Australian War Memorial Logo
Search
  • Online Shop Use this login for Shop items, and image, film, sound reproductions
    Cart  |  Log In
  • Collection Open Information Close Information
    • Official Histories & Unit Diaries
    • Understanding the Collection
    • Research at the Memorial
    • Donating to the Collection
    • National Collection Loans
    • Projects
  • People
  • Visit Open Information Close Information
    • Visitor Information
    • Exhibitions
    • Events
    • Schools
    • Memorial Development Project
    • Research Centre
  • Commemorate Open Information Close Information
    • Last Post Ceremony
    • Honour Rolls
    • Anzac Day
    • Remembrance Day
    • Customs & Ceremony
    • Speeches
  • Learn Open Information Close Information
    • Schools & Teachers
    • Memorial Articles
    • Encyclopedia
    • Understanding Military Structure
    • Podcasts
    • Glossary
    • Wartime Magazine
  • Get Involved Open Information Close Information
    • Donations & Bequests
    • Corporate Partnership
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Volunteer at the Memorial
    • Friends of the Memorial
    • eMemorial Newsletter
    • Grants, Scholarships & Residencies
    • Research Papers
  • Shop Open Information Close Information
    • Help and Information
    • Lone Pine Seedlings
    • Images, film and sound

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Learn
  3. Schools & Teachers
  4. Classroom Resources
  5. Anzac Diversity
  6. aboriginal anzacs
  7. Alfred Hearps

Main navigation

  • Schools & Teachers
    • School visits
    • Classroom Resources
    • Virtual Excursions
    • Memorial Boxes
    • Publications
    • Education Programs
    • The Simpson Prize
    • Professional Learning
    • Classroom Showcase
  • Understanding Military Structure
  • Australian military history overview
  • Podcasts
  • Glossary
  • About the Memorial's Online Encyclopedia
  • Boy soldiers
  • Understanding Military History

Alfred Hearps

Alfred Hearps was born in Forth near the Tasmanian town of Devonport in 1895, the son of Alfred, a Palawa man, and Eva Alice Russell.

Although laws prevented Indigenous Australians enlisting, Alfred joined the Australian Imperial Force in August 1914, within weeks of the outbreak of the First World War.

Collection Item C1523

Accession Number: H11611

Departure of 12th Battalion on HMAT Geelong, October 1914.

Alfred was posted to the 12th Battalion. The men of the battalion were among the first to land on Gallipoli, acting as the covering force in the pre-dawn darkness at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915. After months of exposure to danger and the horrors of war, Alfred was evacuated from Gallipoli in August suffering from a mental breakdown recorded as “hysteria” on his service record. Alfred returned to his unit several weeks later, and remained on Gallipoli until the evacuation in December 1915.

In 1916 the 12th Battalion fought in some of the bloodiest and most costly battles on the Western Front. On the Somme in northern France, the battalion was involved in the struggle to take and hold the high ground at Pozières. Soon afterwards they were tasked with taking the heavily defended German strongpoint known as Mouquet Farm, a short distance away.

Collection Item C377073

Accession Number: H15927

Mouquet Farm, France, 1916.

During one of the assaults against this position, 21-year-old Alfred, who had just been promoted to second lieutenant, was killed. Initially reported as missing, it took almost a year before his fate was officially confirmed. This was not surprising as there were more than 6,000 Australian casualties in the battle for Mouquet Farm. Letters from his parents in the months that followed reflect their anguish as they sought to find out what had happened to their son. In a letter to the Red Cross, his mother wrote:

“I am indeed heartbroken concerning my son's fate … I do not know what to think or what to do. Will you please let me know exactly what you think; the suspense is getting more than I can bear.”

It was not until 1919 that Alfred's parents received an official letter informing them of their son's fate:

“Whilst leading his platoon and when just at his objective, he was struck on the back of the neck by a piece of shrapnel. He lived for a little over an hour. He was buried near Mouquet Farm House.”

Second Lieutenant Alfred Hearps has no known grave and is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in France.

References

The Australian Army, "Army Indigenous Service", https://www.army.gov.au/our-people/army-indigenous-community/army-indigenous-service <accessed 21 January 2021>.
The AIF Project Univesity of New South Wales, “Alfred John Hearps”, https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=132985 <accessed 6 February 2020>.
National Archives of Australia, service records, Alfred John Hearps, B2455:
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4749959 <accessed 6 February 2020>.

Last updated: 13 July 2021

Explore the Collection

Explore the Collection

Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australia’s military forces.

Find out more
Poppy garden in front of the Australian War Memorial

Visit

The Australian War Memorial was voted the number one landmark in Australia by travellers in the 2016 Trip Advisor awards. Come and see why.

Find out more
The Donations and bequests

Donations & Bequests

Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains – today and into the future.

Find out more
The placesofpride

Places of Pride

Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia.

Find out more
Canberra Highlands in Grayscale

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
TRADITIONAL CUSTODIANS

The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Location map of The Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial building

The Australian War Memorial

Treloar Crescent
Campbell ACT 2612
Australia
View on Google Maps (opens in new window)
Google Map data ©2022 Google
Australian War Memorial Logo
  • Go to AWM Facebook
  • Go to AWM Twitter
  • Go to AWM Trip Advisor
  • Go to AWM Instagram
  • Go to AWM Youtube

Footer

  • Memorial Articles
  • About
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Wartime Magazine
  • Donate Today

The Australian War Memorial

Treloar Crescent

Campbell ACT 2612

Australia

 

Opening Hours

10 am to 5 pm daily (except Christmas Day)

In preparation for the daily Last Post Ceremony,

galleries are progressively closed from 4 pm

Book your ticket to visit: awm.gov.au/visit

 


Please enter a valid email address

Legal

  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Freedom of information

Copyright 2022 Australian War Memorial, Canberra. All rights reserved