Senator O’Neill was in town to return a long lost set of military honours to their rightful owners, the descendants of Private Vivian Huckel.

The medals were found by Mr Ian Wilkes of Umina on the NSW Central Coast under the name of Private Vivian Huckel among his late father’s mementos and belongings. He stumbled on the war veteran’s medals after his father Noel passed away in 1972 and has been trying to locate the Huckel family since.

A chance meeting between Mr Wilkes and Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill on the day of the recent Gosford by-election finally got the wheels in motion as one of the Senator’s staff proceeded with some extensive research, in true ANZAC spirit, which successfully located the family of Private Vivian Huckel in Grenfell.

“I have some amazing staff working in the office with me serving the community who have done some of their best detective work to locate the family of Vivian Huckel,” said Senator O’Neill.

Private Huckel served in Darwin during World War II and died in a car accident in 2002 near his home at Pullabooka.

His brother Ron, still residing in Grenfell, was traced by the Senator’s staff member and a meeting was then set up for Senator O’Neill to travel to Grenfell to re-unite the Huckel family with the long lost medals.

Mr Wilkes, 75, is thrilled with the outcome and says that it’s a miracle that they will finally be back with the family.

The special ceremony was held last Friday, April 21, at the Grenfell Cenotaph where the Huckel family along with fellow veterans and friends gathered to greet the Senator, a PRIME 7 news crew was also in attendance.

It was an emotional re-union for the Huckel’s who were very pleased to have the medals home in time for ANZAC day.

Ron Huckel wrote the following explanation as to how Mr Wilkes’ late father Noel may have ended up in possession of his brother Vivian’s medals:

Viv enlisted with the Army at 18 years-of-age and served with Light Horse near Darwin. After the war he joined Regular Army and became sergeant for a time.

Later he worked on the Government Railway as a signalman near Werris Creek.  He then spent several years at Lightning Ridge mining for opal, until his father died in 1967.

He then returned to the family farm at Pullabooka until he was killed in a motor accident in 2002.

Vivian Huckel led a colourful life and even had a song written about him by legendary Australian singer and song writer Colin Buchanan titled ‘Chewing the fat with Uncle Viv’ from his iconic album Bourke to Beaconsfield. A tale of true ANZAC spirit indeed.