Historical information

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

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
. The 2000 Olympic flame was relayed from Olympia in Greece to Sydney by 13400 carriers including 11000 Australians, each carrier had their own torch.

Physical description

Two white A4 paper pages with black print and a black line 10 centimeters from each edge.
Titled - A Sentimental Paper Flag written by Bryana Jones
A beautifully written essay about her Great Grandfather Jack Lockett or "Pop" who was part of the Olympic flame relay from Greece to Sydney in 2000 and he was part of the relay because he was the oldest living World War Digger in Australia and the oldest man in Australia. Bryana tells us about travelling with her family to Bendigo on July 27, a freezing cold day. She mentions the anticipation and excitement building as the crowd was waiting for Pop, then wonderful pride she felt as the crowd cheered when he came into view.
Later Jack signed for her a souvenir Olympic Flag "J. H. Lockett 109"which she will treasure forever, and it will be an heirloom to be passed on to future generations.