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Remembering Uncle Jack

Rachel Caines

11 July 2024

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, please be advised that the following article contains names and images of deceased people.

2nd Lieutenant Alfred John Hearps holds the distinction of being the only known Indigenous Australian commissioned officer to die during the First World War.

He was also the second Aboriginal Tasmanian man to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, signing his attestation papers at Pontville on the 20th of August 1914, just over a fortnight after war was declared.

To his proud descendants, he is not Alfred but Uncle Jack. In the decades since Jack’s death, his family has gradually been recovering more information about his life and war service, and maintaining and renewing their connections with their Palawa heritage.”

More than a century after his death in France in 1916, members of Jack’s family came together to commemorate his life at the Australian War Memorial’s NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony. For many of them, it was the first time they had met.

Some of Jack’s descendants in attendance at the NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony on 9 July 2024.

Some of Jack’s descendants in attendance at the NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony on 9 July 2024.

Alfred John Hearps was born in Forth, Tasmania, in March 1895. He was the eldest surviving child of Alfred Hearps senior and Eva Alice Hearps. Always known as Jack, he was descended on his father’s side from Mannalargenna, a Chief of the Trawlwoolway clan who led a series of guerrilla-style attacks against British settlers during the Black War in Van Diemen’s Land in the 1820s.

Jack grew up in Queenstown, Tasmania, where he worked as a clerk while serving as a Lieutenant with the 90th Battalion of the Senior Cadets.

Family photograph of Jack in his [blank] uniform, taken at a photography studio in Bernie, Tasmania.

Family photograph of Jack, taken at a photography studio in Burnie, Tasmania.

After enlisting in the AIF in August 1914, Jack was allotted to the 12th Australian Infantry Battalion with the rank of sergeant. His initial enlistment as a non-commissioned officer reflected his previous military experience and his status as an officer in the cadets.

Jack left Australia in October 1914 as part of the first contingent, and landed on Gallipoli on the first day, 25 April 1915. Jack was evacuated off the peninsula in late July, suffering from a breakdown as a result of shell shock. He rejoined his unit in September, leaving Gallipoli at the end of 1915 and returning to Egypt.

Jack was promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant while in Egypt in March 1916, and embarked for the Western Front a few weeks later. After a few months based around Armentères in the area known as the “nursery sector”, the 12th Battalion moved into the Somme Valley to take part in the battle of Pozières in late July and early August.

After that action, Jack was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, effective from 5 August 1916. He is one of only two Aboriginal men known to have served as commissioned officers in the AIF, the other being Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Melbourne Johnson.

Jack (left) in uniform with two of his “chums”, as he described him on the back of the postcard.

Jack (left) in uniform with two of his “chums”, as he described them on the back of the postcard.

In late August, the 12th Battalion were involved in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the area around Mouquet Farm. At the battalion’s roll call on 23 August, Jack was one of 41 men declared missing in action.

It took almost a year for the details of Jack’s fate to be confirmed. During the anxious period of waiting, Jack’s parents wrote frequently to Base Records and the Red Cross, desperate for news of their son. Writing to the Tasmanian Red Cross in February 1917, Eva pleaded: “I am indeed heartbroken concerning my son’s fate … Will you please let me know exactly what you think; the suspense is getting more than I can bear.”

Eva’s letter to the secretary of the Tasmanian Red Cross, dated 10 February 1917.

Eva’s letter to the secretary of the Tasmanian Red Cross, dated 10 February 1917.

Finally, a Court of Enquiry, held in July 1917 established what had happened during the fighting. Shortly after leaving their jumping-off positions, Jack was hit in the back of the neck by a piece of shell. His batman, Private Arthur Bean, remained by his side for half an hour, but the wound had left Jack paralysed and bleeding heavily. Eventually, Jack convinced Arthur to return to the 12th Battalion. Despite the batman’s insistence to other officers of the battalion that a party should be sent out to find Jack, the entire farm had fallen into the hands of the Germans, making a rescue impossible.

It was determined that Jack had died of his shell wound between 19 and 22 August at Mouquet Farm, aged only 21.

Jack’s final resting place was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Australian War Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, and on the Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour.

Jack’s name on panel 66 of the Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour.

Jack’s name on panel 66 of the Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour.

Among the family members to lay wreaths on 9 July 2024 at the NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony was Aunty Elaine Goodman, Jack’s niece. She had grown up hearing from her mother stories of Uncle Jack, and of the family’s hardship after his death. For Elaine, her uncle’s service has had a lasting impact, even though they never met. “To me, well, he’s a hero. I don’t like war, especially because of the loss of my 21-year-old would-have-been uncle. Mum loved him so dearly, and she felt that he was always there to help her if she was in trouble.”

Aunty Elaine Goodman at the 2024 NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony.

Aunty Elaine Goodman at the 2024 NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony.

Jack’s great-niece Libby Maskey had his original medals specially cleaned and mounted for the occasion, and wore them with pride while laying a wreath during the Last Post ceremony. “My family has always been proud of Uncle Jack and his service,” Libby explained. “His mother treasured his memory for the rest of her life, his medals having pride of place in the family home. We are honoured to gather together from across Australia to remember him at the War Memorial.”

Jack’s great-niece Libby Maskey in the yellow jacket wears his medals while laying a wreath at the 2024 NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony.

Jack’s great-niece Libby Maskey in the yellow jacket wears his medals while laying a wreath at the 2024 NAIDOC Week Last Post Ceremony.

Alfred John Hearps is one of more than 900 Indigenous soldiers who served during the First World War. The Memorial’s Indigenous Liaison Officer, Michael Bell, has been working to identify people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who have served, who are currently serving, or who have any military experience and/or have contributed to the war effort. A proud Ngunnawal/Gomeroi man, he is interested in further details of the military history of all those people and their families. He can be contacted via Michael.Bell@awm.gov.au.

Author

Rachel Caines

Last updated: 12 July 2024

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