HOCKING, Leighton Rowe

Leighton Rowe Hocking appears to have been the only child of his parents, Edward Rowe Hocking, a tailor, and his wife, Ada Graves, nee Little. Leighton was born on 11 May, 1895 and was 21 years and 4 months old when he enlisted at Ballarat on 13 October, 1916. He had five years of military training with the Cadets Citizens Forces, probably at school, and described himself as a turner and fitter on his enlistment form. He was 5' 7", a good height at that time, single and by religion, Presbyterian.

From 12-17 October 1916, he went into training with the 22nd Depot Battalion at Royal Park, Parkville, before embarking on HMAT Hororata on 23 November, 1916, disembarking at Plymouth, England, on 29 January, 1917. From Plymouth, the Australian recruits marched in to camp at Durrington for further training. Finally, on 25 April, they took ship for France, where Leighton Hocking was taken on strength from the 23rd Reinforcements to the 6th Battalion AIF.

By 1917, the 6th Battalion were involved with the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg line, and then returned to Belgium to join the allied offensive launched to the east of Ypres. Leigh Hocking was granted leave to return to England for two weeks from 26 January to 16th February 1918. However, this seems to have been deferred and on 26 February, he was still with his unit. His battalion would have taken part in countering the German Spring offensive in March and April of 1918, and would have been involved in the Allied Offensive near Amiens on 8 August, which German General Erich von Ludendorff said was ' the black day of the German Army in this war.' The 6th Battalion remained at the front until late September, 1918,  but Leighton Hocking had  been tranfserred to England, leaving France on 10 April, 1918. A note in his record says he was by then a lieutenant and had been paid in France.

With the war coming to an end on 11 November, 1918, The troops were gradually able to come home. Leighton Hocking left on 12 June, 1919, on board the HT Port Darwin, disembarking at Melbourne on 27 July. 

In the immediate post war period, he stayed with his parents, who had moved from 63 Gipps St., East melbourne to the corner of Park and Storey St, Parkville. In 1926, he married Dorothy Elizabeth Blakeman, asnd was living at 63 Delaware St. Preston and working as an engineer. In 1931, the couple moved first to 15 Henry St, Preston, then by 1949, to 7  Henry St. , Preston. Leighton Hocking lived at this address until 1968. The house was by now in the suburb of East Reservoir, rather than Preston, presumably because of population growth in the north west of the city. Dorothy was not on the Electoral Rolls in 1954, and Leighton lived alone there until his own death in 1970. The couple appear to have had no children.