated to Singapore, Jack was killed in a Japanese small arms attack on 9th February 1942. Within days the rest of his company were taken as POWs. The army didn't know Jacks fate, being listed as missing for three years. During this time his mother Maude wrote to newspapers and to army friends for any news. His father Alfred died in 1943, with the family citing worry of the unknown and grief for his son as the cause. His sister Wilma worked in Melbourne and would regularly watch the train platforms at Flinders Street Station in hope of seeing Jack among the other returning soldiers. In 1945 when POWs made it home, letters from friends were able to tell the family of what happened to Jack.

Lance Corporal Frank Jackson (VX29148) wrote in October 1945: "Jack was wounded at Amah Keng when the unit was in a very difficult frontier. We were with him and were actually carrying him back to hospital when we were all subjected to intense Japanese small arms fire. It was as we were carrying him to the truck that he and several others of our Sappers were all incessantly killed...I assure you Jack suffered very little as it was all over in a very short space of time." Jackson then suggests that maybe Jack was better off than enduring the POW camps as his friends had. He describes Jack as "a grand chap".

Jack's portrait and letters sat on his mother's mantel, in pride of place, for the next 70 years. When the family home was sold, the honour of keeping these memories went to his great niece (daughter of the baby boy named for Jack, born while he was in Malaya).