By Prue Theobold
I started researching my Uncle Jack, Jack Richard HUTCHISON, some time ago. He was born on the 10 December 1910.
I knew he was gay and I met him and his partner Paul along time ago. Paul and Jack had visited our family in Rangiora sometime in the 1970s. Uncle Jack was a short man and Paul, his partner, was a little taller. They would have travelled down from Auckland where they lived to visit our family in Rangiora.
I knew Uncle Jack was an artist and Paul was a composer of music as Paul ROGERS had some musical scores for the piano which he gave to the family. My Mum had told me Uncle Jack was tailor, but when researching Electoral Rolls, I discovered other occupations, such as Factory Worker in 1975 and in the 1930s Monumental Mason or Stone Mason. On discovering this, I recalled a story of how Uncle Jack had a hand in the sculpture in Christchurch, the WWI memorial next to Christ Church Cathedral.
As reported in the Christchurch Star, on the 8 August 2022, when workers were removing the memorial they found a glass bottle with a note placed inside on which they found a list of names of the sculptors that put the memorial together.
So now I had proof that Uncle Jack had been involved in the making of this memorial.
The monument was designed by William Trethewey, and it is known that he used some the art students to work on the monument. On receiving a copy of Uncle Jack’s Army file, I have found he worked at Luke Adams Ltd, a pottery company in Christchurch. There are several of his pots in the Quartz Museum in Whanganui which the museum has purchased over time. I recently visited the museum and took photos of all his works there.
On joining the Army, he requested a position in the Medical Corp and was placed in the Dental Corp. Presumably his skills in working with clay would have made a candidate for this division.
Uncle Jack died on 27 August 1987 and is buried in Waikumete Soldiers Lawn Cemetery, Auckland.
Prue Theobald
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