Topic: AIF - 4B - 12 LHR
4160 Trooper John Gordon Hicks.
12th LHR, AIF.
John Gordon Hicks, a brief military biography from The AIF Project:
| Regimental number | 4160 |
| Religion | Methodist |
| Address | Ballina Road, Lismore, New South Wales |
| Marital status | Single |
| Date of Birth | 5 November 1898 |
| Age at embarkation | 19 |
| Next of kin | Father, John Gordon Hicks, Ballina Road, Lismore, New South Wales |
| Enlistment date | 17 September 1917 |
| Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | 15 September 1917 |
| Rank on enlistment | Private |
| Unit name | 14th Light Horse Regiment, 33rd Reinforcement |
| AWM Embarkation Roll number | 10/19/2 |
| Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board SS Canberra on 16 November 1917 |
| Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
| Unit from Nominal Roll | 12th Light Horse Regiment |
| Fate | Returned to Australia 20 July 1919 |
John Gordon Hicks ancestory was Irish from around Belfast, Bellashannon [Ballyshannon] and Beleke[Belleek] with family names of McElvenan, McLean, Muldoon and Mulvena. He was born on 5 November 1898 to John Gordon Hicks and Ann Catherine (neé Mulvena b. 1872 - d. 1953) married at Lismore in 1897. John Gordon Hicks was the oldest child, the others being Robert WK (1900), Henry (1902), and Amelia M (1903). His father was a bacon manufacturer, who shipped product up the east coast between Sydney and Lismore.
For high school, John Gordon Hicks went to Newington College where apart from scholastic activities, he participated in both Rugby Union and Cricket, being part of the school teams.
School Photographs
Hicks in the Newington College 1914 Rugby Union 2nd XV
Universal Training, 1916
Once reaching the age for enrollment in the Universal Training Scheme, John Gordon Hicks enrolled as a University Scout in 1916. He remained in service for about one year when he enlisted in the AIF. The brief military biography is given above.
Once discharged, John Gordon Hicks moved to Lismore where eventually he became the licensee of the Civic Hotel.
In 1937, John Gordon Hicks married Elsie Prudence Pearl Ede in Lismore.
Elsie Prudence died in 1976 and John Gordon Hicks died in 1981.
Acknowledgement: Many thanks are given to John Gordon Ede who supplied both detail and photographs about his grandfather, John Gordon Hicks.
Further Reading:
Citation: 4160 Trooper John Gordon Hicks, 12th LHR, AIF
