When Jack Tucker joined the Royal Australian Navy during World War II, he hoped to serve his country.

As a teenager, Jack watched as Japanese forces advanced through the Pacific. Attacks on northern Australia and Sydney Harbour strengthened his determination to enlist.

After several attempts to obtain a release from his job with Victorian Railways, Jack joined Navy in September 1944. He enlisted as a coder and completed his training at Flinders Naval Depot, now HMAS Cerberus.

Coders transmitted and received encrypted messages between Navy establishments and ships using TypeX cypher machines.

Jack was preparing to join HMAS Ballarat when an accident left him with a broken wrist. Unable to write, he remained at Flinders Naval Depot and later worked in the transmitting station. There, Jack and his mates transmitted, received and relayed coded messages across Australia and to ships at sea.

Although disappointed that he never served at sea, Jack remains proud of the contribution he made.

‘Though I am sorry not to have served at sea, the work we did at the transmitting station was important,’ he said.

‘I also met some of the best people I’ll ever meet.’

In November 2025, Jack celebrated his 100th Birthday, surrounded by family and friends. The Hon Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence at the time, recorded a personal video message to mark the occasion.

More than 80 years after enlisting, Jack remains a proud Navy veteran. He continues to attend memorials, his local Anzac Day march and remembrance events wherever possible.