Tasmanian hero Keith Heritage was the first to sign up for serviice in World War I

NEWSPAPERS all around Australia reported the death of Keith Heritage in 1916.

NEWSPAPERS all around Australia reported the death of Keith Heritage in 1916.

The Tasmanian-born army captain had been killed in action at Pozieres, France, not long after an act of bravery that would see him awarded the Military Cross.

Four years later, Captain Heritage was in the news again when it was announced that post-war research had determined that he had been the first person to enlist for service in World War I, joining up on August 11, 1914.

Keith Heritage was born in 1882, one of eight children of George and Eleanora Heritage, of Longford. At the time of joining the army after the declaration of war he was living in Sydney where he worked for the Union Steam Ship Company.

Before that he had six years’ experience with the Launceston Infantry Regiment where he held the rank of colour sergeant in the machine-gun section.

When he joined-up in 1914 it was not with the well-known Australian Imperial Force (AIF), but the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force which had been assembled and dispatched to New Guinea within days.

Appointed to the rank of lieutenant, Heritage served with the British administration in Rabaul while the AN&MEF secured the capture of German colonies in the area.

Back in Australia in 1915, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 19th Battalion, AIF, which landed at Gallipoli in August that year.

He is said to have been one of the last of the Anzac forces evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915. He went to Egypt and while there was promoted to captain in February 1916.

After several months in Egypt, Captain Heritage was given command of a raiding party near Armentieres in France.

On July 1, 1916, his bravery was noted by General Sir William Birdwood, following a successful raid on enemy trenches on the night of June 25-26.

This successful action eventually resulted in the awarding of the Military Cross to Captain Heritage, although it is likely he never knew of the honour.

The London Gazette of August 25, 1916 stated that the medal had been conferred by King George V in recognition of Captain Heritage’s gallantry and devotion to duty in the field.

The award related particularly to conspicuous gallantry during the raid on the German trenches when about 20 of the enemy were killed and four prisoners taken.

“He carried back a wounded man single-handed and throughout the raid set a fine example of cool courage,” the citation concluded.

Sadly, Captain Heritage was killed in action and buried in the field at Pozieres a month before news of his award was made public.

While making his rounds in the trenches on July 26, 1916, he told two tired-looking soldiers to take a break.

He gave them some of his own food and took up their post. Within moments, a high-explosive shell landed near Captain Heritage, killing him instantly.

It seems to have taken about a month for Keith Heritage’s family to be advised of his death, only days before details were released to the newspapers.

His sister, working as a nurse in Sydney, was attending to a patient when she noticed a paragraph in a newspaper announcing the death of her brother. She collapsed in shock.

The name of Keith Heritage is recorded on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, along with more than 60,000 others from World War I.

Originally published as Tasmanian hero Keith Heritage was the first to sign up for serviice in World War I