Heywood, Reginald Harriman (Captain, b.1889 - d.1967) Accession Number: PR04361

Description

Collection relating to the First World War service of Captain Reginald Harriman Heywood, Australian Army Veterinary Corps. Collection consists of three bound and typed diary volumes, plus five loose pages of handwritten diary entries from mid-1918 which are identical to the typed entries for the same period.

Volume 1: Covers 12 May 1917 to 3 August 1917 and describes his journey to England on the troopship HMAT Benalla; the people on board; a near collision between the Benalla and the troopship HMAT Port Sydney; vaccinations; stops at Durban, Cape Town and Freetown; the threat of German submarines; and arrival in England and Lark Hill camp.

Volume 2: Covers 4 August 1917 to 17 July 1918 and describes his journey to the AAVC base hospital at Calais; day to day life; weather; German air raids; the evacuation and treatment of sick and injured horses; transfer to the 4th Australian Mobile Veterinary Section (AMVS) closer to the front line near Hazebrouck; the German offensive in March 1918; fighting at Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918; and his time as the commanding officer of the 4th AMVS.

Volume 3: Covers 18 July 1918 to 31 June 1919 and describes his work as Commanding Officer of the 4th Australian Mobile Veterinary Section; commentary on the progress of the war; preparations for the Battle of Amiens; German prisoners of war; the German lines; Hindenburg Line offensives in late 1918; the days surrounding the armistice on 11 November 1918; visits to London and Paris; his various roles in France and Belgium after the armistice including facilitating the post-war sale of horses at auction; the demobilisation of forces in 1919 and his journey back to Australia on HMAT Nestor. His last entry is dated 31 June 1919 and is a summary of and reflection on his service and the war.

Details

Accession Number

PR04361

Maker

Captain Reginald Harriman Heywood

Classification

Private Record

Object Type

Diary

Measurement

Archived measurement

Date Made

1917-1919

Place Made

Belgium

Whole/Part

Collection

Item Count

Access

Open

Copying Provisions

Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction.