Hector Alcock shares the story of his grandfather, Hector Alcock.

When war broke out in 1914, Hector was 24 years old. He lived in Wangaratta, Victoria with his wife, Kate Lewis, and their five-month-old son. He worked as a miller in the local flour mill. It is unknown why Hector travelled to Morphettville in South Australia to enlist – there were several recruitment stations closer to home.

He joined the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade, and was given the serial number 2203. Hector returned to Wangaratta to bid his farewells, before travelling to Melbourne as part of the 1st Contingent, where he boarded HMAT Geelong A2.

Hector was not to return for more than four years. He landed at Gallipoli on what is now known as ANZAC Day, and stayed on the peninsula until the evacuation in December. He served in France and the Western Front for the remainder of the war. His records show that during his entire service, he was not injured and didn’t take a single day off sick.

After the war, Hector returned to Wangaratta, where his second son, Keith, was born in 1920. A third son, Ronald, was born in 1923, but sadly died of diptheria the following year. Ronald is laid to rest in Warringal Cemetery in Kew, Victoria.

Hector then moved to Melbourne. He owned a pig farm at Stane Brae, Warrandyte for many years, before retiring to Chewton in 1956. He passed away in 1975.

Hector says his grandfather was a true gentleman, who is remembered as a big, quiet man, who never spoke about the horrors he had witnessed.

Hector has shared the story of his grandfather during the Anzac Centenary to pay tribute to the actions of the men and women who served in the war: ‘we should tell the true story of the time our ancestors spent there to our younger generation and pay tribute to them without glorifying war.’