Jack was a member of the founding committee of Coogee Diggers in 1935.

Gunner Jack Wild

Wild fought on the Western Front during World War I. He enlisted in 1915 and served with the Australian Siege Artillery. Gunner Wild’s unit underwent several name changes during the war, but it is most famously known as the 36th Australian Heavy Artillery Group (which comprised the 54th and 55th Siege Artillery Batteries). He embarked from Melbourne aboard the HMAT Orsova on 17 July 1915. Unlike typical light field artillery, his unit manned massive, static siege weapons - specifically 8-inch and 9.2-inch howitzers designed to pulverise heavy concrete fortifications and bunkers.

The Western Front (1916–1918)

After training in England through late 1915, his unit crossed into France in March 1916. They hold the distinct honour of being the very first Australian Army fighting unit to enter France and the first to engage the enemy on the Western Front

Australian Gunners of the 55th Siege Battery working during a gas attack, 1918, photo by Frank Hurley.