Edward William Heard
When Edward William Heard, known as Bill enlisted for World War Two on July 17, 1940, it would have been no surprise to his family. He had already been serving with the 24/39 Battalion prior to the declaration of war, joining the Battalion when he was 18 as a cadet. This battalion had been raised following the reorganisation of the Australian Army in 1921 as a unit of the Citizens Force and was known as the Hawthorn-Kew Regiment.
In addition to his aspirations, Australia was still recovering from the Great Depression which had officially ended in 1939. The father of two had been travelling between Melbourne and Stratford for work to provide for his family and signing up to the AIF would provide a regular salary.
During initial training, Bill was assigned to the Corps Provost Company in October following three months of training, leaving for the Middle East in February 1941.
On May 17 Bill joined the Australian Provost Corps (APC) in Dimra and was promoted from Private to Lance Corporal. The unit spent May recuperating and training with Bill joining the 7th Div Provost Company on May 29 and moving to Nazareth via Jerusalem where he was engaged on convoy patrols and point duty.
During June and July the 7th Company advanced to Beirut supporting troops fighting the Vichy French forces in Syria. During this time Bill was evacuated to hospital with a broken collar bone, re-joining the unit on August 13. Three days later he received a promotion to Corporal.
For the rest of 1941, Bill and the unit remained in Beirut performing general town duties and maintenance of detention barracks.
With Japan entering the war in December 1941, the 7th Company was withdrawn from the Middle East to enable it to focus on the threats closer to home.
Arriving in Australia in January, the Company underwent training and routine provost duties in South Australia before proceeding to Queensland in May to undergo further training before relocating to Papua New Guinea.
In October 1942, Bill was based in Port Moresby, where, until May 1943 he worked in road and traffic control using jeeps, trucks and motorcycles and the security guarding of camp areas and installations. Japanese prisoners of war were also guarded pending interrogation.
On February 24, 1943, the company headquarters would be moved to Sogeri at the prisoner of war compound and on May 19 Bill would embark on the SS Duntroon to escort 37 Japanese Prisoners of War to Australia.
Returning to Port Moresby in August, the company would then return to Australia in November, disembarking at Townsville before proceeding to Victoria by train, arriving on November 15, 1943 with their headquarters set up at the Port Melbourne Football oval. They would remain in Melbourne for the remainder of the war and Bill would be discharged on October 12, 1945 having served for five years and three months, including over two years and four months overseas.
Edward William Heard
Born: 24 June 1914 Surrey Hills, Victoria
Died: 11 June 1993 Bairnsdale, Victoria
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