Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Bert was born on the 15th of January 1921 at Albury, New South Wales. He was one of eight children to Samuel Henry and Mary Jane (née Williams) Hart. At the time of Albert’s birth his father was working on the construction of the Hume Weir. The family eventually moved back to Granya where Samuel worked on the Granya Gap road and in the Granya mine. In 1928 they moved to Annadale where they operated a farm and hand milked dairy cows.
Bert originally enlisted in the 59th Battalion of the Citizens Military Force, or Militia, on the 16th of July 1941 at Corryong. The battalion was also referred to as the Hume Regiment as it was formed in the Hume Shire. He was allocated the Army Number V121272, given the rank of private, and posted to C Company. Along with the 58th Militia Battalion, the 59th trained at Seymour, Victoria. On the 20th of November he was granted leave without pay until the 7th of January the following year. It’s quite possible that this was granted to enable Bert to help on the family farm. While on leave the war grew closer to home when the Japanese entered the war on December the 7th, 1941 (December the 8th Australian time).
For a few days in late March Bert was admitted to the General Hospital at Seymour suffering from tonsillitis. Around this time the 15th Brigade, which included the 58th and 59th, moved to Albury and then, in the third week of May, to Casino and South Grafton in northern New South Wales. The brigade was given their first operational role - to defend the Tweed Valley and the adjacent coastline. Bert spent some time in the Grafton and District Hospital with the measles.
In August of that year the 58th and 59th were merged to form the 58th/59th Infantry Battalion of the 2nd AIF. All personnel were transferred from the Militia to the AIF and allocated a new Army Number. Bert’s became VX82187.
Whilst the brigade was training for jungle warfare in the Pacific, Bert was transferred to the 2/43rd Battalion, which at the time was fighting in northern Africa. He embarked on HMT P4 at Melbourne on the 26th of August 1942 and sailed for the Middle East. Bert joined the battalion as it was participating in the fighting after the battle of El Alamein. On the 31st of October it relieved the 24th Brigade and in the fighting on the following day suffered over one hundred casualties.
In late December the battalion participated in the 9th Division parade at Gaza, prior to moving back to Australia. Bert must have decided to have one last look around and took some unofficial leave on the night of the 3rd of December. He was “awarded”￡3 for “failing to appear at the place of parade appointed by his CO (Commanding Officer)”. On the 24th of January the 9th Division (of which the 2/43rd was part of) sailed back to Australia, arriving in Sydney on the 27th of February 1943.
The 28th of March saw Bert standing before the OC (Officer Commanding) of the 2/43rd after having gone absent without leave from “0900 hrs 27.3.43 to 0645 hrs 28.3.43”. This time he got off with only a reprimand.
The 9th Division underwent training in jungle warfare. Its first operation was participating in an amphibious landing at Red beach, north-west of Lae. The 2/43rd came ashore during the night of the 5th of September. The next 11 days have been described by the battalion’s historian as difficult. Drenched by rain and constantly covered in sweat, the battalion crossed numerous rivers and had to hack their way through jungle and swamp. The little resistance was encountered in the early stages however this intensified as soon as they had crossed the Busu River.
The war diary of the 2/43rd Battalion for the 14th of September describes the intense fighting and patrolling undertaken in the area east of Lae, New Guinea. During the day only two deaths in combat are recorded.
“1400 hrs … Sgt Lovegrove patrol (D Coy) moved from Bn perimeter … moved off track towards WAGAN. Having proceeded for 150x on SOUTH side of rd patrol was fired on 2 fwd scouts killed. Tried to encircle but driven off by hy [heavy] fire and patrol returned to btn [battalion].” It is highly likely that Bert was one of the forward scouts that were killed as his date of death was the 14th of September.
Bert’s body was recovered later during the battle and was eventually buried in the Lae War Cemetery in Papua New Guinea. He is remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour. For his service, he was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, the Africa the Pacific Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939-1945 and the Australian Service Medal 1939-1945.