BIGGS, Herbert Alfred
| Service Number: | 3241 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Romsey, Macedon Ranges, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 4 October 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Romsey Soldiers Honor Roll, Romsey War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3241, 7th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3241, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne |
A Soldier's Promise Fulfilled
(in relation to a tour of France, Belgium and the UK by the Footscray Yarraville City Band in 2018 to commemorate the centenary of the armistice of WW1).
In June 2018 Mr Geoffrey Fenn of Leicestshire, England, wrote to us:
“I read that your band is coming to England and Leicester. Could you let me
know the date and venue you will be playing at and also if you will be
performing The Silent Anzac. My great uncle Herbert Biggs emigrated to
Australia in 1914. He worked in Romsey, I assume on a farm and then enlisted in
the 7th Battalion AIF. In the fighting in the Ypres area he was killed and his body
was never found. I understand that his name is on the Menin Gate. Perhaps you
could pay my respects when you visit the Menin Gate. If you find anymore
information about Herbert Biggs I would be grateful.”
In response to Mr Fenn’s request we searched the missing person's red cross
files at the Australian War Memorial and WW1 service records at the National
Archives of Australia. We found a number of eye-witness accounts of Herbert
Biggs last moments. In particular No 6731 Pte H. A Chapman was with Biggs
when they were both hit by the same shell. Chapman reported the details of the
action in a letter.
As part of his report Chapman said that he had promised to look up Biggs’ family
in England and tell them what had happened to Biggs. However, when
Chapman, himself wounded, got to hospital he had lost everything including the
address of Biggs’ family and he was never able to fulfill his promise to drop Biggs family a line.
Over one hundred years later In November 2018 we (Footscray Yarraville City Band) travelled to Leicestershire and met with Mr Geoffrey Fenn, Herbert Biggs’ great nephew. There we were privileged to fulfill the promise made by Biggs’ mate 100 years ago to “drop my people a line” and passed on to his family the eye-witness accounts of Biggs’ last action. Lest We Forget
Submitted 5 June 2023 by Colin Harrison