Reginald Harriman Heywood was born on 4 June 1889 at Malvern, Victoria. Reginald completed his Diploma of Veterinary Science at Melbourne University in 1916. On 16 April 1916, he enlisted at East Malvern, Victoria and was assigned the rank of captain with the Australian Army Veterinary Corps. Reginald embarked on 12 May 1917 aboard HMAT Benalla and arrived in Plymouth on 19 July 1917. This is where he began his training and was later taken on strength by the Australian Veterinary Hospital in September 1917.
On 9 October 1917, Heywood joined the 4th Australian Mobile Veterinary Section (AMVS). This was a section that worked on treating the sick and injured animals of the war. In October Heywood was sent to 4th infantry Battalion Headquarters for several months before proceeding on to leave. After returning from leave he was eventually assigned to command the 4th AMVS in April 1918, a position which he held for the remainder of the War.
In his diaries, Heywood comments on the terrible physical wounds suffered by the horses from enemy shell and bullet fire. While writing about the seriousness of wartime, he also manages to remain humorous and light-hearted. At the beginning of 1919, Heywood went on to join the 1st Australian Mobile Veterinary Section for a short time before joining the Australian War Records section on 26 April 1919.
On 20 May 1919, Heywood left England aboard Nestor and arrived home in Melbourne on 2 July 1919. Upon his return, he and his wife, Frances Ermyntrude Burbidge, opened a private veterinary practice in Victoria. In 1936, he moved to London to become the Australian Meat Board’s overseas representative. While in England, he dealt with wartime issues concerning the Australian Meat Export Trade until his retirement in 1957. Heywood and his wife returned to Australia in 1964. Reginald Harriman Heywood died suddenly on 27 March 1967 and is buried next to his wife at New Cheltenham Cemetery, Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia.