Jack Hinchsliff (1916-1960)

Sometimes service men and women ‘disappear’ off the official record because their names have been misspelt, which is understandable: heading off to war was busy time and recordkeeping was done by hand. (Also, some Australians purposely gave false or adapted details.) Such was the case with Seaman Jack Hinchsliff whose surname was recorded incorrectly as ‘Hinchcliff’ (with a ‘c’). After identifying this oversight, I was able to reconstruct Jack’s life story and research his service details. Sadly, Jack perished in a fishing accident in 1960, but his family is pleased to know more about his contribution to the Royal Australian Navy.