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In a twist of fate, Tucker suffered an accident that left him with a broken wrist and unable to write.<\/p>\n
He was due to post to HMAS Ballarat and sail on operations, but remained at Flinders Naval Depot during his recovery, and subsequently worked in the transmitting station.<\/p>\n
“We still operated on a 24-hour one-in-three watch system,” Jack said.<\/p>\n
“We’d have 24 hours off and then go again.<\/p>\n
“My mates and I were involved in transmitting, receiving and relaying coded messages all over Australia and to ships like HMAS Australia.”<\/p>\n
Tucker said he was glad to have served in the Navy.<\/p>\n
“Though I am sorry not to have served at sea, the work we did at the transmitting station was important.<\/p>\n
“I also met some of the best people I’ll ever meet, and who I stayed in touch with for many years until they passed.”<\/p>\n
To mark Tucker’s 100 birthday, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles recorded a personal video message that was played during his celebrations.<\/p>\n
“I really appreciated the video message from the Deputy Prime Minister,” Tucker said.<\/p>\n
“It was particularly special that Mr Marles took the time to record a personal message to me.”<\/p>\n
He remains a proud veteran and regularly attends memorials, his local Anzac Day march and remembrance events as often as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHEN Jack Tucker enlisted to fight for his county during World War II, the last thing on his mind was growing old, let alone becoming a centenarian. Jump forward eight decades to earlier this month, and Tucker gathered with his family in Melbourne to commemorate his 100th birthday. A few days after the November 2 […]<\/p>\n