Henry Thomas (Harry) Brear

Henry Thomas (Harry) Brear

Personal Information
Date of Birth	c1882
Place of Birth	Moonee Ponds, Victoria
Death	8 Oct 1951, aged 69
Place of Death	Perth, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	32 years, 8 months
Description	5' 5½" (1.66m) tall ; 139 lbs 63.049 kg ; dark complexion ; brown eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Upholsterer
Religion	Church of England
Address	NOK Kelmscott, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs Eliza Ayton
Military Information
Reg Number	713
Date of Enlistment	12 Nov 1914
Rank	Trooper
Unit/Formation	10th Light Horse Regiment, 4th Reinforcement, transferred to 5th Division.
Date of Embarkation	22 Feb 1915 ‒ 24 Mar 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A50 Itonus
Date of Return	17 Jun 1918 ‒ 8 Aug 1918
Ship Returned On	HMT Matatua
Fate	Returned to Australia (Medical grounds)
Monument	none as yet
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Known as Harry and signs name as Harry Brear.

War Service

Henry signed initial enlistment documents in Kalgoorlie on 9 Nov 1914, before entering camp on 12 Nov 1914. He was sworn in as a member of the 10th Light Horse Regiment at Helena Vale by Hugo Throssell on 16 Feb 1915. Allocated to the 4th reinforcement draft for the 10th Light Horse.

He embarked for Gallipoli from Alexandria on 22 May 1915 and he and 29 others were taken on strength by the 10th Light Horse Regiment on the 26th of May in Monash Gully. On 9 Jul 1915 they were on Walker's Ridge, with sickness affecting many of the men (no meat for two weeks) including Harry who reported ill on 14 Jul 1915 before being evacuated to hospital in Malta on 14 Jul 1915 via HMHS Devanha with influenza and diarrhoea. Moved to the Military Hospital at Intarfa on Malta on 14 Aug 1915, and finally evacuated from Malta on SS Somali (then acting as a Hospital Ship) to King George's Hospital in Stanford, England arriving on 27 Aug 1915.

Harry returned to Alexandria ex England on 5 Mar 1916 aboard HMT Kingstonian, and was posted to the Overseas Base in Cairo, before joining the 4th Division Ammunition Column at Serapeum on 7 Apr 1916. He returned to hospital the same day and was seen first by the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital before being sent by Ambulance Train to the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital from 8 Apr to 9 May 1916 suffering with Venereal Disease - 33 days ineffective service. Returned to duty with the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Training Regiment at Abbassia on 9 May 1916.

On 20 Jun 1916 he was charged with being "1) AWOL from Reveille 13 Jun 1916 until returned by escort on 19 Jun 1916; 2)Being in possession of a false pass". Forfeited 14 day's pay. Harry appears to have travelled from Egypt to France soon after, and he was attached to the 5th Division Base Depot in Étaples on 20 Jul 1916. On 23 Oct 1916 he was charged with "Conduct to the prejudice of good order and Military Discipline, to wit, Gambling on 19 Oct 1916. Award was 8 days Field Punishment No. 2.

On 30 Dec 1916 in Étaples he was charged with being "AWOL from 2:00pm on 26 Dec 1916 until 7:00pm pm 28 Dec 1916" Award was 3 days Field Punishment No. 2, and forfeiture of 6 days pay. On 23 Jan 1917 he was attached to 2nd Anzac HQ France (5th Division Base Depot) until 28 Sep 1917 when he was reclassified and then transferred to the No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth camp in England. Here on 21 Dec 1917 he was charged with "AWOL from "R" Boat Roll Parade 5:45am and absent from parade 9:00am 21 Dec 1917". Awarded 96 hours detention. On 19 Apr 1918 he was charged with being "AWOL from 11:15pm 14 Apr 1918 until 10:00pm 15 Apr 1918". Awarded 2 day's Field Punishment No. 2, and forfeited 4 day's pay.

Applied for discharge in England on fitness grounds, asking to be accepted for work as a munitions worker. His request was not successful. Sent home on medical grounds (old 1910 injuries to his ankles) and discharged by the 5th Military District on 4 Sep 1918.

Eighty Fifth Casualty List. Wounded-In-Hospital, London, H.T. Brear (Kelmscott).

Discharge was medical from a pre existing condition to both ankles being fractured in 1910 when run over by a wagon. In 1942 The State Government Insurance Office wrote to the Army to establish if Henry had a history of injury to his left ankle or leg.

Post War

Only Electoral Roll entry is for 1943 - 28 Stanley street, South Brisbane, a carpenter. A letter from SGIO Queensland in July 1942 implies that he had been in Qld for some time and was making a claim under workers' compensation. Returned to WA by the time of his death in 1951 and was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Memorial