HIGHMAN, Harold Roy
| Service Number: | 588 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 January 1915, Keswick South Australia Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Broken Hill, New South Wales, 8 December 1894 |
| Home Town: | Malvern, Unley, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Flers Picardie France, 5 November 1916, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave - like most of the 27th Battalion fatalities at Flers. Commemorated on the Australian National War Memorial France - Villers-Bretonneux, France, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Broken Hill War Memorial, Unley Arch of Remembrance, Unley Town Hall WW1 Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Jan 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 588, 27th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Keswick South Australia Australia | |
| 31 May 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, HMAT Geelong (A2) | |
| 12 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 588, 27th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement AIF WW1, 588, 27th Infantry Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17 | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 27th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières |
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Surname: HIGHMAN; Given Names: Harold Roy; Date of Birth: 8 December 1894; Date of Enlistment: 28 January 1915; Trade or Calling: Clerk ; Birth Location: Broken Hill NSW; Address prior to enlistment: Cambridge Tce Malvern ; Photograph sent by: Mrs E Blanch
Youngest son of Alfred J, and Elizabeth Sarah Highman, 101 Cambridge Tce, Malvern. Cousin to Frank Highman (/explore/people/48550), also KIA.
Harold Roy Highman enlisted on the 28th of January, 1915 at Keswick. According to his service papers he was 21 years and 1 month old, single and a clerk.
He embarked at Adelaide on HMAT Geelong (A2) with the C Company of the 27th Battalion on the 31st of May, 1915.
The 27th Battalion after spending some time in Australia training sailed to Egypt where they spent another 2 months training. In September they moved out and landed on at Gallipoli on and around the 12th of September, 1915. The battalion stayed on the peninsula for the remainer of the campagin, however, it wasn't involded in much heavy fighting.
The battalion was sent back to Egypt briefly before moving to the Western Front where it was positioned on the Somme. Here the battalion spent time at Pozieres where Australia sustained 23,000 casualties in 5 weeks of fighting. Harold Highman wasn't one of them.
The 27th Battalion was then was rotated through the Front Line near the French, Belgian border until the battalion along with the trest of the Division, was once again moved south to Somme in October, 1916.
On the 5th of November the 27th Battalion attacked at Flers. Harold Highman as part of the attacking C Company managed to reach the German front line where he took up position while fighting continuing on around him. However, while in the captured line he was wounded by a bullet in his side and he was witnessed to begin walking back to his own lines. He was never seen alive again. He may have died due to his wounds whilst walking back or he could have sustained another wound whilst in No Man's Land. Artillery shelling was recorded to be heavy at the time and he could have possibly been blown apart by a shell.
No matter what happened, he was at first recorded wounded in action (25th November, 1916), then wounded and missing (24th January, 1917) before finally been listed as Killed in Action (23rd March, 1917.)
Harold Highman has no known grave and his name is listed on the Australian National War Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. He was 21 years and 11 months old.
BWM: 13178
Victory Medal: 13118
1914/15 Star: 22698
Memorial Plaque and Scroll: 313568.
Steve Larkins May 2014
Click images to start slideshow.