Arthur and Alice Hucker preparing to attend the Mackay Anzac Day ceremony in memory of their only ...

Arthur and Alice Hucker preparing to attend the Mackay Anzac Day ceremony in memory of their only child, 5688 Private (Pte) Albert James Arthur Hucker. Albert Hucker was employed as a carpenter and was a volunteer in the Citizens' Military Forces (CMF) before enlisting in the 9th Battalion on 14 February 1916. He embarked with the 18th reinforcements aboard HMAT Seang Choon (A49) on 4 May 1916 from Brisbane. Following training in England, he proceeded to France where he was transferred to the 26th Battalion in November 1916. Pte Hucker was killed, aged 22, by shell fire in Thames Wood at the First Battle of Passchendaele on the 30th of October 1917, one of four men in his company to be killed by the same shell. A letter from a friend in the battalion to Pte Hucker's mother stated that Pte Hucker had been buried, however repeated correspondence by his mother with army authorities failed to ascertain the location of this grave. It is most likely that it was destroyed soon after the burial ceremony by the continuing battle. Pte Hucker has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate. His parents attended Anzac Day ceremonies every year in Mackay until their deaths after the Second World War (see P07933.001 and P07933.003)