HEASMAN, Albert
| Service Number: | 595 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Hailsham, Sussex, England, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Moorine Rock, Yilgarn, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 9 April 1974, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Crematorium Rose Gardens-Garden 35-0119 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 595, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 595, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 24 May 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 22 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 30 Aug 1916: | Honoured Military Medal, Mouquet Farm | |
| 1 Aug 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 6 Nov 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Albert Heasman was born during 1888 in Sussex, England. He emigrated to Western Australia in early 1911 followed by his brothers, Gilbert in 1912 and Frederick in 1913.
Before enlisting in the AIF, Albert and Gilbert worked as fettlers, helping to lay the railway line from Geraldton to Mt Magnet, a gold mining town. It is believed that their brother Frederick joined them in 1913.
All three enlisted in the AIF, Frederick being killed at Ypres in 1917. Both Albert and Gilbert were decorated with Military Medals for bravery in the field.
Albert enlisted as an original member of the 16th Battalion during September 1914. He took part in the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He was promoted to Lance Corporal during May 1915 and Corporal soon after.
He eventually succumbed to sickness, influenza, and was evacuated to Mudros during October 1915. He never returned to Gallipoli and it was March 1916 when he returned to his unit in Egypt. He was promoted to Sergeant soon after.
During the very heavy fighting at Pozieres Sergeant Albert Heasman was awarded a Military Medal, “This N.C.O. very gallantly led his Platoon in the charge upon Mouquet Farm, on the 29th/30th August, 1916. When the enemy counter attacked and drove back our Company, he organised a small rear party and covered their retirement. When the retirement was completed, he returned to the trenches and rendered great assistance in reorganising the Company. This N.C.O. showed great coolness, courage, and devotion to duty under most trying conditions.”
Albert was at the front for most of 1917, with several breaks for training in England. He was sent to an Officers Cadet School at Oxford, during January 1918. He was made a Second Lieutenant in August 1918. He was promoted to Lieutenant, 6 November 1918 and eventually returned to Australia during 1919.
Albert’s brother Gilbert returned to England in 1920. Albert was reported to have spent the next few years “roaming around the north of Western Australia on horseback”. Albert married Minnie Olive Griffiths in 1923 and in 1932 purchased a parcel of 1,000 acres of land at Moorine Rock. He took up wheat growing and sheep farming, and gradually grew the size of his property. Albert and Minnie raised three children He was secretary of Moorine Rock R.S.L. in the 1930’s.
Albert Heasman wrote to the Army in October 1968, from Moorine Rock, requesting a Gallipoli Medallion. He passed away in Western Australia in 1974, at 86 years of age.
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