John Henry Lockett OAM (22 January 1891 – 25 May 2002) was the oldest man ever in Australia when he died aged 111 years, 123 days. As one of the last surviving veterans of World War I, he was acclaimed as a national hero during the last decade of his life. Lockett was born in the small Victorian town of Waanyarra, near Bendigo. He left school aged nine to work on a local farm. Later, he worked for his uncles in the Mallee. On 24 March 1916, he travelled to Mildura to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force. He served in France with the 38th Battalion, earning promotion to sergeant and was discharged on 20 September 1919. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lockett The 38th Battalion was formed on 1 March 1916 at a camp established on the Epsom Racecourse at Bendigo in Victoria. After training in both Australia and Britain, the 38th Battalion crossed to France in late November 1916 and moved into the trenches of the Western Front for the first time on 1 December.The 38th fought in its first major battle at Messines, in Belgium, between 7-9 June 1917. It fought in another two major attacks in this sector - the battle of Broodseinde on 4 October, and the battle of Passchendaele on 12 October. Belgium remained the focus of the 38th Battalion's activities for the next five months, until it was rushed south to France in late March 1918 to meet the German Army's Spring Offensive. The 38th participated in its last major action of the war between 29 September and 2 October 1918 as part of the Australian-American operation that breached the formidable defences of the Hindenburg Line along the St Quentin Canal. It was disbanded in April 1919. Source, Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51478 After the war, Jack returned to The Mallee and selected a 640 acres (260 ha) block of land in Linga, Victoria, deciding to make his living as a farmer. In 1923, he married Maybell Ingwerson and they had four children together. In 1963, the couple retired to Bendigo, leaving the farmland (which now covered more than 130,000 acres (53,000 ha), in the care of their children and grandchildren. A typed letter on two A4 pages to Jack Lockett Sent from the Commonwealth Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Deputy Commissioner, 22 February asking Jack if he wished to be considered for selection to join a commemorative mission to France in August - September 1993. Signed Brian Flynn DEPUTY COMMISSIONER jack lockett, mabel ingwersen, 38th australian infantry battalion, w.w.1, mallee farming, commemorative mission to france 1993, brian flynn